Nando’s secret revealed

Nando’s devotees all across South Africa have discovered exactly where the delicious Peri-Peri taste of their favourite flame-grilled chicken really comes from. The answer was released in final episode of The Dubious History of the Delicious Peri-Peri which aired nationwide on Friday June 24th and which takes the story right back to the beginning of time. The Garden of Eden to be precise, where Adam can’t resist picking a hot red chilli off the sacred African Bird’s Eye Chilli Bush.

This is in spite of a written command that says “thou shalt not eat the Peri-Peri” and the appeals of Eve who knows that once Adam’s caved into the ultimate temptation, she’ll be fanning herself in a desert, away from the green lushness of the only home she’s ever known.

“There were only ever two possible endings for a commercial campaign that’s all about the unique origins of Nando’s Peri-Peri,” says Sepanta Bagherpour, Nando’s South Africa Marketing Manager of the final episode in the ground-breaking series.

“It was either going to be a Darwinian approach or one that focused on the creation of mankind – and quite frankly, the latter offered the possibility to tell a richer, more engaging story.”

The six-part “Dubious history of the Delicious Peri-Peri” has been offering viewers a rich, phenomenally detailed “mini-series”. It’s Nando’s most visual campaign to date whilst never losing the irreverence the brand is so highly-regarded for.

“Nando’s has always been about heritage – in particular the rich Afro-Portuguese heritage that Peri-Peri is so much a part of,” says Bagherpour. “The tongue-in-cheek tale of how we came to be in possession of Peri-Peri may be a different execution for us in terms of its length, but the idea of exploring, and breaking borders and even taboos is very much intrinsic to the brand.”

Alongside the standalone 30-second sixth episode which will be flighted on television, the three-minute long, “omnibus” of all six episodes of The Dubious History of the Delicious Peri-Peri will be shown at selected cinemas and on DSTV from 24 June.