“Who were those guys that danced at the Oscars and created amazing shapes with their bodies?”  This was the question posed by freelance advertising guru Mike Golding, during a brainstorming session to develop an advertising campaign for Bidvest which could translate the heart and soul of Bidvest into visual expression. Mike was one of the guestimated one billion people who marvelled at the American contemporary dance company Pilobolus weaving their unusual magic at this year’s Oscar Awards. They created shadow shapes depicting the main Oscar film nominees, and received thousands of emails in the days following the broadcast, all from people amazed at their singular ingenuity.             But the story starts quite some time earlier. Thomas Oosthuizen from the agency BrandWealth was commissioned by Bidvest to conduct a comprehensive audit on Bidvest’s corporate communications and profile. This exercise resulted in the formulation of a central thought that encapsulated what the Bidvest group stands for. It was clear that Bidvest’s most important asset was its people; the great entrepreneurial spirit that permeates the business, and the ability of Bidvest people to change everyday businesses into extraordinary achievers. The creative challenge was to find a platform that could express this thought in advertising, as well as start a process geared at explaining the great variety of businesses which fall under the Proudly Bidvest umbrella. It was the unique dance forms of Pilobolus that caught the imagination of both Jack Hochfeld and Brian Joffe. After exploring two other possible creative routes, the decision was taken that Pilobolus best signified how ordinary people can achieve the extraordinary and unexpected. And like Bidvest, their work is unique. It took four months of long telephone calls, emails clarifying technical details, and generating mutual excitement about the project of creating an ad campaign where Pilobolus dancers would create shapes that reflect aspects of Bidvest’s business.  South Africa was a place Pilobolus had never visited before, nor contemplated doing so.  zaFollowing their success at the Oscars, performance offers were pouring in thick and fast. But the company followed its own soul and decided to visit the cradle of mankind, and created and played with this particular energy called Africa. Despite the enormous cultural and physical distance between America and Africa, the company’s ethos shared a space with a place they had never been. Like Africa, they break the rules. And create new directions which others follow. A rehearsal session in New York took place in August, where much of the creative work for the ad campaign was plotted and the ground work set for further refinement in South Africa. During the last week of August 2007 Pilobolus touched down on African soil. Their visit was planned to coincide with the Bidvest Chairman’s dinners where they performed work from their repertoire.  Then the troupe moved to Q studios where we had set up a dance stage, a massive, specially constructed screen to shoot Pilobolus’ shadow work, and a large crew to ensure that the nine days available for shooting the commercials would run like clockwork. All in all seven television commercials were created, and a number of print advertisements.  These will be rolled out over the next few months. Pilobolus is an organism. It works in a purely organic manner, much like the roots of African dance and the simple growth of a plant. Unlike the advertising tradition of creating a script and storybook which is followed to the letter, Pilobolus is highly involved and an integral part in fleshing out the creative concept for the ads.One might say: “Can you make a light bulb?”; and there would be a few moments of uhm-ing and aa-hing.  Someone would go : “What if….” and the whole gang would gather together in a remarkable process of weaving ideas and bodies and forms into a fantastic piece of human clay, that can be moulded in fashions which are new to the world of dance. Their language and vocabulary are their own, and unique.  And yes, they can make a light bulb; and a giraffe, and a car, and a mop – to name but a few of the shapes created for the campaign. Keep an eye open on M-Net and DSTV where most of the new ads will be flighted! Thys Botha Director BrandWealth