Tuesday 26 September 2006: Watching television and SMSing certainly paid off in a big way for Johanna Malebe, from Brits in the North West Province. This 19 year old, single mother without a job entered the Soul City SMS competition and won a VW Polo valued at R117 000.00 Malebe entered the competition every single week over the 13 weeks of the latest Soul City series broadcast on SABC 1 and her loyalty clearly paid off. She was completely overwhelmed with her prize.

The most recent series was the second most popular series broadcast on television this year in South Africa. The SMS competition which required viewers to answer a question related to the series each week, created a database of 63 000 people who were contacted with reminders to watch the series. “This certainly helped to keep viewership high week after week even during the break of the World Cup,” Gule explains.

Over 100 people won prizes including tvs, cell phones and Soul City CDs over the 13 weeks of the competition and two viewers, got to have dinner with their favourite actors who play Sister Bettina and Jabu in the series.

The Soul City series has been broadcasting on television for the past 11 years. The Soul City Institute promotes health and development through the mass media and is regarded internationally as the foremost communications for social change projects in the world.

The series is sponsored by BP, Old Mutual, the series also has the support of the Department of Health and the Department of Public Service and Administration. International donors include the United Kingdom Department for International Development, PEPFAR, Centre for Disease Control Prevention and Irish Aid.

For further information or photographs, please contact Mpume Ncube of Onyx Marketing Communications on 083 222 5184 or Mpume@onyxmarketing.co.za