by Thinus Ferreira

After 71 days Michelle Mphowabadimo Vundla was announced as the winner on Sunday night of the decidedly lackluster 5th season of the Big Brother Mzansi reality show on DStv.

Previously known as Big Brother South Africa, M-Net revived the Endemol camera-filled house reality format following the success of Big Brother Naija in Nigeria.

Big Brother Mzansi as a Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) production that also ran as a DStv pop-up channel on MultiChoice had mixed success with disappointing results due to various contributing factors.

Mzansi Magic media liaison was below par for the revival with nobody left who worked on previous iterations with the bulk of publicity that happened before for the show – or for Big Brother Naija – absent before and during the season’s run in South Africa, in turn leading to little interest and coverage from South African media that would have covered the show.

Interviews with executives and producers didn’t materialise and Big Brother Mzansi was hampered by extremely poor production values throughout from Red Pepper Pictures, with bad video and sound, host Lawrence Maleka struggling with the autocue, and an avalanche of in-show branding and product-placement from sponsors Lotto Star and Johnnie Walker that severely detracted from the show and turned large parts into an ongoing TV commercial.

During Sunday night’s 2-hour finale – with performances by MiCasa, Q-Mark, TpZee, Afriikan Papi and Zakes Bantwini – the tearful 27-year old sangoma from Daveyton who ended up the winner said “Thank you, Mzansi” after she fell to her knees as she was announced as being R2 million richer.

“I’m excited and anxious, but I’m happy to be here,” Mphowabadimo, said to Lawrence Maleka earlier
in Sunday night’s live finale.

“It has changed me a lot. I
have grown, I have healed, I’m a bigger person than I was walking into the
house. I am grateful for this experience. I will never be the same,” she said after her exit.

The Big Brother Mzansi runner-up was the 28-year old entrepreneur and fashion designer Gershwin ‘Gash1’ Mthombeni from Pretoria.

Earlier in Sunday night’s show, he said: “I didn’t think I’d
make it this far. But through praying every night and every morning, I made it
here. I’m proud to be here.”

Mphowabadimo also triumphed over Tulani ‘Tulz’ Madala, Libo Njomba and Themba
Mabaso to win the season.

Three of the top 5 were evicted before the winner was announced, with
Tulz being the first to leave the house. The 28-year-old radio host and
voiceover artist from Tsolo left without ever being nominated for eviction
throughout his stay.

The 32-year-old Libo from King William’s Town was next on the chopping
block. Next to be evicted was tattoo artist Themba, the 30-year-old from
Alexandra.

Shirley Adonisi, M-Net director of local entertainment channels, says in a statement “Big Brother Mzansi returned bigger and better after a seven-year
hiatus, and we’ve had a spectacular and very successful season”.

“We’re proud of
the production and how it resonated with our viewers, who loved every minute
and kept talking about it from beginning to end”.

Editor’s note: There was an in-person post-finale press conference for media with Michelle Mphowabadimo Vundla, Shirley Adonisi, and other people, following the conclusion of Big Brother Mzansi.

However, MultiChoice and M-Net didn’t bother to alert the majority of media in South Africa that something like that was scheduled and would be taking place. It resulted in basically no comprehensive coverage of what happened there or was said there with major media outlets not attending.

The press conference echoed the bizarre and haphazard publicity strategy that Mzansi Magic had around Big Brother Mzansi where press covering television in South Africa were by and large completely excluded and not communicated with during the course of the season, in sharp contrast with the communication strategy and PR people to when the show was running seven years ago.

Besides unable to tell journalists that a press conference would take place, MultiChoice and M-Net publicists at Mzansi Magic excluded media not in Johannesburg with no virtual link to watch it, and sadly no opportunity to follow the Big Brother Mzansi press conference or to ask questions, with no accessible recording afterwards.