In the first few days of its release, the Spar ‘Xmas’ ad received over 700,000 views on Bevan’s Facebook page alone, with more than 7,000 shares and most interestingly countless messages from South African expats saying it brought them to tears of joy and nostalgia. “Someone from the UK even messaged me asking for an independent link to the ad because she was going to use it to present a talk at her daughter’s school about life in South Africa,” says Bevan.

For Bevan, this project was the kind that comedy directors dream of. “The agency and clients gave us such a concise brief, it was clear what we needed to do, but within that, they gave us carte blanche. It’s so rare to hear the words, ‘Go do your thing, and if we think you’ve gone too far, just make sure you have a backup.’ That trust allowed us to craft something truly special. When an agency has a good relationship with their client, this kind of thing happens.” he says.

Behind the scenes on Spar ‘Xmas’ shot in Cullinan

This freedom extended to the casting process, where Bevan reviewed over 100 self-taped auditions from actors living in the UK, Wales and Scotland before landing on comedian Charlie Partridge as the lead. “Charlie has this incredible physicality and sharp improvisational mind. He speaks my language,” Bevan shares. Before the shoot, Charlie got a crash course in South African culture, including a braai at Bevan’s place with what Bevan calls “some of my weirdest friends”. Here the Brit started really soaking up local humour and mannerisms. “It gave him a real grasp of the script’s context, so by the time we got to set, he had the freedom to improvise and fully lean into his character,” Bevan explains.

Bevan approaches comedy with the precision of a master craftsman, mining every scene for gags with a sharp eye for timing and structure. It’s no surprise he has such an academic approach, considering he completed his Honours in Physical Comedy at Rhodes University before becoming one of South Africa’s most well-known comedians and eventually taking his seat in the director’s chair almost two decades ago now.

“Structurally, I always look for the perfect setup and punchline. Take the scene where the British character tries to play cricket, a sport he announces that they invented, but we know they aren’t great at it. The punchline is a child bowling him out, followed by his deadpan reaction, ‘I think it’s time for a sandwich.’ In its simplest form comedy is about those kinds of moments of contrast and surprise.”

Moments before getting bowled out, true British style

Elton Arnot, Creative Director at TBWA Hunt Lascaris Durban, first got the ball rolling on this campaign, compiling a list of uniquely South African insights, like kids playing cricket in the streets or the mountain of food at a traditional braai. He gathered about 35 ideas, and Bevan and comedy writer Brendan Jack worked through each one, pulling out the comedy from a distinctly British perspective.

“My favourite moment in the commercial? I absolutely loved the unscripted side interviews we had, where I’d feed Charlie (the British lead) cues to spark improvisation. There’s so much craft in those moments, and they’re often when I laugh the hardest on set. For instance, while he was sitting in the Volksie, we were rolling, and Charlie just threw out a line, ‘What do you call a South African who braais? Bryan.’ We both cracked up, and it became a perfect, spontaneous moment that we could weave into the story,” says Bevan.

Executive Producer at Together Films, Gaye Leong adds, “Casting Charlie was a stroke of genius on Bevan’s part, but beyond the comedy gold performances I have to say, this was one of my favourite shoots in all my years. There was just such a strong sense of love, energy, and, for lack of a better word, togetherness. It was pure magic.”

Director Bevan Cullinan on set asking a human to move a thing.

“In comedy advertising you always run the risk of the brand or product watering down the humour, but this was a dream brief because there was zero dilution. It’s rare for everything to align so perfectly, the right people, an agency that trusts the project, and a client who believes in it. That’s when everyone in the chain can truly do their best work. It’s the team effort and level of collaboration that made this so special,” says Bevan.

Wanna (s)talk some more? Together Films on IDIDTHAT and Company Website.