Ina Paarman

Bringing comfort to a Cold South African winter

Magnetic helped South Africans rethink winter, transforming a shared cold-weather pain point into a clear value proposition that moved both people and performance.

See the Process & Results

Hibernation marketing campaign with Barry Hilton for Ina Paarman

The challenge

Making Winter Staples Feel Essential

South African winters may be short, but they have a way of changing the national mood. As temperatures drop, the search for warmth becomes a shared ritual, from extra layers and hot water bottles to the comfort of a proper meal at home.

Ina Paarman’s Kitchen approached Magnetic to help drive awareness and demand for its winter range, with a focus on soups, curries, and pasta sauces. The opportunity was to connect the brand to a seasonal moment people already understood, then position its products as the simple, satisfying answer to the cold.

Our challenge was to create a campaign that felt culturally true, unmistakably Ina Paarman, and entertaining enough to earn attention during one of the brand’s most important seasonal windows.

The Simple Way to do winter with soup and sauce products

hiber-nation

Drag

The Insight

A Hunger for Humor

South Africans have a famously low tolerance for cold weather. A slight drop in temperature can feel like a national event, complete with blankets, heaters, layered clothing, hot water bottles, and dramatic declarations about surviving the season.

That gave us a rich cultural truth to work with. In South Africa, winter feels less like a season and more like a shared ritual, one people collectively endure, exaggerate, and laugh about together.

By recognizing that behavior with warmth and humor, Ina Paarman’s Kitchen could meet people inside a moment they already knew, then offer an easier and far more delicious way through it.

The Simple way to do winter Seated on the couch with barry hilton

digital video spots

the idea

HiberNation

HiberNation became our name for the seasonal state South Africans know all too well.

A place where people retreat into blankets, avoid the cold at all costs, and look for anything that feels warm, familiar, and comforting.

The campaign gave Ina Paarman’s Kitchen a playful way to own winter. It captured the absurdity of how people respond to the cold, then brought the brand in as the simple way to do winter.

Barry Hilton looking surprised eating a bowl of soup

humor

Celebrity partnership

Giving Winter a Comedic Voice

To bring HiberNation to life, we partnered with South African comedy icon Barry Hilton.

Barry gave the campaign a face, a voice, and a distinctly local sense of timing. His dry, familiar humor helped us capture the melodrama of hibernating South Africans while keeping the brand approachable and entertaining.

Across TV, digital video, and print, Barry served as the audience’s comedic observer, reacting to the lengths people go to in the name of staying warm.

The simple way to do winter with the soup products

Creative Execution

creative execution

Serving Up Warmth at Every Touchpoint

We built a campaign world that felt part sitcom, part winter survival guide, and fully grounded in the everyday realities of South African homes.

The visual language balanced exaggerated cold-weather behavior with rich, appetizing product moments. Barry delivered the comedic setup, while soups, curries, and pasta sauces delivered the payoff.

Every asset was designed to make people smile, feel seen, and want something warm on the table.

Deliverables included:

Campaign concept and messaging
TV and digital video spots
Social media and display assets
Print advertising
In-store POS and sales support materials
Influencer and community engagement support

Layout showing social rollout and response

Influencer Marketing

The results

A Seasonal Platform That Moved People & Performance

Reach & Engagement

87M

total impressions
52%

engagement rate on social content (industry benchmark: -8%)
11M

video views (exceeding goal by 30%)
9M

total engagements

Influencer Engagement

20

creators participated organically, doubling projected engagement
200k+

combined interactions across influencer content

Sales Impact

14%

increase in winter product sales YOY
3-Year High in Sales Volume

Across stews, sauces, and curries

Brand Lift

67%

of surveyed customers recalled the campaign
82%

of those said the campaign made them more likely to consider Ina Paarman for winter meals

conclusion

Tapping Into Cultural Truth

HiberNation proved the strength of pairing cultural truth with product relevance.  By turning winter discomfort into a shared joke and a clear reason to reach for Ina Paarman’s Kitchen, Magnetic helped the brand create a campaign that felt timely, ownable, and deeply connected to how South Africans actually experience the season.  A cold-weather pain point became a warm, memorable, high-performing campaign platform.