Marlice van Vuuren grew up on a farm in the district of Gobabis, Namibia. Her interest in conservation was kindled in 1978 when her parents saved a maltreated vervet monkey from its owner, and over the next three decades many injured and orphaned animals found refuge under the capable care of this remarkable woman.
In 2007, Marlice and her husband Rudie started the N/a'an ku se (meaning God is watching over us) Wildlife Sanctuary on their farm Ovuuyo in Namibia with the aim of rehabilitating and releasing all animals in their care back into the wild.
In January this year, Marlice received a call from a farmer who had caught a pair of cheetah cubs – a brother and sister. The brother had been caught in a box trap but his sister had been caught using a potentially lethal steel jaw gin trap.
Marlice and her team went to the aid of the female cub but unfortunately, the ligaments in one foot were so badly torn that her entire back leg had to be amputated. The operation went smoothly and the female cub was named ‘Lucky’ for having lived through her barbaric capture.
With Marlice’s help, Lucky has coped remarkably well on three legs but her chances of survival in the wild would be incredibly slim and it seems she has found a permanent home at N/a'an ku se.
Marlice van Vuuren is one of Namibia’s best–known conservationists.
Rescued Lucky feels quite at home on the back seat of the New Golf.
Henry-Alex Rubin directed the American documentary movie, Murderball, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
At about the time Lucky was discovered, Volkswagen’s agency, Ogilvy Cape Town, conceptualised a television commercial for the New Golf. The commercial was to portray the soulful enjoyment that is experienced when driving the sixth generation Golf.
Ogilvy knew that such pure joy could only be portrayed through the experience of an animal that has experienced such exhilaration before but can’t recreate the experience again for itself. The storyline presented by Ogilvy to tell this tale was, almost incredibly, a precise replica of what happened to Marlice and Lucky.
When the internationally renowned New York–based documentary director Henry–Alex Rubin came across Ogilvy’s script he was moved to direct the commercial. Whilst preparing his pitch he came across Marlice and Lucky’s story and immediately flew to Namibia to film Lucky having her stitches removed and taking her first steps after the operation.
Moved by Lucky’s story and the great work at N/a'an ku se, Volkswagen contacted Marlice and requested to film the commercial showing the young cheetah enjoying its favourite past time: riding in the back of Marlice’s car.
The commercial was shot in March 2009. Apart from the three heroes (Marlice, Lucky and the New Golf) the commercial features wild dogs, baboons and even Marlice’s dogs. The beautiful surroundings, wildlife and Namibia’s famous ‘big blue skies’ also contribute to making the commercial an unforgettable expression of ‘the love of the drive’.
