Pretorius B.I.G: Say hello to SA's new imaginary rap group

Mzansi Twitter users were happy to oblige, with most playing on Afrikaans words or names invoked by the short-shorts and two-tone shirts.

The national education system delivered sterling results, with one user naming the group "Trappe van vergelyking" (degrees of comparison) - using a common part of Afrikaans school curriculum to refer to the difference in the physical sizes of the three models. This led to a  another user suggesting, "Boer, boere[r], boerste" (boer, more boer, most boer).

Boerboel Wear social media and marketing manager Stephan Hugo said that his personal favourite was a post proposing the name "Brasse van die Plaas" by journalist Charles Leonard.

Playing on the names of US music groups, "Die Boer-Tang Clan" was another popular suggestion, as was "Erf, wind and fire" - poking fun at some Afrikaners' inability to pronounce "th" or perhaps a topical political reference to land ownership.

Hugo made the original post on the brand's Instagram page on 8 December with the caption "IN BOERBOEL LYK JY NIE KHA-KI!" (In Boerboel you don't look bad).

He took the picture himself and said he was simply looking for a composition that would bring the models into full frame. 

Hugo said the company found the subsequent Twitter thread sparked by Goliath quite comical, adding that they were aware that some users were making fun of the clothing brand itself.

"We have realised, especially with our Khaki range, it's like Marmite - either you love it or you hate it," he said.

"We believe that with our tongue-in-cheek adverts, we've put the whole two-tone thing back on the map and made it cool. This is not the first time this has happened. There was another photo about a year back that had the same effect.

"We take it with a pinch of salt... Any publicity is good publicity."

Hugo said there was no point in trying to control everything that goes onto social media. 

"One or two people told me to put the thread on our Instagram Story today, but there are some things that are under the belt and vulgar ... But I think it's awesome that people went and shared it," he said.

He said 90% of the company's clothing is made in South Africa, except for their T-shirts, which are imported, adding that since starting  in 2015 the company has experienced good growth.

"Our Kalahari range does very well, and we are in Namibia as well - the people love us there. We advertise in Afrikaans, but that being said, there are people from a wide range of cultures and races who buy our clothes and love it."