Ogilvy Cape Town, Platypus Productions and M-Net producing a TV commercial for the Prison Broadcasting Network (PBN).

Ogilvy Cape Town and Platypus Productions are helping the Prison Broadcasting Network (PBN) with a TV commercial that will promote the work done by the TV station.

The TV commercial is produced by Tarryn Miller with Renee van Reenen as director of Platypus Productions.

"What is most exciting about this shoot is that it gives some our ex-offender students a real opportunity to work in this field" said Marius Boaden, the founder and CEO of PBN. ''The camerman, sound recordist and interviewer are all ex-offender students of PBN.

''We are grateful for how Ogilvy, Playpus and M-Net have been so willing to come together to give us this wonderful opportunity. "All of them have provided their services and expertise on a pro-bono basis.''

M-Net, Ogilvy and Shy the Sun create two new brilliantly beautiful ''Believe the magic'' TV commercials.

screengrabs: Darrin Hofmeyr

Beautiful TV commercials are rare and M-Net, Ogilvy Johannesburg and production company Shy the Sun just produced two beautiful one minute ads for the pay broadcaster's new ''Believe in Magic . . . M-Net'' marketing campaign.

The two ads - one featuring a firefly, the other a ladybug with both going on ''enchanted'' journeys through fantasy environments that's part animation, part live action - will be broadcast on M-Net from this month. In the two ads I've watched, the firefly goes on a journey and finds the moon when his electrical light blub goes out and a ladybug journeys in a bubble through a forest to rise out above the clouds.

''We're incredibly excited to be the first to bring this groundbreaking piece of work to South African viewers,'' says Koo Govender, M-Net's corporate marketing director in a press statement. ''Visually these spots break the mould completely and we're proud to have worked with Ogilvy on this campaign that will truly create a magical experience for our viewers.''

''Ad campaigns of this kind are rare globally and we're thrilled to have worked with M-Net to bring something so unique to South Africa,'' says Robyn Bergmann, the creative group head at Ogilvy Johannesburg in the same statement. ''Work like this demonstrates that our country can compete with the best in the world.''