60 Years OF 'much, Much More OF The Lunchbar Man'

This year, LunchBar celebrates 60 years in South Africa. To mark the occasion, SA’s favourite award-winning conspiracy theorist is back (Image supplied)

The LunchBar Man racked up more than 191 million views on TikTok and the YouTube ad enjoyed an incredible watch-through rate of 97%.

The online game had nearly 350,000 new users testing their knowledge of LunchBar lore for a shot at a cash prize. And LunchBars flew off the shelves.

“It was a monumental success,” says Ryan van Son, creative director at VML South Africa, the agency behind the campaign.

“We saw a huge increase in product sales and unbelievable digital numbers.”

Most iconic and beloved ads

Key to the campaign’s success was the intriguing character of Bra Lucas, played to perfection by veteran actor Fezile Mpela.

With LunchBar celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, it was Oviaas he had to take the conspiracy further.

“LunchBar has featured some of South Africa’s most iconic and beloved ads over the past six decades,” says Jacques Bezuidenhout, brand equity lead: chocolate & biscuits.

“Bra Lucas is a modern classic, he carries on that legacy of light-hearted playfulness that’s so true to the LunchBar brand.”

Shiny 60th birthday gift

The 2024 conspiracy campaign also just won triple gold at the Smarties Awards and a Bronze TikTok Ads Award, and its sequel is as nutty as ever.

In the latest instalment, a mysterious monolith has popped up at “Africa’s Stonehenge” – and Bra Lucas discovers a startling connection to the LunchBar wrapper.

Could the monolith be a shiny 60th birthday gift from LunchBar’s extraterrestrial aficionados?

@thelunchbarman A mysterious structure appears at Africa’s Stone Henge as LunchBar celebrates 60 years? Bra Lucas thinks it’s no coincidence. What’s the connection? Find out at thelunchbarman.co.za #60YearsofLunchBar ♬ original sound - TheLunchBarMan

Refreshed campaign

South Africans were excited to welcome Bra Lucas back to their feeds, with the first TikTok reaching nine million views in a day.

That number has since grown to more than 60 million views. Subsequent TikToks are hot on its heels.

The refreshed campaign includes a new online game and a high-stakes competition: 60 LunchBar fans stand the chance to win their share of R1m by entering the unique code inside the wrapper of their favourite chocolate snack.

It also pays homage to previous legendary LunchBar ads, giving fans all the nostalgic feels and embracing the irreverent fun that LunchBar’s stood for and built over time.

Behind the scenes

It took around six months to bring The LunchBar Man’s sequel campaign to life, using a combination of live action, VFX and AI.

Like the first iteration, part two once again displays meticulous attention to craft.

From ideating with tinfoil hats on their heads to creating themed Teams backgrounds, the team immersed themselves in The LunchBar Man’s world, creating an absurd and comical story that captures the imagination because it almost feels believable.

“There’s the theme of continuing the conspiracy with the community, because we've built this community of fellow conspiracy theorists – it would be bad form to drop them now,” says Lisia Barnard, senior strategist at VML.

Pause and smile

“People are saying things like, ‘hectic guys, I believe’.”

Bra Lucas makes you pause and smile before you scroll on.

“It's giving people something to engage with in a fun way, which is really lovely,” says Anna Nashandi, client services director at VML.

“It cuts through the clutter of the typical content you see nowadays, where it's just the brand and the product in your face. It’s speaking to people in the right way on the right platforms.”

“It’s good fun and I think that’s the crux of it,” adds van Son.

“People want to be involved and entertained with something new and interesting, you can’t bore people then expect meaningful results – it’s simple, intriguing fun and therein lies the beauty.”