This last week I drove past one of our company cars from 2003 and it brought back many good memories. I know our company had imported 7 of these Camaro Z28's replacing our imported Pontiac Bonneville's and those cars are the only ones in the country. This could have been the car I drove as it was a 1 in 6 chance knowing one was written off. The import rules today only allow for classic left hand drives to be imported and these are only just over 20 years old so definitely not a classic meeting the criteria of 40 years old.
I had to test drive the vehicles before they were ordered and the choice was between a Corvette and the Camaro Z28. The decision to go with the Camaro was quite easy as the concern was the power of the Corvette as it drove differently and the worry was the safety of our drivers. Anyone can drive a sports car, but there is big difference between whether you can handle the power of the sports car or not. The Corvette back end would kick out if you were too aggressive on the accelerator and we did not trust the others being able to handle this.
Times have definitely changed as no one gets given imported sports cars as a company vehicle these days. Nothing has compared to this since then and I now appreciate what we had. We had cigarette branding all over the car being "Chesterfield" and they were truly an eye turner. There was nowhere to hide and being based in Durban which is not that big a city I kind of knew everyone.
Driving along the freeway other cars would be flashing you with their lights saying hello and it was a different life. I had been involved in this promotional marketing role for around 4 years and it was like seeing life from a different angle. We travelled around the country hosting various sporting events and were given all the extra expenses like entertainment and clothing allowances. This is unheard of these days and sadly getting any extra allowances is just not offered.
Our role was very simple being tasked with seeing 20 smokers daily and sampling them with our brand trying to convert them to that brand. We had work stock and promotional stock which was used on promotional nights at night clubs. I would be busy most Wednesdays and Thursday evenings running ladies nights around the city.
At the time it was really good fun and calling this a job was a hard push because being in my early twenties it was a dream job. The promotional evenings I was hosting were in demand and I had a waiting list of clubs wanting my services. At the peak before I left and relocated to the UK there was a following that would come to the promotional evenings and crowds of 500 were expected hence the night clubs wanted the extra boost to their business.
The ladies nights often had many prizes on offer and I would go the extra mile getting prizes from companies I knew from visiting during my daytime sampling work. There were flights overseas, makeup, clothes, gym memberships and so many other giveaways. The other cigarette and alcohol brands could not compete and did not have such a following of supporters due to not putting in the extra work required. At one point I had the South African Breweries and KWV wineries coming on board co hosting sponsoring these events which made these events even bigger.
The networking during those days I wish I had today because in Durban it felt like I knew everyone. The police stations were not like they are today and would make sure I visited at least a couple each week. Not that I ever needed their help but when it came to road blocks I would be flashed through being told not to wait and was clear to drive around the beacons on the road. i would never drink and drive so for myself it made no difference whether I was tested or not.
Having a sports car at such a young age was great as I had completed advanced driving licenses as a company requisite for insurance purposes. Having an advanced license cheapened the insurance premiums and gave you the use of the school facilities like the skid pan. Unfortunately a few of the promotional team members in other parts of the country lost their lives having lost control crashing their cars at high speed whilst under the influence.
Times have changed as the local laws do not allow for any cigarette advertising so there is no point for having promotional vehicles or a promotional team. Back in the 1990's and early 2000's the company sponsored most major sporting and incoming international pop and rock music events.
