South Africa has a diverse pool of talent, which means we can find amazing faces for commercials flighting in many territories and markets globally.
As Casting Directors, we find the talent (actors) to match the story. Research on the advertising target audience influences the story of each commercial. We find talent who are relatable to the audience so they can identify with the talent and the story.
Diversity is about viewing individuals as unique. No matter our race, age, ethnicity, or gender identification. Diversity is about encouraging everyone to be their authentic selves. No matter our socio-economic status, political views, religious beliefs, or ideologies.
With diversity as a huge asset in our Rainbow Nation, we have access to talent from all walks of life. This means that within SA we’ll usually find someone that any specific audience can relate to. That's why Kayos believes that by casting in South Africa, we can cast for the whole world.
Brands use extensive market research to profile the ideal customer for their products. The research determines the age, ethnicity, gender, financial status etc of their audience. The results inform the company about which talent they should use to for their ads to be successful.
Where products and services are for “everyone”, the advertising campaign requires more diversity (like this commercial for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly - a milestone international casting job of ours). Where products target a specific audience, you’ll often notice more specific talent in the ad (like this Amazon Alexa commercial we cast for).
No matter what a company is looking for, we find talent to meet briefs. They can either be very specific or diverse in ethnicities and looks. Thats’ why we love casting from the South African talent pool! We are lucky to have a diverse breadth of talent on our doorstep, for all casting requirements
Here are commercials we’ve cast where diversity is represented in various ways:
Bring Back the Wow
Garden products are often associated with suburban families, middle aged parents, and neat gardens. On this project, the director tasked us with the opposite. We were to find the full range of people who could be using the product to make the commercial, and therefore the product, relevant to a wider audience. Various ethnicities, ages and looks are represented by the talent in the commercial, to create a universal reach. It was on-trend and reached a younger consumer, including individuals who might not previously have related to the brand.
GE: Ecomagination
This project required talent who had a sense of rhythm, could line dance and be choreographed, represent people from around the world. The cast and dancers include men and women of a range of ages and ethnicities, all of whom fit the bill!
Levi’s: Use Your Vote!
We were briefed to find amazing talent from diverse walks of life to show both the enduring legacy of Levi’s, and remind everyone that we have things in common, however different we might seem. In this case, the common cause was our right to vote. We found actors who represented a range of ethnicities, physical abilities, ages, religions, and socio-economic groups. In short, we captured different senses of identity based on all kinds of factors.
PDF’s of South African talent by ethnic look.
A peak at some of the talent we have available in our Rainbow Nation.
We’re are fortunate to operate in SA because of the thriving film service industry here. Commercials shot in SA flight worldwide, in all territories around the globe. That’s in part because of the diverse local talent, who can capture any brand’s story. South Africa is a great example of the expression melting pot. There is someone for every commercial in our country!
Below are some presentations of talent who could work for various territories around the world.