The average South African would probably not list the annual State of the Nation address as one of their TV viewing highlights – unless it is an  excuse to get drunk and naked.

Not that I’m suggesting that the average South African is frivolous, or politically-unsophisticated… but one cannot ignore the findings of a study by online reputation management agency BrandsEye.

The agency’s data shows that there were 45 000 Twitter mentions relating to the SONA during president Jacob Zuma’s opening of Parliament address. This is 18 000 more tweets than what was achieved during SA’s Rugby World Cup games.

Which brings us to the naked and drunk aspect of politics. For the past two years, 5fm DJ Gareth Cliff has been encouraging listeners to play a game around the State of the Nation address.

This year, Cliff defined the rules of his State of the Nation Undress, as: “Every time the president: 1. Laughs 2. Says ‘Absolutely’ 3. Says ‘Poverty’ 4. Touches his glasses with his middle finger, or 5. Seems to have been distracted by an attractive woman in Parliament, you lose an item of clothing.”

This was a slight variation on last year’s game, which called for South Africans to take a drink each time Zuma performed any of the aforementioned actions. However, for this year’s State of the Nation, I know a few people who had vowed to combine the two – not only removing an item of clothing, but also taking a drink.

Now, according to BrandsEye, Cliff’s State of the Nation Undress (#SOTNundress) garnered much attention during the event, but mentions of the game only accounted for 10% (4 542) of the total mentions relating to the State of the Nation address. Mentions were tracked across the open Web, notably on social networks, as well as press sites, forums and blogs.

Interestingly, this year’s State of the Nation address garnered a nine-fold increase in mentions on Twitter, compared to those received in 2011.

Last year, BrandsEye points out, @garethcliff’s #SOTNdrinking occupied 45% of the total conversation around the State of the Nation. “Certainly an interesting shift and possibly an indication that South Africans are starting to take politics more seriously,” commented the company.

Now this may be the logical conclusion, but I urge you not to be too hasty. After much pondering and consideration, I think we can safely take away the following conclusion: 1. Sex still sells, 2. Sex sells more than alcohol, 3. Naked and drunk people are unlikely to Tweet (not a bad thing this), 4. If you can’t remember how many dams Zuma promised to build in the Eastern Cape, then you were probably drunk, naked, or both, and 5. Expect a baby boom in November.

Happy reading!

Martin Czernowalow