It arrived via WhatsApp. I ignored it at first. Another forwarded video meme from a serial forwarder, I suspected.
But when I watched it, despite my initial misgivings, I grew increasingly fond of it. There he was, the indomitable Derek Watts, the fearsome interviewer from Carte Blanche.
When he gets out of his car, the car guards run away…
He strikes fear into the hearts of the dastardly, he is retribution incarnate, with a TV camera in tow….
Perhaps because I knew Derek Watts and had spoken enough to him when being interviewed by him, or at industry functions, I knew him to be a mensch. I knew his less fearsome side.
And there he was, dancing the fandango for Caste Lite, the most improbable of beer brands and an unlikely hero in this carb-conscious era. The man had moves, and a delightful lack of self-consciousness. Good for him.
Perhaps it’s because I liked Derek and because I drink Castle Lite (two grams of carbs!) that I so enjoyed this refreshing advertising campaign. And because it came to me as a WhatsApp video clip, something I associate with a true viral meme, like that hilarious Nkandla spoof involving #PresidunceZuma.
It also spread via WhatsApp, the winner in the messaging wars. It really is good software, but we can only hope that the US Federal Trade Commission succeeds in forcing Facebook to unbundle it. Even if you can order KFC through it.
WhatsApp has proved very useful for checking in for a flight with FlySafair, as it has increased privacy and boosted security to prevent account hijackings.
WhatsApp is the biggest messaging app in the world but unfortunately controlled by one of the biggest capitalist surveillance machines in the world, Meta. It is a terribly anti-competitive company.
But it is the conduit that the world uses. And, thanks to Derek Watt’s ability to laugh at himself (and swing a decent boogie), a great source of local (Lite) humour.
RIP Derek, you are already missed.
