The ethical considerations of this study are as follows, and are addressed more fully in the FHDC Ethics clearance application (approved by the FADA Faculty Higher Degrees Committee):
I have disclosed the source of all information and images used in my study; where necessary, I obtained permission to reproduce images that are not in the public domain (Annexure 3).
I conducted an interview with Allen Ambor (Annexure 1) that required the respondent to sign a letter of informed consent (Annexure 2). I am a full-time employee at an advertising agency specialising in
restaurant branding. However, my employer is neither funding my studies, directing the topic, nor benefitting in any material way from the outcome of my research.
The study is not potentially harmful to the environment, human beings or animals. The aim of the research is not to bring the Spur franchise into bad repute, but rather to investigate the reasons for the popularity of its brand narratives.
26 CHAPTER TWO: AN ANALYSIS OF THE BRANDING MECHANISMS AND MATERIALS OF THE SPUR FRANCHISE
2.1 Description of Soaring Eagle Spur at OR Tambo Airport
The first thing one observes when approaching the Soaring Eagle Spur is the backlit signage of the Spur logo, which appears on either side of the words ‘Soaring Eagle’ written in red, bold, capital letters in a sans serif font directly above the entrance. The Spur logo comprises a stylised illustration of a Native American chief wearing a feathered headdress, as well as the word mark
Spur written in a red italic font (Fig.15) (Field notes 18 March 2017).
Figure 15 Entrance to Soaring Eagle Spur, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
Upon entering the restaurant, the most obvious visual is another version of the Spur logo that serves as a decorative wall feature. This feature is a large, laser-cut, one-colour metallic structure of the logo; it is backed by red lighting and located to the right of the entrance, directly behind the till (Fig.16) (Field notes 18 March 2017).
27 Figure 16 Decorative wall feature close to the entrance behind the till of Soaring
Eagle Spur, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
The restaurant size is approximately five to six hundred square meters with ambient, low-level lighting, which is in stark contrast to the bright fluorescent lights dominating the airport as a whole. The overall atmosphere is energetic and busy and there are very few empty seats. The patrons vary significantly in age and race; there are many families, several businessmen, some pilots and lone travellers (Fig.17)(Field notes 2017).
Figure 17 Inside the Soaring Eagle Spur, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
28 The restaurant is filled with brightly coloured decorative artwork that
resembles stained glass (see Figs.17, 18, 21, 22, 23 & 24). Upon closer inspection of the ‘stained glass’, and based on my interview with Ambor
(2016), I determined that Spur’s stained glass décor does not consist of actual glass, but is made from resin11 and brass. This particular stained glass look can be replicated by cutting shapes out of different coloured resin sheets and soldering them together with brass in such a fashion as to resemble stained glass. Variations of these faux stained glass decorations are used throughout all Spur franchises in order to ensure a consistent brand identity. The volume of these decorations indicates that they are mass-produced on a large scale (Field notes 21 July 2017).
To the left of the entrance inside the restaurant, the most prominent feature is that of a large, colourful imitation stained glass wall decoration, depicting a muscular dark-skinned male figure with a confrontational stare. This figure bears a feathered staff in each hand and is depicted as emerging from a fire (Fig.18).
Figure 18 Decorative imitation stained glass wall feature in Soaring Eagle Spur, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
29 The Spur contains a children’s play area near the entrance, which is filled with plastic slides, jungle gyms and various games to keep children entertained. The branding in the play area features three illustrated cartoon characters, namely Buffalo Bill, Buttercup and Soaring Eagle (Fig.19)(Field notes 10 September 2017).
Figure 19 Wall in Soaring Eagle Spur’s children’s play area, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
Children regularly move between the play area and general restaurant seating area, where parents are able to enjoy a meal while they keep an eye on their children by checking the surveillance monitors that are on display throughout the restaurant (Field notes 2017).
30 Further notable decorative wall features include imitation spears, axes, kayaks, oars and dream-catcher-like ornaments, the majority of which have feathers hanging from them. Several decorative wooden carvings also hang from the walls, with certain features resembling Native American totem poles (Fig.20).
Figure 20 Notable decorative wall features in Soaring Eagle Spur, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
Three prominent faux stained glass pillars are centrally located within the restaurant. One of the pillars depicts a Native American chief wearing a feathered headdress, as well as a warrior-like male figure with a bow and arrow (Fig.21).
Another mock stained glass pillar is visually complex and detailed, containing images that resemble American Indian tipis and totem poles, with a dark- skinned man wearing a Native American headdress on the other side (Fig.22) (Field notes 2017).
31 The third pillar provides a simplistic depiction of fire and smoke in bright
yellows, oranges and reds, with blue mountains in the background (Fig.23).
Figure 21 Decorative imitation stained glass pillar 1 in Soaring Eagle Spur, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
32 Figure 22 Decorative imitation stained glass pillar 2 in Soaring Eagle Spur, OR
33 Figure 23 Decorative imitation stained glass pillar 3 in Soaring Eagle Spur, OR
Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
Other decorative stained glass features include a divider on top of a wall close to the kitchen, separating the booths from one another. This divider reveals a landscape consisting of brightly coloured hills, mountains and tipis. The tipis are made up of triangular shapes with decorative patterns, while orange and yellow radial shapes to the right of the mountains represent the sun (Fig.24). The majority of the objects depicted on Spur’s faux stained glass consist of
34 simplistic shapes in order to depict the imitation stained glass medium more accurately (Field notes 21 July 2017).
Figure 24 Soaring Eagle Spur’s imitation leather booths and a prominent imitation stained glass dividers, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
Light fittings are made from white fabric wrapped around a triangular-shaped metallic structure and constructed to resemble a typical Native American tipi being circled by bison. These light fittings are suspended throughout the restaurant. The bison form part of the metallic structure that provides the light fitting with its triangular shape (Fig.25) (Field notes 1 May 2017).
Figure 25 Soaring Eagle Spur’s light fittings, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
35 All the tables are all made out of wood with a polished finish. There are no loose chairs, only booths, which can seat up to four people and are built in on either side of the table. The booths are covered in imitation brown leather; some of these covers display brown and white cow-prints (Field notes 2017). The Spur menus are in portrait format, 220 mm wide by 350 mm high. To mark Spur’s fiftieth anniversary, the menus were upgraded in mid-2017. These new menus are encased in a dark faux leather cover with the Spur logo embossed on the bottom right corner in a stamp-like graphic, which could also be likened to the technique farmers use to brand their cattle. The words Spur 50th since
1967 appear at the bottom centre of the inside menu cover page (Fig.26).
Figure 26 Soaring Eagle Spur’s menu cover and inside menu cover, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
The inside cover contains a watercolour painting reproduction depicting an American Indian headdress floating in mid-air, executed by Canadian artist Amy Hamilton (Prints on Wood 2017) (Fig.26). Hamilton is a graphic designer
36 and illustrator who specialises in watercolours and creates “dream-like animal portraits and illustrations inspired by the great outdoors” (Amy Hamilton 2017). Another Spur logo variation is subtly incorporated into the inside menu cover page, as a one-colour watermarked graphic element in the top right corner. The background texture imitates old, stained paper and is used throughout the menu. The inside pages of the menus are printed in a matt laminate finish (Field notes 2017).
The inside spreads reveal three to four menu items that are professionally photographed and incorporated into the layout, with some of the edges blurred to blend in with the old paper texture. The typography appears in variations of whites, blues and reds, and graphic devices such as stars, lines, banners and stamps or crests are used to differentiate or highlight certain sections (Fig.27) (Field notes 2017).
Figure 27 First inside spread of a Soaring Eagle Spur menu, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017 (photograph by author).
37 Figure 28 Soaring Eagle Spur’s placemat, OR Tambo International Airport, 2017
(photograph by author).
Prior to food being served, the waitron places a placemat in front of each consumer. The placemats vary in their messaging, with some bearing a message of welcome, others emphasising the importance of family (Fig. 28). while others reveal Spur’s secret to success. Crockery is white with a two- coloured Spur logo branded onto everything, from the salt and pepper pots to the plates, cups and saucers (Field notes 1 May 2017). The branding,
crockery, in-store décor and menu design, as well as every other visual or creative element of the Spur restaurant franchise, have been carefully selected, developed, overseen or managed by founder Allen Ambor (Ambor 2016). Therefore, in the following section, I briefly outline how Ambor came to establish Spur’s brand identity, and reflect upon the manner in which he continues to influence and shape this identity.