Springbok Captain John Smit – Placing Africa on the World Map

Seems like we have been too much about cars, and Africa has been progressing in the world of sports by taking part in competitions around the world. There have been many won games and trophies in areas such as athletics, volleyball, football, rugby and others. Sport has placed Africa in the international limelight time and again.

Springboks has done Africa proud so many times. Tribal as we are in Africa, you should see us when an African team is bashing an English, Australian, American or Fijian rugby team to smithereens! The Springboks have won two world cups, one in 1995 when South Africa hosted the game and the other in 2007.

The team’s 50^th captain John Smit placed Africa on the world map when Land Rover South Africa announced him as a brand ambassador. John Smit is the most capped forward in South Africa’s Rugby history and he is also an international rugby legend. Land Rover is a British car manufacturer that specializes in four-wheel-drives. Well, what do Smit and Land Rover have in common? They are both big, muscled and internationally acclaimed. I mean, John Smit would be hard to miss in any street, wouldn’t he? Well, so would the Land Rover!

John Smit being an African player represented the Land Rover brand in support of their global partnership with the Rugby world cup. This was in an effort to promote the brand to the fans of rugby at the world cup 2011 so that they would be as passionate about the brand as they were about rugby.

By relating to John Smit who drives a Land Rover, the fans would identify with the player as well as with the manufacturer. Since the game was to be watched by fans all over the world, the affiliation brought Land Rover and Africa to the spotlight. I would say these two deserve each other.

Being an ambassador and an owner of Land Rover for many years, John Smit believed in the style, the reputation, the product and the rugged lifestyle that a land rover displays anywhere. The imagination that the combo of John Smit and the Land Rover provokes is that of a strong land, a strong African people that deserve a strong car, like a cross between an SUV and a truck.

Land Rover has been around Africa for a long time. In fact, many of us can rightly claim that this is the first car we set our eyes on, back when these metallic apparitions were rare things in the Africa countryside. However, competition from cheaper brands like Toyota, Isuzu and Nissan have been snatching the carpet from right under the feet of the Land Rover. I would say that picking John Smit was smart.

As Africa is growing,it is gradually becoming a lucratibve market for vehicles. Thus, every vehicle maker is on a bid to make a mark in Africa. Renault, Foton and Tiggo Motors have been the latest entrants in the market, having been preceded by the refurbished Mahindra not so long ago