Key Takeaways:
- Nando’s has launched a new brand direction, "Oh What a Place!", which signals a return to its roots as a cultural institution in South Africa
- The brand is focusing on its core values of flame-grilled food, warm hospitality, and a sense of humor that is uniquely South African
- Nando’s is shifting its strategy from fast and convenient to full and meaningful, prioritizing people and connection over automation
- The brand is rediscovering its greatest advantage, which is the people who make the chicken, and is using this to reimagine its future
- Nando’s is betting on a more meaningful and messier approach, focusing on energy, optimism, and warmth, rather than just convenience
Introduction to Nando’s New Brand Direction
Nando’s, a beloved South African brand, has been serving more than just chicken for 38 years – it has been serving a way of being South African. The brand has recently launched a new ad campaign, "Oh What a Place!", which is not just a tagline, but a signal that the original South African maverick remains a cultural institution that cooks as boldly as the people it serves. This new direction is a return to the ingredients that built one of South Africa’s most loved brands: flame-grilled food, warm hospitality, and a sense of humor that could only come from South Africa.
From Category Noise to Cultural Signal
Nando’s has never been just a restaurant, it’s a meeting point for everything that makes South Africa hum – humor, heat, and humanity served with flame-grilled precision. In a world where brands fight to stay relevant with hashtags and half-baked "purpose", Nando’s is making its mark the old-fashioned way: with substance, flavor, and feeling. The brand’s chief Brand and Customer officer, Jessica Wheeler, says that this new direction is not a campaign, but a reset – a return to the way Nando’s was built from day one. The thread running through it all is the people who make the chicken, which is not just a copywriting slogan, but the business model.
The New Brand Ad
The new brand ad, narrated by legendary news anchor Noxolo Grootboom, features local hip hop megastar Kwesta and Rachel, a Nandoca turned TikTok phenomenon, as well as real Nando’s grillers and a cast of South Africans who embody the elusive "thing" that you can’t quite explain, but you know it when you feel it. The ad doesn’t explain the culture – it lives in it. Melusi Mhlungu, COO of We Are Bizarre, the creative agency behind the campaign, says that the ad is not a performance, but a mirror that reflects the humor, heart, and hustle of South Africans. This is what happens when creativity stops chasing trends and starts reflecting people.
The Strategy Under the Skin
Nando’s CEO, Mike Cathie, doesn’t take for granted the operational shifts needed to meet the now public promise of a surprising, delightful Nando’s experience. The brand has been rebuilding from the kitchen out, focusing on what gives it its real fire: exceptional food, a better total experience, and a brand that reflects the true spirit of South Africa. This is not just PR fluff, but operational muscle. Everything, from service rituals to design to menu, has been engineered, optimized, and in many instances, reimagined to signal a return to what really matters to customers. This includes more generous meals, louder laughs, bigger sauce bottles, and in some restaurants, even bottomless soft serve and drinks.
Why It Matters
In a category obsessed with convenience, Nando’s is betting on something messier and more meaningful: people and connection. The brand is leaning into what South Africans have always recognized as its unfair advantage: energy, optimism, and the kind of warmth that can’t be automated. This is not about going back, but about going deeper. The real Nando’s story was never written in ad copy, but was lived, daily, by the people behind the counter, in the kitchen, and at the table. The same creativity and resilience that built the brand more than three decades ago are now being used to reimagine its future. It’s easy to dismiss this as nostalgia, but it’s not – it’s strategy. Nando’s is rediscovering its greatest advantage, which is the people who make the chicken. This is not a campaign, but a comeback.