When Shell South Africa challenged VML to strengthen emotional connection with a brand that has been part of South African life for more than 120 years, the agency quickly realised the task wasn’t one of awareness. It was one of relevance.

Consumers knew Shell. The challenge was helping them reconnect with the role the brand continues to play in everyday South African lives. The result is You Can Always Count on Shell, a long-term brand platform rooted in a simple truth: trust isn’t built through what brands say, but through how consistently they show up for people over time.

At a time when brands are facing increasing pressure to demonstrate relevance beyond products, the platform aims to strengthen emotional connection by focusing on the role Shell plays in enabling progress, supporting communities and powering everyday journeys.

According to the latest Havas Meaningful Brands™ research, 78% of brands could disappear tomorrow without consumers caring, highlighting the growing importance of building trust and creating meaningful relationships with audiences. For Shell, the opportunity was not about increasing recognition. It was about deepening relevance and reminding South Africans of the role the brand has played, and continues to play, in enabling everyday journeys and contributing to progress.

“Awareness has never been Shell’s challenge. The opportunity was to deepen relevance and connection in a way that is meaningful to South Africans today,” says Monica Sithole, Marketing Manager at Shell South Africa. “We wanted to move beyond product-led communication and focus instead on the role Shell plays in enabling progress, both in everyday journeys and through the broader contribution we make to communities. You Can Always Count on Shell provides a platform that allows us to do that consistently and authentically over time.”

From business challenge to brand platform

The original brief was not focused on celebrating Shell’s 120-year heritage or driving immediate fuel sales. Instead, the challenge was to strengthen emotional closeness between the brand and South Africans by ensuring Shell remained relevant in people’s everyday lives.

“The original brief wasn’t about driving fuel sales; it was about rebuilding emotional closeness,” says Nyiko Mahange, Creative Director at VML. “While Shell has been part of South Africa for more than 120 years, the challenge wasn’t one of awareness or perception. It was about relevance in people’s everyday lives.”

VML’s strategic thinking centred on a simple human insight: you cannot rebuild closeness from a distance. “Instead of talking about products or performance, we focused on Shell’s role in the lives of South Africans and the progress it has helped power for generations,” Mahange explains. “That shifted the conversation from what Shell sells to what Shell stands for.” This thinking led to the development of You Can Always Count on Shell; a platform that positions Shell as a trusted neighbour: a brand that is local, visible, dependable and committed to South Africa’s future.

Finding the creative breakthrough

With the strategic direction established, the creative team was given the freedom to explore how the platform could come to life. “The brief intentionally gave the creative and production teams room to explore,” says Mahange. “There was no storyboard or prescribed execution. That freedom allowed us to move beyond traditional product communication and search for a more meaningful emotional truth.”

The breakthrough came during the development of the campaign manifesto, which became the creative compass for the work. “It captured Shell’s enduring relationship with South Africa and expressed its role as a brand that has consistently shown up through generations,” says Mahange. “That was the moment we knew we had uncovered an idea with both emotional power and strategic clarity.”

The team then reframed the storytelling approach: rather than creating a film about Shell’s past, they created a story about Shell’s future and the role the brand continues to play in South African lives. “We realised we weren’t making a film about Shell’s heritage; we were making a film about Shell’s future. Beyond the forecourt, the storytelling was always that you can always count on Shell. That stopped just being a line and became the emotional spine of the whole piece.”

Bringing the story to life

Working with Dean Blomberg and production house Massif, the campaign was translated into a cinematic story that honours Shell’s heritage while looking confidently towards the future.

“Early on, the deeper we went into the brand with VML, the more we learned about Shell,” says Campaign Director. “When a brand can still teach you things, you know you’re in good hands. From there, we built a tapestry of human moments and brand-centric interactions; never overt, never overly sentimental.” Authenticity was central to the production approach, particularly through casting and visual treatment.

“As a director, I put performance first. In a film with no dialogue, the faces carry it all. I was adamant we cast real South African faces, texture, warmth and specificity; never the polished model type.” The visual language was developed around Amber Beacon, a bespoke treatment inspired by Shell’s heritage of warmth and light. “The through-line across 120 years is light itself; from a single flame to the glow of a forecourt canopy on a dark night,” says the director. “We took real life and romanticised it cinematically, but never let it look artificial.”

The production team prioritised authenticity by building and filming as much as possible in-camera, using technology only where necessary to support the storytelling. You Can Always Count on Shell is designed as more than a campaign. It is a long-term brand platform that provides a foundation for stories of progress, resilience and community; allowing Shell to move beyond transactional relationships and continue playing a role in South Africa’s broader journey.

More than a celebration of 120 years, the platform reinforces Shell’s commitment to supporting South Africans’ journeys, ambitions and progress for generations to come.