Now, I have no doubt whatsoever that Nando's did not have anything to do with the SMS campaign that has "The Last Supper" as a theme under the slogan: "Jesus has had his chips".
But, the question one needs to ask is this: has the Nando's brand been tarnished by this or is it benefiting from this however tacky but nonetheless serendipitous campaign? Benefited the way it did when it used to run those controversial TV commercials featuring little old blind ladies walking into lamp posts?
There has been a lot of this sort of thing lately. Only recently, Mastercard started seeing people the world over creating amateur campaigns on their "priceless" theme. And surely, there can be no doubt that tasteless as some of these might be, they nonetheless appeal to quite a huge market?
Certainly Nando's have come out very strongly denying any involvement in this latest SMS campaign. In a press release issued yesterday, Monday 14 November, Nando's MD Kevin Utian made it clear: "The advertising in question does not belong to Nando's and is blatantly untrue. Nando's will not treat its customers with such disrespect. Although we are known to push the boundaries with our irreverent tone and typically South African sense of humour, Nando's has never and will never condone advertising that attempts to belittle, undermine or discredit a religious belief."
But, has this actually done them any harm? Probably not, if one can assume that the messages were targeted at people who were most likely to appreciate them and not get their sensitivities in a knot.
Then of course one needs to add all the media hype that will surround this campaign. Clearly, having issued a very strong statement, Nando's will come out of this smelling like roses. And of course they should, shouldn't they?
But, like it or not, Nando's will be the beneficiaries of a lot of attention. The less sensitive South Africans will probably think the whole concept is quite funny and the more sensitive will believe it to be outright blasphemous, but will appreciate Nando's strong denial and reaffirmation of the need to protect religious values.
Can one assume therefore that this is a win-win situation for everybody? And if so, isn't there the danger of some brand a lot less considerate than Nando's contriving one of these fake SMS campaign just to glory in the resulting publicity?
And does the media have some sort of responsibility? Because, without this being publicised, only a few hundred people at most would have been aware of the campaign. Has Nando's apology not just laid bare the controversy to millions of people? Was it not an option for Nando's just to keep quiet and respond only to those who contacted them directly to complain?
A lot of questions crying out for answers. And the biggest question of all: religious sensitivity aside - from a pure marketing point of view did Nando's win or lose and just how much did the media help or hinder?
