Hip hop heavyweight and unlikely presidential candidate <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#99f4e0256f16">Kanye West</a> has released a religion-steeped campaign ad that calls for voters to write his name in on their ballots and urges Americans to “revive our nation’s commitment to faith,” as West says in the spot.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



With less than a month to go until Election Day, West dropped a new nearly one-minute-and-30-second advertisement that heavily featured the themes of prayer and religion.



“We as a people will revive our nation’s commitment to faith, to what our constitution calls the free exercise of religion, including, of course, prayer,” West says in the ad. “Through prayer, faith can be restored.”



West, a devout Christian, has been open about his beliefs throughout his relatively short run for president—he even reportedly asked political to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/09/16/kanye-west-reportedly-asked-campaign-staffers-to-refrain-from-fornicating-outside-marriage/#35d914334736">refrain from extramarital sex</a>&nbsp;while working on his campaign.



“By turning to faith, we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be,” West said in the ad.



At the end of the ad, the written message to “<a href="https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1315766834046541825?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">write in Kanye West</a>” appears to be a concession to the fact that it is mathematically impossible for him to win the election because of his campaign’s late start in July, which has allowed him to qualify for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/elanagross/2020/09/08/kanye-west-now-on-ballot-in-12-states-after-qualifying-in-mississippi/#72023207712c">the ballot</a>&nbsp;in just a handful of states.



During an August interview with Forbes, when the fact was raised that it was virtually impossible for him to win, West replied, “I’m not going to argue with you. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2020/08/06/exclusive-kanye-west-indicates-that-his-spoiler-campaign-is-indeed-designed-to-hurt-biden/#52b7744c6397">Jesus is King</a>.”



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“We as a people are called to a greater purpose than ourselves. We are not only a beacon to the world, but we should be servants to each other,” West said in the ad. “To encourage each other, to help each other, to lift up each other. Our fellow Americans, that we may all prosper together. We have to act on faith.”



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Forbes estimates West is worth <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/kanye-west/#99f4e0256f16">$1.3 billion</a>, thanks largely to his profitable Yeezy brand deal with sportswear giant Adidas and his separate Yeezy clothing line.



-By Carlie Porterfield, Forbes Staff

US-PEOPLE-politics-RACE-TRUMP-KANYE

Kanye West Angles For Write-In Presidential Votes With Campaign Ad Calling For Religious Revival

When a veteran American comedian and actor Jon Stewart retired as the anchor of The Daily Show late in 2015, after 16 years at the helm, his producers scrambled to offer the job to everyone from Chris Rock to Amy Schumer. They settled on the fresh face from South Africa, with an unusual accent, to dissect and satirize the complex United States political scene as it heads for this year’s elections.
Months before the first show went to air, on September 28, American journalists were skeptical. They didn’t believe Trevor Noah could fill Stewart’s shoes in a show that once captured 3.57 million viewers when Barack Obama breezed through on the cusp of his 2008 election victory.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4935" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Trev-226x300.jpg" alt="" width="226" height="300" />
Bad reviews followed and Noah’s viewership has fallen compared to the days of Stewart. Seven months on, before a press gathering on set, to mark his 100th show, the 32-year-old from Soweto is unfazed.
“It makes sense to me, if my ratings weren’t down I would be offended on behalf of Jon Stewart. It would make sense that people are going to see the king on his way out, when you’re building a new legacy you need to do exactly that. That means building on a new legacy. Television as a whole is down in America. The biggest thing you have to acknowledge is that there are multiple streams of viewership that are happening now,” says Noah.
Despite the drop in popularity among American viewers – the Nielsen ratings report a 37% decline – it broadcasts to 170 countries, compared to 163 when Noah took over.
“These ratings aren’t disastrous, but considering that politics are the bread and butter of late night television, Noah’s numbers are disappointing. Given this preposterous election season, the material practically writes itself. In Jon Stewart’s 2011-2012 season, his nightly average was 1.7 million viewers,” says Hayley Cuccinello a New York-based TV critic.
The show also generates an average of 67 million monthly streams across digital platforms, in 2016, up 22% against 2015.
Noah says the rise of the web is changing people’s viewing habits as millennials switch from television to the internet. His critics agree that these millennials are supporting Noah.
“I like Trevor’s show, I think his take is unique and he is not necessarily copying Jon Stewart. He is kind of doing his own style, maybe a little bit more humorous and characterizations. He is inspired by Jon but he is not just doing imitation of him. The brand of The Daily Show itself is enough to get people interested, especially online, I think Trevor is doing a good thing with social media. I personally don’t watch it on TV a lot but watch it on Facebook and YouTube clips, so I think social media has helped him reach out to people, not necessarily on TV, he has to branch out on other outlets,” says 24-year-old Nader Salem, from New Jersey.
Indeed, the audience at Noah’s 100th show on April 28, in Manhattan, had many people from afar. There were a number of South Africans, supporting their own, including the South African Broadcasting Corporation correspondent in New York, Sherwin Bryce-Pease, and Sunday Times’ entertainment writer Azizzar Mosupi, who flew in for the show.
“We are SAA (South African Airways) employees. It is mandatory for every African in New York to make time for the show. We love Trevor. He is an inspiration to every African child. He is the living proof anything is possible,” says Zanda Setlaleleng.
“I watched Jon Stewart and I have been watching Trevor Noah as well, I didn’t realize today is the 100th show, I am glad I am here tonight. Trevor is very different from Jon but pretty great too. He has a very different view of things that I think people can learn from. I appreciate his sense of humor. Hundredth show on my birthday, there you go,” says Fiona Charlton, a visitor to New York from Britain.
On the night of the show, Noah ran to the stage, fired up, in a black tailored suit and tie. He made the house rules clear to the cheering audience: “This thing is like a sex tape – people watch to get off on seeing both people having a good time… So, you have to give me your all because I am going to give you mine.”
Noah prides himself in a diverse team of scriptwriters who advise him on issues of religion, nationality and gender.
“There’s nothing off limits, it’s just what are you trying to do with a joke. Even before The Daily Show I always liked jokes that bring people together, and jokes that build the nation. In South Africa I made jokes about the president, to his face, for many years. He knows me, people in Parliament know me. That never stopped me from engaging with them and them engaging with me. There’s an implicit understanding. The worst thing that can happen is when somebody takes your joke to hurt another person or group when you didn’t intend to do that.”
Noah stepped into the comedy scene through a dare. In the early 2000s, he was a regular at the comedy clubs in Johannesburg. One night the host called for newcomers to take the microphone, his drunk friends pushed Noah on stage.
That night, Noah slayed them in the aisles and never looked back. In a few years, he would become the country’s favorite comedian, playing to packed houses, and the host of Tonight With Trevor Noah on M-Net across Africa.
Noah says South Africa will always be home and he keeps tabs on the political scene. He is not eligible to vote in the US elections he comments on nightly, but on August 3 he will be one of many South Africans casting their vote at the embassy in New York for in the municipal elections back home.
“Over the years travelling, performing comedy all over the world and now doing The Daily Show, I have learned if you stay true to yourself and if you are proud of who you are and where you come from, that in itself becomes the mantle. I love telling jokes about South Africa and Africa, I will go for the disparaging comments that people think are stereotypes of the continent. I myself, in many ways, a complete juxtapose of what people think of the continent. I am a South African, you can smell it on me,” he says.
Noah grew up crammed into a small house in Soweto, where he shared a room with his stepbrothers and cousins where he peed in a bucket in the mornings. His mother, a Xhosa woman, had a child with his father, a Swiss-German, which was against the law in apartheid days. Noah recalls his mother had to dress like a domestic worker and his father had to walk on the other side of the street to avoid the attention of police on family outings.
“I was born a crime,” Noah often joked.
Whatever the ratings say, it is clear Noah intends to joke through the storm. As a fellow African in New York I put my money on him having the last laugh at the expense of his detractors.

“I Am A South African, You Can Smell It On Me”

Crocs Inc. is an American company started, in 2002, with an idea of a comfortable boating shoe. After having sold all their stock, in 17 colors, at boating shows, the founders expanded their market. In 2006, the company listed on the NASDAQ Exchange and has a current market capitalization of $1.45 billion.
The company’s shoes are made from Croslite; its propriety closed-cell resin which is lightweight, eliminates odor and prevents bacterial and fungal growth. The material allows the shoes to perform both in and out of water, much like the amphibian crocodile—hence the name. Crocs Inc. has operations in three regions: the Americas, Asia and Europe; with Africa falling under the Asian market.
Gareth Kemp is the managing director of Crocs Inc. South Africa and is in charge of the company’s growth on the continent. A qualified engineer, Kemp left the South African Navy in 2002 and opened a retail store because he lost interest in seafaring. His career in the Navy was more about managing people than actual engineering, which was done by external contractors. Kemp says he was always interested in business as both his father and brother were
in business.
“I just had a calling to business and retail was a channel that I was quite interested in and just pursued it,” he says.
In 2005, he was approached by the South African distributors of Crocs, Tiger Trade, and started selling for them. The distribution company was bought out by Crocs Inc. in 2009 and Kemp took over as the marketing and sales director. In 2011, he became managing director.
Crocs South Africa distributes into the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda and Angola. Angola is its newest entry with the first store opened October 25.
“Keeping in mind the challenges around strict visas and currency control we&#8217;re happy with what has been achieved,” Kemp says referring to performance in Angola.
Kemp feels that Africa has huge potential and opportunity and is ready to deal with the challenges that lie ahead. Some of which he says are the stigma associated with the continent, language barriers and making sure you choose the right partners.
Crocs used to be something that only chefs and nurses would be caught dead in. Being on your feet for hours on end meant style took a backseat to comfort. According to Crocs, this need no longer be the case. The company has come a long way from the clunky clog. With more than 300 styles per season Kemp says the biggest challenge is changing people’s style perceptions about the brand. The footwear is designed in Japan, Italy and the United States. In moving towards diversifying their products, the company also has golf shoes designed with consultation from internationally renowned golf instructor Hank Haney.
“One of our slogans from the
past was ‘Ugly can be beautiful’,”
says Kemp.
Most of the product gets shipped in from China, warehoused in Cape Town and distributed to the rest of
the continent.
The research and development is market-specific. The product merchandisers go out into the field and find out what the customers want. All the global markets have an input in the design direction. The new ranges are then presented twice a year in Singapore. There are three distribution channels: retail, wholesale and online.
If demand grows beyond the company’s current capabilities then a factory on the continent may be a possibility, but Kemp thinks this is still a long way off.
Crocs earned a place in TIME’s “The 50 Worst Inventions” list alongside Farmville, Hair in a Can, Spam email and asbestos. The shoe was however included in the Design Museum’s book entitled “Fifty Shoes That Changed The World”. It was named one of South Africa’s ‘Super Brands’ in 2010, based on market dominance, longevity, goodwill, customer loyalty and overall market acceptance. There’s even a blog called ‘I Hate Crocs dot com’ as well as a ‘I Don’t care How Comfortable Crocs Are, You Look Like A Dumbass’ Facebook page with 1.6 million ‘likes’. Love them or hate them, Crocs don’t seem to be going anywhere.
“I must be honest, in the beginning I wasn’t a fan myself. It was quite a strange looking shoe,” says Kemp.
Last year, the company launched what it refers to as its fashion styles. Although the company is worried about moving away from its core market in the lifestyle and outdoor sector, to fashion, its customers don’t seem to mind. Kemp says the fashion range sold out in a month.
“We had to scramble to get more stock. It was certainly very refreshing and very exciting for us.”
Kemp admits they were worried about knock-offs in the beginning. The first batch of fake Crocs in South Africa came sometime between 2006 and 2007. He doesn’t feel that this affects the company much anymore since the level of counterfeiting has decreased as it’s getting harder to keep up with the various styles. The cost of a children’s pair of authentic Crocs does however make it easier for parents to buy
the counterfeit.
There’s a joke that goes something like this: “In a million years from now when aliens land on earth, all they’ll find are landfills with Crocs.”
Crocs are recyclable. There used to be an initiative where people would drop off their old Crocs and the company recycled them into new ones for the less fortunate. A hundred thousand pairs were sent to Japan after the 2011 tsunami. However, the recycling process became too much of a logistical nightmare.
The company’s 2012 second quarter results revealed that revenue for the quarter had increased by 12% to $330.9 million—the highest revenue level in its history. Asia was the best performing region with revenue increasing by 20.5% (as of June 30); there are 233 company-operated retail locations in the Asian region and Africa is benefiting from being a part of this market. In 2011, Asia experienced a 34% year-on-year increase, which was higher than the global increase
of 27%.
As far as the future is concerned, Crocs Inc. has partners creating spectacles, sunglasses and children’s clothes under license. South Africa is focusing on current operations and avoiding growing its retail arm too aggressively. The company wants to become a fully established footwear company. Who knows, the fashionistas may be won over.

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FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Kanye West Angles For Write-In Presidential Votes With Campaign Ad Calling For Religious Revival

“I Am A South African, You Can Smell It On Me”

Stepping Out; Make It Snappy