5 classic TV ads South Africans grew up loving and many still quote today
Which one of these classic one-liners do you still use today? Vote in our poll.
Everyone loves a good dose of nostalgia, and South Africans are no different.
Before streaming services took over, SABC 1, 2, and 3 provided all the entertainment we needed. From 'Egoli: Place of Gold', 'Isidingo', and 'MTN Gladiators' to 'Eastern Mosaic', 'Wielie Walie', and 'Pumpkin Patch', local television had something for the whole family.
But it wasn't just the TV shows that kept us hooked; the adverts were also pure TV gold, giving us one-liners that survived long after the campaigns ended.
Inspired by a throwback shared by KwaZulu-Natal content creator Sage Maujean (@boyfromthebluff), here are some of the most iconic South African ads that are sure to bring back great memories.
"I love it when you talk foreign"
A man tries to romance his partner by reading a series of "exotic" foreign words. Little does she know, he’s simply reading the coffee menu items off a Wimpy serviette.
Need a reminder, watch below:
"You’ve got an uncle in the furniture business"
Every South African has a friend, a cousin, or an uncle who can 'organise for you' real quick. When it came to furniture in the 90s, Joshua Doore was our most famous uncle in the business.
See below:
"Molo mhlobo wam!"
Arguably one of the most wholesome ads in SA television history, an elderly man living in a rural village greets his friend on the opposite side of the village every morning by shouting “Molo mhlobo wam” (hello, my friend).
After getting his first Telkom landline installed (yes Gen Z, phones weren't always mobile), he then dials his friend’s number, holds up the receiver, and still shouts at the top of his lungs from the kitchen: “Molo mhlobo wam!"
"I wanna be a Simba chippie!"
The ad follows the process of the Simba chips from ploughing the potatoes to packaging the chips. Unfortunately, not all the spuds make it to the factory and into the packet.
Watch this throwback below:
"It’s not inside, it’s on top!"
In a remake of the 80's original ad, a classic argument unfolds as a husband searches the fridge for the coffee creamer, prompting his wife to deliver perhaps still one of the most-quoted one-liners to date: "It’s not inside, it’s on top!"
Watch below:
Bonus ad: "Do you know who I am?"
This witty ad is a cheeky reminder that courage and creativity can come from a cup of tea. A businessman is running late at the airport and demands to get on his flight. Impatient with the airport staff, he hits them with the classic “do you know who I am?”
Watch the ad below to see how, after a sip of tea, one of the airport staff serves him with a taste of his own medicine:
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