THERE is a perception that mathematics is about as relevant as the history of the ancients.

THERE is a perception that mathematics is about as relevant as the history of the ancients.

The SA Institute of Chartered Accountants wants to encourage pupils in grades 8 to 10 to make mathematics - not maths literacy - their subject of choice, and for grades 11 and 12 to choose chartered accountancy as their degree and career of choice.

The campaign, the slogan of which is "Maths is all that. Choosing maths can make you anything you want to be because maths is in everything", aims to create a different and exciting vision of maths that will appeal to pupils.

The posters for the grades 8 to 10 campaign are daring - a mini-clad, bare-midriffed hottie, flouncing through a flurry of formulae with the pay-off line: "Bootylicious: Maths is all that!"; a ball-juggling footballer, angling through algorithms, has the line: "Slick skills: Maths is all that!"

But it's not just about babes and footballers. This is serious stuff, says Gugu Makhanya of Saica.

"To get the message across we had to appeal and be relevant to the target market. We need to show the relevance of maths in their lives. The design and imagery matches their idea of cool. We bring maths into the equation by showing how it plays a role in their favourite things: the calculation that adds up to a perfect music note; the proportions of a perfect figure; the angles and trajectories of a ball that displays the skill of their heroes."