Bismarck du Plessis (Gallo Images)
Durban - In a scene straight from the movie Any Given Sunday, Cell C Sharks captain Bismarck du Plessis recently tackled a moviegoer talking on his cellphone at the Gateway Ster-Kinekor cinema.
VIDEO: Bismarck floors moviegoer!
Footage of the incident shows Du Plessis launching himself into an unidentified man at full pace.
The unsuspecting man can be seen standing up from his seat to take a call from his mother in front of a packed cinema - ironically straight after a Cell C “Please switch to silent” ad played on screen.
The video clip shows Du Plessis coming into screen from the left and making contact with the man in what can only be described as a text-book tackle.
Posted online, the video is set to get even more people behind the Sharks as they head into the second half of the Super Rugby competition. The Sharks are second on the Super Rugby log and South Africa's only realistic title contenders.
In a surprising twist, the tackle appears to be connected to similar incidents involving prominent SA sport stars, including cricketers JP Duminy and Jacques Kallis, intervening to remind moviegoers of proper cell phone etiquette.
The fact that they are all Cell C ambassadors would suggest the company was behind the campaign helping ordinary South Africans watch their favorite movies in peace and quiet.
The footage of the recent tackling incident was seeded on the Sharks’ and Cell C’s social media platforms.
"Too often we see brands viewing sponsorships as a badging exercise, which does the platform a disservice. The role of sponsorship is to amplify the brand's profile and to add character, which is what we believe we have achieved through this digital leveraging-activation, with a little bit of fun thrown in," said Wayne Merris, Executive: Brand and Sponsorships from Cell C.