Last dictator standing
December 4, 2011 7:27 PM Subscribe
South African fast food chain Nando's ran an amusing ad featuring Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe enjoying himself with a range of deceased despots, to the tune "Those were the days". The Zimbabwean "government" was not amused.
I liked this a lot, more of these please. Especially in regions where it can really hurt the image of these despots.
posted by MrBobaFett at 7:50 PM on December 4, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by MrBobaFett at 7:50 PM on December 4, 2011 [4 favorites]
To be fair, the Zimbabwean "government" was still quoting Napoleon Dynamite like a year after it was totally played out, so we shouldn't put too much stock in its sense of humor.
posted by Bromius at 7:50 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Bromius at 7:50 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
Wow. That is amazing. I kind of want to buy cases of Nando now. Cases and cases.
posted by fyrebelley at 7:58 PM on December 4, 2011
posted by fyrebelley at 7:58 PM on December 4, 2011
Upon second viewing: Mao.
posted by weinbot at 8:12 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by weinbot at 8:12 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Mmm. Nando's...
I didn't realize until just now that their only US locations are in the DC area. The rest of you guys are missing out.
posted by schmod at 8:13 PM on December 4, 2011
I didn't realize until just now that their only US locations are in the DC area. The rest of you guys are missing out.
posted by schmod at 8:13 PM on December 4, 2011
I confess I have no idea what most dictators look like.
posted by ryanrs at 8:43 PM on December 4, 2011
posted by ryanrs at 8:43 PM on December 4, 2011
I think Mugabe should have just gone along with it. Now he looks as though he can't take a joke. That's no way to get people to like you.
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:48 PM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:48 PM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm sorta surprised they had to have P. W. Botha carrying an old South African flag - is his face that unfamiliar these days?
(I mean, I didn't know who he was in the ad., but I'd have thought he'd be recognisable in SA)
posted by russm at 8:52 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
(I mean, I didn't know who he was in the ad., but I'd have thought he'd be recognisable in SA)
posted by russm at 8:52 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
And they have restaurants in Zimbabwe? They've really got guts.
posted by parudox at 8:55 PM on December 4, 2011
posted by parudox at 8:55 PM on December 4, 2011
agreed russm. I didn't know it was Botha, but I also would have thought that South Africans would ahve known what he looked like.
posted by wilful at 8:57 PM on December 4, 2011
posted by wilful at 8:57 PM on December 4, 2011
Wow! Nando's looks like the Dr.Jekyll to Chick-Fil-A's Mr. Hyde based upon their various commercials on youtube.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:04 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jeffburdges at 9:04 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
How much did they have to pay Herman Cain to play Robert Mugabe in that commercial?
posted by Daddy-O at 9:13 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Daddy-O at 9:13 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
@weinbot: yeah, I think Mao too. Both of the Kims have more hair than that.
posted by sbutler at 9:57 PM on December 4, 2011
posted by sbutler at 9:57 PM on December 4, 2011
Nandos is the bomb, yo. We have four major chicken-centric fast food options here in Aus, and Nandos is head and shoulders the best.
(For those playing along, the others are KFC, Oporto and Red Rooster)
posted by cerulgalactus at 10:02 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
(For those playing along, the others are KFC, Oporto and Red Rooster)
posted by cerulgalactus at 10:02 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Funny dictator commercial compilation.
I recall Zimbabwe getting caught up in another chicken commercial thing from SA but can't find it.
posted by stbalbach at 10:23 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
I recall Zimbabwe getting caught up in another chicken commercial thing from SA but can't find it.
posted by stbalbach at 10:23 PM on December 4, 2011 [2 favorites]
And where can I get a golden AK-47 squirt gun?
posted by Chekhovian at 10:43 PM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Chekhovian at 10:43 PM on December 4, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm glad someone had already figured out who the guy on the swing was, because I was baffled.
posted by winna at 11:01 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by winna at 11:01 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's all fun and games until someone loses a dictatorship.
posted by dantsea at 11:45 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dantsea at 11:45 PM on December 4, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wow! Nando's looks like the Dr.Jekyll to Chick-Fil-A's Mr. Hyde
Ahem.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:53 PM on December 4, 2011
Ahem.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:53 PM on December 4, 2011
WTF is a Liquifruit?
It's a South African fruit juice brand. Excellent ad. Pity about the pull. And Nando's is delicious.
posted by New England Cultist at 12:34 AM on December 5, 2011
It's a South African fruit juice brand. Excellent ad. Pity about the pull. And Nando's is delicious.
posted by New England Cultist at 12:34 AM on December 5, 2011
I'm glad someone had already figured out who the guy on the swing was, because I was baffled.
Pik
Pik
Pik
Pik
posted by New England Cultist at 12:35 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Pik
Pik
Pik
Pik
posted by New England Cultist at 12:35 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'd just like to note that in Danish, "pik" means dick.
posted by brokkr at 12:38 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by brokkr at 12:38 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Mmmm, Nandos is delicious. I wish their radio were half as funny as the ones they have on youtube.
posted by addelburgh at 12:43 AM on December 5, 2011
posted by addelburgh at 12:43 AM on December 5, 2011
Their radio ads, that is.
posted by addelburgh at 12:44 AM on December 5, 2011
posted by addelburgh at 12:44 AM on December 5, 2011
New England Cultist: Pik Botha != P. W. Botha
posted by russm at 12:46 AM on December 5, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by russm at 12:46 AM on December 5, 2011 [4 favorites]
There aren't many companies that started in Mozambique that are doing this well globally. Good stuff.
posted by Devonian at 1:28 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Devonian at 1:28 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Darn, scotch that. Mozambique recipes, SA start. But still, good stuff nonetheless.
posted by Devonian at 1:29 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Devonian at 1:29 AM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
When Nando's first opened in my city, this was the poster they had hanging in their window. Kudos to their ad guys because I happened past one day, saw that and immediately bee-lined inside.
As it happened, they were not lying - Nando's chicken is fantastic.
posted by pseudonymph at 1:41 AM on December 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
As it happened, they were not lying - Nando's chicken is fantastic.
posted by pseudonymph at 1:41 AM on December 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
I was in Zim again last month. I always get just the smallest tinge of nervy going through customs there because of stuff I've written online about Mugabe at some point or another. I wrote those things back before I had spent too much time in the country, and some remain, to my minor regret (which I hope will never become major).
In Zim, you have to be very, very careful who you talk to and what you say when it comes to politics, government, ZPF, and Mugabe in particular. You can do it, but you better know who it is that is within earshot and you better damn well know who that person is and what their points of view are, maybe even who they might be related to. Its quite chilling. Reminds me of walking around Beijing as a foreigner and often being followed by not-so-secret plain-clothes police.
When what is a joke in literally the rest of the world is no joking matter in its homeland, it can put you in a very delicate position when you actually go to that place.
There was an article - maybe I found it on MeFi even - written by an ex-Zimbabwean (white) guy who ran into Mugabe in a NYC Duane Reade - dude lives in America and he was smart enough to use a pseudonym even there, for fear of his own safety.
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:42 AM on December 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
In Zim, you have to be very, very careful who you talk to and what you say when it comes to politics, government, ZPF, and Mugabe in particular. You can do it, but you better know who it is that is within earshot and you better damn well know who that person is and what their points of view are, maybe even who they might be related to. Its quite chilling. Reminds me of walking around Beijing as a foreigner and often being followed by not-so-secret plain-clothes police.
When what is a joke in literally the rest of the world is no joking matter in its homeland, it can put you in a very delicate position when you actually go to that place.
There was an article - maybe I found it on MeFi even - written by an ex-Zimbabwean (white) guy who ran into Mugabe in a NYC Duane Reade - dude lives in America and he was smart enough to use a pseudonym even there, for fear of his own safety.
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:42 AM on December 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Nando's is the tasty. It's also the only mainstream chain that when you ask for spicy, you get spicy. Proper "head asplode" spicy.
posted by scruss at 4:31 AM on December 5, 2011
posted by scruss at 4:31 AM on December 5, 2011
Nando's operates in Zimbabwe; I hope that no one there turns up dead. "A militant youth group in Zimbabwe threatened to boycott the restaurant". Is "boycott" some sort of Zim slang for "firebomb"?
posted by Nelson at 7:36 AM on December 5, 2011
posted by Nelson at 7:36 AM on December 5, 2011
I'm thinking this could be a Red Stapler moment for Super Soaker to start producing a gold-plated AK-47 model.
It took me a little while to identify P. W. Botha, but I imagine they needed the old SA flag since "greying man in dark suit with hat" is a far less distinctive image than that cultivated by most of the other dictators who show up in the ad.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 7:37 AM on December 5, 2011
It took me a little while to identify P. W. Botha, but I imagine they needed the old SA flag since "greying man in dark suit with hat" is a far less distinctive image than that cultivated by most of the other dictators who show up in the ad.
posted by McCoy Pauley at 7:37 AM on December 5, 2011
That's no way to get people to like you.
I think you're not quite grasping what absolute dictatorhood is all about.
posted by rusty at 9:26 AM on December 5, 2011
I think you're not quite grasping what absolute dictatorhood is all about.
posted by rusty at 9:26 AM on December 5, 2011
Deep down, dictators just want to be loved.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 12:15 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 12:15 PM on December 5, 2011
I didn't know it was Botha, but I also would have thought that South Africans would ahve known what he looked like.
well, I just did a quick vox-pop in the office, checking to see which of the <30yo folks could identify this bloke (none of them could). so that counts in favour of helping out with the flag.
not putting fraser in the same league as those others, just a "do you recognise the head of government from before you were a teenager" question.
posted by russm at 2:47 PM on December 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
well, I just did a quick vox-pop in the office, checking to see which of the <30yo folks could identify this bloke (none of them could). so that counts in favour of helping out with the flag.
not putting fraser in the same league as those others, just a "do you recognise the head of government from before you were a teenager" question.
posted by russm at 2:47 PM on December 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
Nandos of course have a reputation for some ... interesting ... ads.
This one was shown, and quickly yanked off air, in Australia a couple of years back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUAljNrifw.
It was meant to be a rather ironic or completely absurdist set-up, but didn't quite work. Complaints ensued, ad yanked off air.
posted by chris88 at 3:43 PM on December 5, 2011
This one was shown, and quickly yanked off air, in Australia a couple of years back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUAljNrifw.
It was meant to be a rather ironic or completely absurdist set-up, but didn't quite work. Complaints ensued, ad yanked off air.
posted by chris88 at 3:43 PM on December 5, 2011
Sorry, muddled the link in my last post -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUAljNrifw
posted by chris88 at 3:47 PM on December 5, 2011
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEUAljNrifw
posted by chris88 at 3:47 PM on December 5, 2011
I thought it interesting that the "not" article was authored by SILENCE CHARUMBIRA. Is Silence a common name in Zimbabwe?
posted by Metro Gnome at 9:47 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by Metro Gnome at 9:47 PM on December 5, 2011
Is Silence a common name in Zimbabwe?
Its not uncommon for people (male or female) to have their first name as an English word not commonly used elsewhere in the world for names. Lots of people are named things like "Peace" or "Faith" or other nice sounding things, but many are named thins like "Silence" or "Obvious" or "Lawful" or what have you.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:55 PM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Its not uncommon for people (male or female) to have their first name as an English word not commonly used elsewhere in the world for names. Lots of people are named things like "Peace" or "Faith" or other nice sounding things, but many are named thins like "Silence" or "Obvious" or "Lawful" or what have you.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:55 PM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
New England Cultist: Pik Botha != P. W. Botha
Eh. Shoot me for getting them confused. They were both Botha's and they both screwed with my upbringing.
posted by New England Cultist at 12:08 PM on December 7, 2011
Eh. Shoot me for getting them confused. They were both Botha's and they both screwed with my upbringing.
posted by New England Cultist at 12:08 PM on December 7, 2011
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