Students star as themselves in new TV advert

NELSON Mandela Metropolitan University staff and students are the best ambassadors to showcase the institution’s talent.

This shone through yesterday when the university unveiled a national television advertisement featuring proudly homegrown stars.

In a first for the university, the beautifully shot 60-second montage will be flighted on national stations, including selected DStv channels, from April, university spokesman Pieter Swart said. The 60-second promo will be bolstered by a print campaign in in-flight magazines as well as radio adverts – including one in Xhosa.

The TV advert, voiced by stage legend John Kani, features five scenes shot in and around the city, including the iconic Opera House and imposing Coega Development Corporation headquarters.

The dream sequence montage shows “students” in various fields, from business and athletics to the arts and politics, living their ambitions.

“We used staff and students in all aspects of the ad, including background crowds,” Swart said.

The advert was produced by Bay companies Boomtown and Rooftop. Although filming took five days, editing was a different ball game: it took months to capture the essence of the advert’s tagline, “You’re a moment away from a dream.”

The university also announced that former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Aspen Pharmaceuticals co-founder Stephen Saad, physicist Neil Jeffrey Turok, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and the late political activist and doctor Masilamoney Pather would receive honorary doctorates on April 9.

All living recipients except Allen have confirmed they will attend the ceremony.

Graduation season starts next Friday at NMMU’s George campus, while the Port Elizabeth ceremonies will be held from April 8 to 15.