RIP Keith Rose

Rose in the VIP lounge at Loeries 2014 after he won the Hall of Fame award. Image © Terry Levin of Bizcommunity.

Rose was one of a select few to be inducted into the Clio TV Hall of Fame, for his BMW Mouse commercial; as well as into the Creative Circle Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Loeries Hall of Fame in 2014.

Here's a showreel of Rose’s best work, which was shown at Loeries 2014 when he was inaugurated into the prestigious Loeries Hall of Fame:

Rose was selected by Shots as one of the “100 Advertising People of All Time”, while also being accredited by Campaign magazine to be among the top five directors globally.

His several Cannes Gold Lions represent just a handful of the many distinctions he has been awarded throughout his career, and he was president of the Cannes Lions Film Craft jury in 2011. Other accolades include awards at D&AD, Art Directors' Club, One Show and Clio.

Many have shared their memories of Rose and sadness at his passing on social media. Here, just a few mentions on Twitter:

So sad to hear about the passing of legendary South African commercials director Keith Rose, who was hailed by @shotscreative as one of the “100 Advertising People of All Time." We're re-watching his 2009 @designindaba talk & feeling very sad: https://t.co/UL6ISKeLno pic.twitter.com/hZ1IyuzhjL

— Africa.film (@AfricadotFilm) October 2, 2018

He pushed all of us, his team, the agency and the clients towards greatness. He did whatever it took to create spectacular work - not to just get the job done. It is something that I always admired about him. Especially in this day and age where what we do has become so commoditised. In my opinion, Keith was not just an amazing director, he was an amazing DOP, producer, art director, gaffer and even an engineer at times, if the job required it.

He once needed to put a crane on a heritage site to get the shot. And that was the shot he wanted, nothing else. The city refused permission, but this didn’t stop Keith. He got a bigger crane, the biggest crane I have ever seen and placed it on the other side of the building, off the heritage site, just to get the shot.

Keith always reached for the iconic.

He was always trying to do something no-one had done before or looked at in a certain way before. His crafting was amazing to watch and he pushed us all to get there. And sometimes when you push things the way Keith did, you fail. On certain jobs, in his efforts to reach the unprecedented, he failed spectacularly. But his epic achievements far outweigh his failures. He would rather fail in this way than do something ordinary. And that’s what I loved about him.

Keith also helped build our industry into what is today; not just the film industry, but the advertising industry at large. Personally, he opened my eyes to the way things should be done when I was just a junior in this industry and it forever changed the way I did things.

Maybe it's a bit unfair that because of him I expect more out of everyone else that I work with; because I have seen the best in action. And I am very grateful for this.

Thank you Keith for your role in who I am today. I am sure there are many people out there that would say the same. You challenged us. You supported us. Everything about you was epic. We are all poorer without you. I hope that in the years that come we can all hold the bar up to your standards in the work that we create.

Your legacy lives on, in all that knew you.Email your tribute to moc.ytinummoczib@swengnitekram or leave a comment below.

Shortly after his passing, Julie Maunder of iDidTht put a call out to Rose's industry-family to share some of the memories and moments they have of him, and people answered...

Reading through these and now sharing them brought a certain healing for me and a sense of celebration of the person he was. I hope it does so for you too. Here are just some of the memories that you won’t be able to read in the press, or see anywhere inscribed on the many awards he won. These are by people who worked with him, knew him or even knew of him. May his life continue to live on and the lessons he’s left with us continue to help us grow as an industry. - Julie Maunder

UPDATE: Rose's family has confirmed that an industry gathering is to be held, details will be released next week.