New Zealander to chair Loeries Experiential jury

A founding partner of Saatchi and Saatchi DGS (Dustin Gardner Shirtcliffe), Auckland, New Zealand, Shirtcliffe has over two decades of experience in marketing, advertising and direct marketing. He is amongst Australasia's most awarded and experienced creative directors of Direct and Interactive, with a collection of golds from Cannes, John Caples and ECHOs, as well as many more from New Zealand's RSVPs, AXIS and EFFIE. He was the first creative from the Asia-Pacific region to receive the Irving Wunderman Award for Lifetime Creative Achievement at the John Caples Awards in New York.

Looking forward to SA

No stranger to South African talent, Shirtcliffe says he is looking forward to coming to South Africa to judge the Loeries, having worked with two local creatives in Toronto, Canada, two years ago.

"The work coming out of South Africa is bold and brave, particularly in the Public Service and Charity categories. When I got sent two Loerie Annuals, I took them home and poured over every page; it was inspiring. I was like a kid in a toy shop; there was so much great work to digest."

A BA Honours graduate, Shirtcliffe realised his love for the creative while writing for a comedy company he had formed with his brothers, which performed on television and at festivals in the early 1990s. At this time, he was a junior media planner at Colenso and had started pestering his creative director for briefs to practice on. He finally got his break and was taken on for a three-month internship in the creative department, where he went on to spend five years.

From then on, the father of two never looked back as his career soared and he became a creative director at AIM Proximity (AIM Direct), 1999 - 2001. As creative director of AIM Proximity, he helped the agency become the most awarded direct and digital agency in the world in 2006/7. By 2007, Shirtcliffe had accumulated a multitude of awards and had become executive VP and executive creative director at Proximity BBDO Canada.

Long hours and tough deadlines

Matt Shirtcliffe, Loeries Experiential jury chair 2009.

A regular mentor and lecturer, Shirtcliffe says of his work, "Sure, this job can be a lot of long hours, non-glamorous work, tough deadlines and pressure - and that was before we had a bloody recession! But what keeps me going is the buzz of a great idea. I'm inspired by new ideas and the passion of the people I work with to make those ideas come to life."

His winning formula: "Regardless of the channel, work will only succeed if it offers true emotional engagement. One of my favourite pieces of work of all time is the billboard that ran on solar power for a school - the sort of idea that reminds you why you still love this business."

In his spare time, Shirtcliffe enjoys mountain biking, swimming and writing poetry.

The Loerie Awards judging week kicks off with the judges seminar on 13 July 2009, and continues until 17 July. The 31st Annual Loerie Awards will be taking place in Cape Town, Thursday 24 September to Sunday 27 September 2009. Entry deadline is now Friday 31 May. Go to www.theloerieawards.co.za for more information.