Ray Smuts CAPE TOWN produced eminent Thespian Sir Anthony Sher, and Boksburg, glamorous actress Charlize Theron but how about a round of applause for our newest stars, the sun-splashed oranges of Groblersdal? This lighter side to Capespan's thrust for greater market share in the Far East emerged following FTW's report (June 22) about the fruit marketer deciding to make its first television commercial promoting Outspan navels in Hong Kong and elsewhere and in doing so taking California competitor Sunkist head-on. A decision was taken that the orchards of Citrusdal in the Cape would feature but there was a major problem. The oranges did not yet have the required deep colour to satisfy all and sundry so a touch of artistic licence had to be resorted to by picking ripe and well-hued Groblersdal oranges and filming them in the orchards of Citrusdal! But there was more to come, of the artistic licence variety, I mean. In his quest for a panoramic sunrise sequence, the film-maker could not find the ideal orchard with the perfect mountain backdrop so a Karoo mountain was chosen and a computer did the rest. The most difficult task was to find a tiny Chinese girl to show Hong Kong television watchers how delicious Outspan oranges are but Capespan did not have to venture anywhere near a modelling agency. Pigtailed six-year-old Jesse Hou was discovered in a Chinese restaurant.
