Joe Public Durban and Dunlop Introduce the World’s First Radio Studio... in a Pothole

Joe Public Durban and Dunlop Tyres recently launched a campaign that South Africans can truly resonate with – Pothole FM.

The campaign was inspired by a very real issue in our country regarding road safety and the fact that with Dunlop Sure, drivers can rest assured that despite dangerous road conditions and potholes everywhere, Dunlop has you covered.

The campaign required a lot of planning, especially behind the scenes planning - from having to present the concept to the Dunlop CEO at the airport, then scouring KwaZulu-Natal for a pothole big enough to film an ad in, to having to knock on the mayor of Howick’s front door for filming permissions and lastly to finding a comedian that didn’t mind getting rubble in his shoes – this was an ‘only in Mzansi’ production through and through.

“The execution was exciting, we hopped on to a bus for a two-hour ride to frosty Howick, to introduce South Africa to Pothole FM, the world’s first radio studio … in a pothole. Yeah, an actual pothole! We set out to find the perfect road hazard and with the help of a camera crew and famous comedian, Robby Collins, we recorded our radio ad from that pothole. Total production time? One day. We hit the road at 05:00, arriving in Howick at 07:00 to record the radio ad, as well as film our campaign videos. After another two hours on the road, we headed to studio to record the audio. And within four days, Pothole FM flighted,” commented Brandon Govender, Integrated Executive Creative Director, Joe Public Durban.

CEO of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa, which manufactures Dunlop Tyres in Africa, Lubin Ozoux said the Pothole FM campaign is Dunlop’s way of ensuring that South Africans be as confident on the road as they are off the road.

“The campaign was not only innovative but bold – we just wanted to showcase that you can have peace of mind with Dunlop Sure tyre cover. And because we’re so confident about the quality of our tyres, we’ve made Dunlop Sure free,” concludes Ozoux.

It didn’t stop there; Pothole FM was leveraged across digital platforms with behind-the- scenes content, an in-pothole East Coast Radio interview, PR amplification and more. Launching Dunlop Sure tyre cover with an idea that spoke about the roads in a way only South Africans would understand, was the goal. Because only in Mzansi will you find a pothole big enough to record a radio ad in. And only in Mzansi will you find people brave enough to pull it off!