[YCLSA Discussion] ANC money buys the whisky

[Dominic Tweedie]

ANC whisky deal   A toast to the good life as party mixes business with pleasure     Kashiefa Ajam, Front Page, Saturday Star, Johannesburg, 30 January 2010   Top international whisky Chivas Regal is on the verge of becoming preferred whisky supplier of choice to the ANC - and its youth league.   Last week, its bid took a giant step forward after it inadvertently sponsored presidential spokesman Zizi Kodwa's lavish 40th birthday bash at the exclusive Sandton nightclub, Taboo's.   Chivas management claim they received a concerned call from the nightclub management two days before Kodwa's Friday night bash, to be told the club had double-booked Chivas Regal's "living with chivalry" brand awareness party with Kodwa's bash.   Eyeing a unique marketing opportunity to break into South Africa's black elite, the premium whisky distiller suggested the club combine the two parties. The bash was punted as the social event of the year and was attended by the who's who of the ANC and the entertainment industry.   Partygoers included socialite Khanyisile Mbau, Generations actress Sophie Ndaba, DJ Sbu and kwaito trio TKZee.   Politicians who attended included ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, who is notorious for his upmarket tastes; Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula; and Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile.   A spokeswoman for the public relations company for Chivas, who refused to be identified, told the Saturday Star yesterday that is was simply a business deal.   "They are drinking whisky and Chivas wants to be the whisky that they drink - instead of the opposition, Johnnie Walker."   The publicist stressed, though, that the deal would not see Chivas endorsing the ANC in any way, or sponsoring its events with free whisky.   "We are an international brand. We would never endorse the ANC, or any other political party in the world for that matter. I mean, what kind of message would that send to our customers? And also, we don't want to alienate anyone.   "If the deal is concluded, the ANC will still have to buy the whisky, just like everyone else," the publicist said.   A source, meanwhile, said that after Kodwa's party, Chivas had approached Luthuli House to suggest that the distiller and the governing party enter into a marketing deal.   "The deal will entail the (governing) party buying the whisky at discounted prices at its functions and allowing Chivas to raise their marketing stands at ANC functions and rallies," the source said.   Chivas Regal has invested more than R700 million in its "Living with Chivalry" global campaign to emphasise the merits of chivalry.   Chivas Brothers is the premium Scotch whisky and gin business of Pernod Ricard, a world leader in alcoholic beverages.   The chivalry campaign, says Pernod Ricard, celebrates and personifies the concepts of brotherhood, honour, class and sophistication, and is targeted at aspirational, discerning and upwardly mobile men aged between 28 and 40.   ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu could not be reached for comment last night, while his colleague Ishmael Mnisi claimed he "doesn't have a clue about a whisky deal".   Kodwa, meanwhile, has also denied that he knew anything about a deal with Chivas.   This is not the first time the ANC has been approached to give companies access to its influential membership.   It allowed Nic Wolpe, the son of anti-apartheid struggle legend Harold Wolpe, to sell 30 stalls at a reported cost of R5 million apiece to businesses in a luxury tent, dubbed the "Network Lounge", with alcohol and cigars on offer, metres from the ANC's main plenary hall at its watershed conference in Polokwane in 2007.   "It's very, very expensive and top class, but I cannot give out the figures," Wolpe told the Mail & Guardian at the time.   Earlier this month, the ANC revealed that it was selling leather jackets. Priced between R1 620 and R1 944, there are 19 styles to choose from, many of which are either neon green or canary yellow, or a combination of the two.   President Jacob Zuma even danced in one of these jackets - in a style called "The President" - at the ANC's victory party in front of Luthuli House in Joburg in April last year.   Daryl Swanepoel, co-convener of the ANC's Progressive Business Forum, has said the range of jackets, all made with genuine leather, were part of a series of marketing items sold by the ANC to promote its identity.   From: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5332289   -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to yclsa-eom-forum@googlegroups.com or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email yclsa-eom-forum-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com . 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