(9 November 2011) The Bob Shop television commercial dubbed It's a Jungle Out There was released nationally across major TV channels on 5 November. The 30 seconds ad focuses on the more painful sides of real life shopping in a humorous way, suggesting that people should opt for an alternative and shop online on Bob Shop, from the comfort of their homes.

The ad features a young couple caught up in the mayhem of a typical mall at its busiest, with stereotypical characters souring their shopping experience. The surprise element comes in with the use of both real and constructed animals to portray these mall characters.

Our goal was to create a TV ad that was fun and unique, just like our brand is, says Bob Shop CEO Jaco Jonker and explains: Our advertising agency, Volcano, took time to understand our business. We are told that many of their staff members are now regulars on bobshop.co.za. So, it is no wonder they managed to come up with a creative idea that is both entertaining and carries an effective marketing message.

Egg Productions executed the idea with ingenuity and scientific precision. They organised the appearance of animatronics designed by CFX Productions, filmed real hyenas in a real shopping mall, and built a mall replica on a game farm to capture on film the animals that could neither be brought to the mall nor constructed. Sinister Studios stitched it all together in a meticulously done post production.

The four minutes long It's a Jungle Out There - Behind the Scenes video shot by Timmy Henny gives an idea of the magnitude of the undertaking.

An advert is only as good as the underlying product, and we are confident in the excellence of what we provide: a sophisticated platform for individuals and businesses to trade online, adds Bob Shop CEO Jaco Jonker.

To celebrate their television advertising debut, Bob Shop is organising an online competition in which entrants can win their share of R10,000 cash to spend on Bob Shop. If any of the winners happen to be new to the world of online shopping, they need not worry. A human shopping assistant will be there to ease any initial apprehensions, so natural when we first venture into an environment we are not used to, says Jaco Jonker.