Eskort’s SpringBox campaign transformed a billboard typo into a marketing sensation, sparking nationwide conversation, and outperforming sponsor brands (apparently), while navigating a legal battle with SARU.
Johannesburg, South Africa (28 November 2023) – Eskort, a pork brand in South Africa, inadvertently triggered a wave of laughter and anger with their billboard blunder – ‘Go SpringBox’ instead of the intended ‘Springboks’ but was this marketing genius?
The day was August 12, 2023, a day engraved in the hearts of South African rugby fans as they gathered at OR Tambo airport to bid farewell to the Springboks embarking on their Rugby World Cup journey. Little did they know that an unsuspecting billboard would soon steal the spotlight, turning a supposed corporate blunder into what the advertising agency behind it is calling a stroke of marketing genius.
Social media erupted with the misspelling of ‘Springboks’ as ‘SpringBox,’ leaving the public questioning how Eskort, a reputable brand, could make such a mistake. However, this seemingly embarrassing error was the prelude to a campaign that would captivate the nation. As the media buzzed with speculations and questions about potential repercussions at Eskort, the truth unfolded. The ‘Go SpringBox’ billboard was the opening act of a campaign created by Eskort in collaboration with their advertising agency, MetropolitanRepublic.
Every year, Eskort kickstarts the braai season with a spring campaign. This year, with the Rugby World Cup adding an extra layer of excitement, Eskort opted for a unique approach. Instead of vying for a seat at the expensive sponsorship table, they created a product that resonated with rugby enthusiasts and braai aficionados – the SpringBox, a limited-edition cooler box for keeping braai goodies during the World Cup. The billboard at OR Tambo, initially perceived as a mistake, was strategically designed to unveil the SpringBox. A few days later, a humorous TV commercial starring Frikkie clarified Eskort’s intention and introduced the nation to the limited-edition cooler box. The billboard, once misunderstood, was replaced with a new one showcasing the SpringBox with a tagline reading: ‘More than a cooler box, it’s a SpringBox.’
The clever reveal sparked a wave of humour and consumer demand for the SpringBox, leading to one of South Africa’s major retailers approaching Eskort to stock the product due to overwhelming demand. The SpringBox reveal advert during the Springboks vs All Blacks match allegedly (according to the agency) outperformed some sponsor brands, making Eskort the unexpected hero of the year.
However, as success and laughter echoed, a legal storm loomed.
Eskort received a cease-and-desist letter from the South African Rugby Union (SARU), initiating a legal battle that captured the attention of legal practitioners and even prompted a business school to conduct a marketing case study on the campaign. Throughout the legal tussle, Eskort and their advertising agency maintained their creative momentum, adapting content to keep the campaign alive.
“The success of this campaign really came down to the trust between Metro and the Eskort team. It’s rare and we as Metro consider ourselves lucky to have a client that values brave, creative work as much as we do,” said Kamogelo Sesing, Executive Creative Director of MetropolitanRepublic.
By the time legal constraints tightened, Eskort had effectively owned a conversation without spending the budgets that would come with a campaign like this.
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Was this a stroke of marketing genius or a case of a piggy flying too close to the sun? We’ll leave that up to South Africa to decide.
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