Tag Archives: Edgars

Cape Town CBD residents support restaurants in the city!

imageThe Cape Town city centre has become so popular that it is attracting an increasing number of non-Capetonians to live in the heart of the Mother City.

The age profile of the city residents is youngish, between 25 and 44 years old, and many have lived in the city centre for five to ten years already. The reason for  living in the city centre is that it is close to their Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 8 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Etihad Airways has been named as World’s Leading Airline for the sixth consecutive year.   Ecuador was named as the World’s Leading Green Destination.

*   The Robben Island ferry Sikhululekile has experienced regular damage in the Island’s harbour at low tide from an ‘underwater rocky outcrop’, a survey conducted by the Council for Geoscience has found.  Purchased at a cost of R26 million, the ferry was not tested for suitability inside the harbour prior to purchase!  Now the Robben Island Museum is looking to sell the ferry.

*   The Stellenbosch American Express Wine Routes has launched a Wine Tourism Visitor Centre at 47 Church Street, offering Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 23/24 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The wing of a BA plane with 182 passengers on board, rolling to the runway to London,  hit a building at OR Thambo airport in Johannesburg when the pilot allegedly did not follow the instructions re the runway to use.

*   The City of Cape Town and the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association with the Kaapse Klopse Karneval Association have met and have agreed that the associations will organise their own event in 2015.  The City of Cape Town will assist with minstrel competitions held at Athlone Stadium, Florida Park, Vygieskraal, and Delft.   The minstrels will march in Cape Town today, on New Year’s Eve, and on 4 January.

*  The V&A Waterfront has completed a R 140 million upgrade, adding Pick ‘n Pay’s Western Cape flagship store now 6500 m² in size; created parking on the same level, having linked two different parking garages; and added 1400 m² upstairs by connecting two passages, expanding the size of Edgars, and adding four new shops.  Its CEO David Green says that there was little disruption to the operation of the mall, but many customers, including ourselves, have expressed their annoyance  at shopping on a building site for nine months.  On average they receive 60000 visitors every day, but they have had days of double that number (we question how they measure the visitors, not having an electronic car counter as they had in early days).

*   Justine Sacco, who achieved notoriety in writing the ‘worst Tweet of 2013‘,  appears to be on holiday in Cape Town Continue reading →

Mourning Madiba: Sunday Times laughs all the way to the bank!

Nando's Madiba adIt should have been a surprise that the Sunday Times last weekend contained 10 full page and 16 smaller advertisements in honour of the late Nelson Mandela, given his passing on Thursday evening, and the deadlines of newspapers to ensure their distribution in the early hours of Sunday morning.  It was interesting to evaluate corporate South Africa’s response, in their advertisements, to the passing of our country’s greatest leader, most quoting the wisdom of Madiba in their tributes to him.

Given the two days in which ad agencies had to book their clients’ advertisements, it is clear that they could not have created them in such a short time period, given lead times to conceptualise the ad, obtain client approval, and to produce the material.  It is clear that the major corporates had their farewell ads to Madiba prepared and mothballed for the announcement of his passing.

The most touching and most genuine advertisement, in our opinion, is the one by Nando’s, demonstrating the power of consistency in advertisement layout and typeface, recognisable to any South African without its logo or branding.  The most disgusting of all Mandela AVBOB Whale Cotatge Portfoliothe ads is that by funeral organisers AVBOB, depicting Madiba in daisies, and shouting its pay-off line ‘We’re here for you’!

Pick ‘n Pay’s advertising disappointed, with three full page advertisements in last Sunday’s edition, the one on page 12 in the main body being a crass ‘Price Cuts’ one, amidst the remaining ads all being tributes to Madiba.  Pick ‘n Pay and the media department of its ad agency could have done a better job in planning the placements, requesting its tribute ad in this slot, and its special offer ad in other sections of the paper.  Cynically one could think that the retailer purposely capitalised on the above Continue reading →