PRESS OFFICE
LISTING
Homenewsabout usContact UsWebsite
News

Mondi back on air after ASA rules against Sappi

FCB Durban's campaign for Mondi Paper's Rotatrim brand is back on the air after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against Sappi Fine Paper, which had lodged a complaint against the television commercial.

In the commercial, of which there are two versions, an office worker burning the midnight oil selects a ream of paper, not Mondi Rotatrim (and is clearly the 'wrong' paper), to insert into the photocopier. As he approaches the machine paper in hand, it first jumps away and then, bounces across the room, crashes into a wall and flaps its lid up and down in annoyance. The closing shot in one version shows the young man bound with rope and firmly clamped between the 'jaws' of the machine while, in the other, the copier spits paper at him. The voice-over urges 'Next time use Mondi Rotatrim. The Better Performance Paper'.

These ads, flighted for the first time on September 1, were supported with a one-week tactical press and radio campaign. The press ad, which ran in selected newspapers countrywide comprised text laid out as a newspaper article reporting attacks on office workers by photocopiers. The radio spot was a spoof news item – a report on a spate of attacks perpetrated by copiers and included an 'interview' with a 'policeman' who said the best way to avoid attacks was to use Mondi Rotatrim. – The Better Performance Paper.

Sappi claimed that the words 'The Better Performance Paper' were misleading, and Mondi was required by the ASA to substantiate this advertising claim. This it did by providing documentation certifying that:

Mondi Rotatrim is rated 160 CIE for its superior whiteness, the highest manufactured in South Africa; whereas most office papers have 140 CIE to 150 CIE. CIE is an internationally recognised whiteness standard.
Mondi Rotatrim has the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Chain-of-Custody certification which means it is manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner. No other paper manufactured and sold in South Africa has FSC accreditation. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the accepted leader in forest and timber product certification which has established standards for environmentally, economically and socially responsible forestry.
Mondi Rotatrim is manufactured using precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) as the filler. PCC results in a paper that is smoother and less abrasive to office machines than those papers using ground calcium carbonate.

The Forestry and Forest Products Research Centre of the CSIR independently verified this information and the ASA subsequently ruled that Mondi Rotatrim was entitled to continue using 'The Better Performance Paper' line in all its communication.

Both Mondi Paper and FCB Durban welcomed the ASA's ruling. Mondi Paper Divisional marketing manager, Mark Ushpol, explained "The Mondi Rotatrim campaign was developed in good faith to make people aware that not all office papers are created equal. Some lead in environmental performance and whiteness and others lag."

FCB Durban's managing director, Derek Coles, added, "We were required to break through advertising clutter and so we chose a rather unusual creative concept, which worked well in the many media we used to boost the campaign's effectiveness."



Editorial contact

C-Cubed Communications
Petra Peacock
(011) 462-2596

23 Nov 2003 23:45

<<Back