Jamie, a 31-year-old musician from Soweto, appears in Chicken Licken's latest Love Me Tender Burger ad as himself and as someone looking for love.

Jamie loves music, travel, anime, good times and good vibes.  

The ad campaign aims to speak to the hearts of South Africans also looking for love. The brand says that with the help of its dating app called Tender, created especially for the campaign, Chicken Licken hopes to find Jamie's soul mate.

Chicken Licken says that finding Jamie was no easy feat and that it relied on creative partner Joe Public — as well as production company Star Films Director Tebza and cast coordinator Mlindelwa Mahlangu — to assist.

Because Jamie is not an actor, he was not cast under usual circumstances. Both teams used personal contacts, referrals and social media to shortlist 16 potential candidates, with Jamie eventually being their star choice.

The TV ad sees Jamie waking up in his home, walking down the street he lives on and catching a taxi to work just like he does every day. It even co-stars some of his family and friends.

The commercial has a simple call to action: Help Jamie Find Love at tenderapp.co.za. Chicken Licken is now asking all South Africans looking for love, to create a profile on the Tender app and stand a chance of becoming Jamie's soul mate.

The integrated campaign will run for the next eight weeks and includes social media, digital, outdoor, TV and radio. The public will get to vote for their best matches, as will Jamie, until he finds the one. Their identity will be kept top secret and will be revealed in a surprise conclusion indicative of Chicken Licken's authentic brand storytelling.

"Chicken Licken is a brand that is lovingly referred to as Mzansi's soul food. And if the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, then using a Chicken Licken Tender burger to find Jamie his soul mate makes complete sense," concludes Xolisa Dyeshana, Joe Public's chief creative officer. "The campaign will not be measured on KPIs, targets, sales, or ROIs. This campaign has one goal and one goal alone — to find Jamie love."



For more information, visit www.joepublic.co.za. You can also follow Joe Public United on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.