The man who has been called “the father of 'Yebo Gogo', the inspiration behind 'Met Eish' and the visionary lighting the way for 'Sirrius'”, De Villiers was listed on the Academy's Roll of Honour released on 29 March 2009 along with Academy Award winner actress Charlize Theron; poet and author Deon Opperman; and poets Ronelda S Kamfer and Loftus Marais. The medals of honour will be handed over to recipients in June this year.
This is the second nod in De Villiers' direction. Last year he was awarded The Legend Award at the Pendorings, South Africa's Afrikaans equivalent of The Loerie Awards. The Legend Award is given to a person who has made a real impact on the advertising landscape and has created a legacy that cannot be equalled easily; and had only been awarded once before De Villiers' honour.
Commenting on De Villiers' latest achievement, Draftfcb South Africa group CEO John Dixon, said, "We thought it a big deal last year when Francois was named 'Legend' by the Pendorings award committee. Now, we're having to come to terms with the fact that he's been listed on the same Roll of Honour as the very talented Charlize Theron!
“I'm so happy for Francois. This award is proof that good guys do win - it's validation for a lifetime of hard work and commitment to creating beautifully crafted advertising that truly talks to every South African."
De Villiers graduated at the end of 1977 from the University of Pretoria where he studied fine arts, majoring in graphic design and art direction. Bucking the trend in the advertising industry in SA, where creatives move rapidly from agency to agency to fast track their progress, he has worked at relatively few advertising agencies over a career that spans 30 years.
As executive creative director, De Villiers spends much of his time with clients, educating marketers in creativity, developing strategy, and streamlining the briefing process, while still being ultimately responsible for all the creative development of integrated campaigns.
During the past three decades, he has been acknowledged with awards at most of the international creative competitions, such as Cannes, D&AD, London Awards, One Show, Clio, and the New York Festival. Career highlights include representing SA as a keynote speaker at the renowned Dutch Art Directors Club festival in Amsterdam, as well as being selected to work on the important Aeroflot business in Moscow as part of one the first Draftfcb international Creative Rumbles.
