Net#work celebrates 10 years of creativity

On Saturday night, the Mandela Bridge was officially closed off by the city of Johannesburg to accommodate what turned out to be the party of the year attended by 1000 invited guests. Half a kilometre of marquees stretched across the bridge housing four bars that served cocktails all night. Guests were treated to literally the red carpet as they arrived and the evening kicked off with a spectacular fireworks display. The bridge was actually moving as the music revved up and the dancing continued into the early hours of the morning. "A fine start to another fantastic 10 years," says Mike Schalit, co-founder of Net#work.

"So we're 10 years old and so what. Feels like we just started," is about as much logic as you're going to get out of the Net#work co-founders Keith Shipley and Mike Schalit. "We're still young, still having fun and we're proud. Proud of our people, proud of our work. I guess that just about sums up our values and they haven't changed one iota from the day we started in May 1994," chorus Shipley and Schalit.

A decade on and they are still turning things around and as a special birthday gift to themselves, they are currently opening an experimental satellite advertising agency on the streets of Newtown, dubbed New#Tork, which is part art, part advertising, part madness. Schalit says: "The collaboration between the energy and talent of the artists at street level and traditional advertising has the potential to unleash awesome
new creative thinking."

What does the future hold for an advertising agency that was once described as being a 'flash in the pan'? Schalit answers: "Everything around us is changing at such a rapid pace and we intend to stay ahead of the game. By using local talent in this country, of which there is plenty, we aim to build an unconventional, diverse advertising agency that will gain real recognition on the world stage and make not justSouth Africa, but the entire African continent - proud."