The young boy with the steady gaze and the scar that frames the side of his face's name is Wendel, who was the victim of a shack fire when he was three years old. Apart from the physical pain of his burn injury Wendel, early in his young life, experienced the cruelty of people as he was often ostracized and excluded because of the disfiguring scars left by the fire.
When he was seven years old Van Zyl spent eight months in hospital after an accident with mentholated spirits landed him in a coma: "Doing this commercial is something that is close to my heart,\ and I guess it shows. I decided to use my art form to help create awareness and educate the public about the dangers of fire."
After becoming closely involved in the World Burn Foundation, Van Zyl scripted the advertisement and presented it as a social awareness initiative to Y & R management.
Y & R MD Fraser Lamb says: "We loved the script and the concept the moment Richard presented it to us. Even at its proposal stages we knew that it would reach - and most importantly move - people."
World Burn Foundation's mission is to aid and assist burn survivors throughout the world - both financially and emotionally. Annually between 18 000 and 28 000 children are hospitalised with serious burn related injuries in South Africa alone.
The concept of the beautifully crafted television advert revolves around the aspirations of a young child who dreams of becoming a fire fighter. Towards the end of the production it is revealed that the young boy himself has been a burn victim. Rising star director, Jerome Tekwane directed the shoot. Y & R's Clinton Bridgeford served as creative director on the production and Leslie Wyldbord was the producer.
"Many people, including Blade Post-Production, Audio Lab and Peter Girdt Productions pulled together with Y & R to make this advertisement a reality," says van Zyl.
The advertisement has been well received by the World Burn Foundation and will soon be flighted In the USA, China, Canada, UK and Australia.
