EXCLUSIVE: Rob Mclennan, Graeme Jenner and King James team up to launch new Jozi agency

by Herman Manson. Rob Mclennan, Graeme Jenner and King James Group have teamed up to launch a new full service start-up ad agency in Johannesburg. The new agency will be known as King James II.

Letter from NY: Ode to joy

Letter from NY, a MarkLives column, by Matthew Bull, The Bull-White House, New York. I recently attended the One Show Hall of Fame ceremony in New York.  John Webster, Steve Hayden, Jim Riswold, Martin Puris and the ace educator Richard Wilde were elected into it.  It was a night I found to be humbling, motivating …

Joe Public heads to Cape Town

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Joe Public is working on setting up a new agency in Cape Town. Gareth Leck, MD at Joe Public Advertising, says the new agency will be formally launched in June 2013. It is being set up for Joe Public by Leon Jacobs, until recently the Executive Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi in Geneva and before that Regional Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi in Hong Kong.

Jacobs has a long history in South African advertising having previously worked at the Saatchi & Saatchi in Cape Town, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris and at Giant Films.

Breaking news: New creative leadership announced for Net#work BBDO

Net#work BBDO has announced its new creative leadership team following the departures of Executive Creative Director Rob McLennan and Deputy Executive Creative Director Graeme Jenner.

McLennan and Jenner were amongst those who left following the loss of the Nedbank account late last year to Joe Public.

Net#work BBDO promoted internally – Schalit had already indicated that the move of McLennan and Jenner would allow the next layer of creative talent to move up within the agency.

Jenny Glover and Brent Singer have been appointed as Joint Executive Creative Directors of Net#work BBDO. Bruce Anderson was appointed to a new leadership support role, which will see him form part of a new Executive Creative#Council with Glover and Singer, and which will report directly to the Chief Creative Officer Mike Schalit.

Cell C denies it is out to pitch as fallout from Vodacom account move continues

The Cell C advertising account is not out to pitch. Karin Fourie, Senior Manager: Public and Media Relations at Cell C, confirmed that the account not being moved. “Ogilvy is still our agency of choice,” says Fourie.

It has been widely speculated in the ad industry that Cell C would be ill pleased to sit in the same group (WPP) as Vodacom (with Ireland/Davenport) and MTN (with MetropolitanRepublic) and that the account has gone out to pitch.

The Dissident Spin Doctor: In this market the greatest risk is standing still

by Emma King (@EmmainSA) So, hands up who saw the recent demise of HMV, the UKs biggest music retailer, coming?

“It was obvious,” we all scoff.

“We could all see that was going to happen,” we scorn.

“They didn’t move fast enough and they didn’t keep up with the times,” we nod wisely. “And they didn’t diversify quick enough to develop a business model around online purchases.”

But what about Atari, another company that also went bust this year? An old company, but one with a strong brand synonymous with gaming, the new ‘music’. How did they get it so wrong as to become obsolete? What does that mean for the rest of us?

Breaking news: Ireland/Davenport wins Vodacom advertising account

Industry sources have confirmed that Ireland/Davenport has won the Vodacom advertising account. It was announced earlier this week that Draftfcb had lost the business after 19 years. A formal announcement is yet to be made by Vodacom and/or Ireland-Davenport.

Ireland/Davenport describes itself as a boutique communications agency and clients include BMW, Investec and SA Tourism. Ireland/Davenport was founded by Executive Creative Directors Philip Ireland and John Davenport. Susan Napier is the Managing Director.

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