And Slim takes it! This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Juliet Honey, Creative Director at TBWA\ South Africa, and Zee Ntuli, Director at Darling Films. Thank you for lending us your smarts, you beauties. Big congrats to Slim from Darling Films for taking the top spot this month....and for getting us to order burgers.
Ten years into building JOE*, Founder and Director, Dan Mace, has just finished editing a video that tries to make sense of it all. The highs, the lows, the ambition, the missteps, the learning. At the same time, his latest work for Checkers, created with 99c, has landed, giving the industry a clear example of where that decade of experimentation has led…spoiler… viral hit after viral hit, that’s where!
We all know the feeling when a piece of work drops and you think, “Damn, I wish I did that.” Instead of pretending we’re above it, we decided to lean in and turn those envy tingles into something worth celebrating. So we gathered some of South Africa’s sharpest creative minds, handed them some of the best work agencies have released over the last few months, and asked them to pick the pieces they wish they did. Here’s to giving credit where it’s due and maybe inspiring a little healthy jealousy along the way.
IDIDTHAT JUDGE MELUSI MHLUNGU FOUNDER & CCO WE ARE BIZARRE SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Melusi Mhlungu is an award-winning creative with a career spanning global agencies such as [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE NALEDI MANAMA GROUP HEAD ART DIRECTOR INDEPENDANT SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Naledi Manama is an award-winning art director whose career in advertising began in 2017 - [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE JAKE BESTER PARTNER & ECD M&C SAATCHI ABEL SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Right now Jake has the pleasure of overseeing the creative output of M&C Saatchi [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE TONI HUGHES ECD INDEPENDANT SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO An art-geek student turned part-nerd coder turned 3D animator turned creative leader, Toni “Poni” Hughes brings over 20 [...]
Thirteen years is a long time in advertising. It’s even longer in production. Which is why Spitfire’s teenage birthday lands with real weight: a fresh reel, a wall of awards, a new generation of women coming up through the ranks, and some of its strongest creative years to date.
Another month, another round of work that made our judges sit up a little straighter. For the November IDIDTHAT Craft Awards, we handed the reins to two heavyweights: Suhana Gordhan, Chief Creative Officer at LoveSong, and multiple-time Best in Craft winner Hayden Brown, director and cinematographer at 7 Films. After sifting through the country’s sharpest craft, they crowned this month’s Best in Craft: Thina Zibi from Triple Story Content and Zee Ntuli from Darling Films. Congrats on the top spot, you two, beautifully done.
Before the local industry had even seen a frame, Robin de Jager’s new film ‘Lil_ith’ was already making noise internationally. It premiered at the Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying Odense International Film Festival and QFest St. Louis, a rare feat for a South African indie, especially one made entirely by bootstrap grit and obsessive care. Combine that with his growing commercial portfolio and the production backing of Triple Story Content, and it’s exactly why Robin should be on your director radar.
Eyeforce has launched a new showreel and website, marking a refreshed chapter for the production company. The reel pulls together some of their latest work, a reminder of the adventure, authenticity, sport and craft the team has become known for. It also arrives alongside the announcement of photographer Alex Kibble joining the roster.
Your Girlfriend director Morgan Dingle has officially broken the seal, weaving Al-generated footage into the closing moments of his new Tropika ad. We chatted to him about the process.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards saw creative firecrackers Saf Sindhi, Founder & CCO at Bananas South Africa and Slim, Director at Darling Films, on judging duty. A standing ovation for directors Hayden Brown from 7 Films and Katlego Baaitse from Spitfire Films, both came in swinging and walked off with the month’s highest honours.
After two decades in big agencies, leading creative work for brands like Coca-Cola, Nando’s, and USAID, and collecting a trail of Loeries, Pendorings, One Show and D&AD awards along the way, Suhana Gordhan did something unexpected. Trading the machinery of big agencies for something more intimate and intentional, she launched a creative consultancy, LoveSong. In this conversation, she shares the honest reality of starting from scratch and learning your worth. If you've ever thought about going independent, this one's for you.
When two creatives from Retroviral, Koketso Masisi and Kgothatso Maditse, looked around the industry, they saw brilliant women of colour doing groundbreaking work, but too often, those voices weren’t in the rooms where change was being shaped. So they built their own. That’s the spirit behind Ko.Kreate’s ‘Women Shaping 2025’ event this November, a gathering that celebrates women redefining the industry.
When four South African respected jury presidents sit down together, you listen. Between them, they’ve presided over Cannes Lions, Loeries, Dubai Lynx, and the IAB Bookmark Awards - shaping what the world calls “award-winning work.” At this year’s IDIDTHAT HOUSE, inside the Nedbank Loft at Loeries Fringe 2025, this powerhouse panel brought together Fran Luckin (CCO, VML South Africa), Khensani Nobanda (Group Executive: Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Nedbank Group), Kabelo Moshapalo (CCO, Ogilvy), and Xolisa Dyeshana (CCO, Joe Public).
Budgets are shrinking. Deadlines are gasping for air. And AI? It’s not knocking on production’s door, it’s already moved in, rearranged the furniture, and started editing the showreel. At this year’s IDIDTHAT HOUSE (Loeries Fringe), inside the Nedbank Loft, we hosted Future Proof: a brutally honest panel asking the question everyone in production is quietly panicking about. What will it take for a South African production company to still exist, and thrive, in 2027?
When agencies start building their own production arms (think Prodigious, Hogarth and beyond) it raises the question everyone in the industry’s been whispering: what happens to South Africa’s independent production companies? Are in-house models the sleek, efficient future of advertising… or are they quietly dismantling the craft that made our work world-class?
Ever wondered what really happens when your script lands in a marketer’s inbox? What makes them sit up, what makes them stall, and what sends your big idea straight to the bin? At this year’s IDIDTHAT HOUSE, inside the Nedbank Loft at Loeries Fringe 2025, we flipped the script and put the marketers in the hot seat. Moderated and joined by Tebogo Motsepe (Executive Head: Marketing Strategy, Nedbank), the panel pulled zero punches as Grant Macpherson (CMO, KFC South Africa), Bridget Harpur (Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Group Africa), and Star Kachisa (Head of Marketing, Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa) revealed how ideas really get judged behind closed doors.
If you haven’t been tapped on the shoulder yet, you might want to start sending briefs to your favourite producer. Only our Production Partners hold the keys to the guest list and each company gets to invite their select crew of clients, collaborators, and co-conspirators.