AUTHENTICITY. DONE BEAUTIFULLY. AND COST EFFECTIVELY.

I grew up in South Africa. A country going through so much change at that time. No more so than the landmark first democratic election. I worked on the campaign for Nelson Mandela’s party. It was an eye opening experience for a white guy. It taught me to listen. To actively listen to people and what it was that was important to them. To understand the reality of their lives and what the Apartheid government had done to them. Robbing them of their rights was one thing but denying them their dignity was another. Understanding the people and hearing them shaped the campaign and has shaped my approach to advertising ever since.

I’m a big believer in the most important of Hugh McKay’s ‘ten desires that drive us’: The desire to be taken seriously. He states that if people aren’t listened to they feel like they’re not been taken seriously. And if they don’t feel like they’re been taken seriously they will ark up. This is so true, and is what drives a lot of radicalism around the world. But I believe it holds true in everything we do. And advertising is so much a part of our lives these days. If people don’t believe your brand is listening to them they won’t connect with your brand.

This is what I’m about. Listening. Finding the truth. And executing it beautifully.

I once had a CD who said ‘If it looks like an ad is made with care, people will think the product is made with care’. I’ve always believed this and as a result will spend time crafting the communication until it feels right. From copy to typography, to photography to film. Anything that can make a piece of communication look great. Not beauty for beauty’s sake, but beautiful in its relevance.

I’m not a big believer in waste. Spend what’s appropriate. But don’t overspend. Keep the team tight. Too often I’ve seen too many people involved, with too many opinions. Too much money is spent pontificating.

I was the Brand Creative Director at youi for 15 years. I was responsible for all the creative output over that time. That includes all Advertising, Design, Corporate Identity, Digital, Social Media, Content and TV.

I believe the brand as at March 2023 lived up to the above. We listened. We found the truth. And if I can humbly say, we executed it beautifully. And consistently. And it was all done by the smallest team. It was just me and a designer doing everything for the first 6 years. Everything. There were no fancy strategists, no big ‘Brand Agencies’, no expensive Design shops, no trendy production companies. Just me and Glenn doing everything.

Many people at the time praised us for our consistency of message. When the size of the team is 2 it’s very easy to be consistent. As the Company grew, the voices wanting to ‘be involved’ grew. I believe this lead to a watering down of the core message.

THIS WAS ONE OF THE ELECTION ADS. AT THE TIME THE APARTHEID PRESIDENT WAS CLAIMING HE’D ENDED APARTHEID. (THAT’S HIM OUTSIDE THE RING…) MANDELA LOVED BOXING SO WE LEANED INTO THE BOXING ANALOGY. THIS AD WAS PICKED UP BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND RAN IN THE EDITORIAL ON THE THE FRONT PAGE.

AFTER THE ELECTION WE WERE TASKED TO REPOSITION MANY OF THE ‘TOOLS’ THE APARTHEID GOVERNMENT HAD USED TO SPREAD THEIR MESSAGE. THIS WAS AN AD FOR THE NATIONAL BROADCASTER TRYING TO GET ADVERTISERS TO USE THE ‘NEW’ BROADCASTER.

THE YOUI LOGO.

A SHOWREEL OF YOUI COMMERCIALS CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY ME.

EXTRACTS FROM THE YOUI BRAND GUIDELINES DESIGNED BY GEMMA WICHAM. MASSIMO VIGNELLI WAS A BIG INFLUENCE ON THE DESIGN OF THE BRAND FROM THE BEGINNING.