, April 17 -- That old-school storytelling is not commonplace today, in South Africa or marketing globally. So it's refreshing to see that not only can it still be done, it can be done well.

At first glance, the premise behind KFC's latest ad (by Ogilvy South Africa) seems ridiculous: two scientists who are so desperate for a taste of KFC that they go Awol from their Marion Island research base, grab a boat and head to the nearest KFC store, which happens to be in Cape Town, 2,300km away across the frigid and forbidding Southern Indian Ocean.

The idea is that some people will go to any length for their favourite chicken and so the exaggeration makes the point. It also emphasises that KFC lovers are part of a like-minded community, no ma...