When the 2021 festive season arrived in South Africa after the longest eleven months in history, we knew a second jab would be the last thing on the mindsmind of 18 to 24-year-olds, Savanna’s core market. Plus, nobody had said two words about the one-dose dilemma - the popular, false belief that a single shot was adequate protection. Savanna had a duty to remind our youth that “some things only work in twos”, like the Pfizer vaccine. 

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Many South African words use duplicate syllables, like “toyi-toyi”, “what-what”, and “go-go”. These words are common to all indigenous South African languages. So, Savanna Cider used this unique linguistic habit to prove the point that two vaccines are better than one. By airing “JabJab” on the radio, a mass medium in South Africa, it traveled far and wide, using humor to break through to form another linguistic duplicate in the lexicon.

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IT WAS A WIN-WIN! (Including a couple of awards.)

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Over the festive season in 2021, when vaccination rates were expected to decline due to the holidays, the number of fully vaccinated South Africans went from 24% of the population to just under 30%. We would never be quite so rah-rah as to claim all the credit for that, of course. Nevertheless, the impact of the chit-chat we stirred up can’t be pooh-poohed.