I live in the south, I work in the north and I play in midfield.
Wearing Converse All Stars to work for 23 years. Not the same pair, though.
I’m a writer by trade. I’ve written everything from infomercials to ads and from brochures to tweets.
My career has been very good to me in that it has exposed me to some of the most interesting, most fearless brands and people. It has taught me how to think, “unthink”, persuade and create. My career has afforded me the opportunity to meet the smartest, most open and powerful minds in the country.
4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.
Saleha, Riyaadh, Mohammed, Taskeen, ideas, coffee and football.
It is the one industry in South Africa where anything is possible.
You can feature five of the most notorious dictators in the world in an ad, reverse a car from Johannesburg to Cape Town, persuade the entire country to put the South African flag on the mirrors of their cars and create a 10-minute short film that shows the world how beautiful our country is.Which other industry will let you do that?
There’s nothing average about a day in advertising, but a great work day is a day spent with brave ideas.
My curiosity, my experiences and my unrelenting nature to never be satisfied.
I also can’t do without a pen and paper.
The ones having the most fun at work. It shows in the ads they produce. And the ones winning awards on real work.
The pace of transformation in historically white agencies is too slow.
Lack of support for black-owned agencies and suppliers.
Creativity has become undervalued. Braveness and big ideas have been scientifically proven to make brands more profitable, yet creativity does not get the respect it deserves.
And finally, the biggest pain in the ass are the cheaters, who win awards for work that was designed exclusively for the award shows.
People. Helping people find their creative voices.
I think our industry hears things like “It’s too risqué”, “Will the market get it?”, “Research says...” and “Our target market is quite literal” too often.
These are the things that are killing creativity and driving scores of talented people out of advertising.
When I’m not thinking about them.
Disappearing.
I love gadgets.
“To do” lists.
There’s no empire for you, unless you work harder than your parents did.
*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.
