MELBOURNE PALACE NAMES HOT SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM TO JOINT CD POST
The Campaign Palace Melbourne has named the multi award winning South African team of Gerhard Myburgh and Brent Liebenberg as joint creative directors of the agency, replacing Tony Leishman, effective November 1. The pair joins from Draft FCB, one of the top three creative agencies in South Africa, where Myburgh served as executive creative director with Leibenberg as his writer and CD.
Palace managing director Tom Cooper said the duo had an outstanding track record and were the ideal choice for the Palace: “There was a lot of interest in the role from top-drawer creatives around the world. Gerhard and Brent have great chemistry and an approach that I think the Melbourne market will find engaging and refreshing. They have deep integrated skills, which is pretty much a pre-requisite for creatives in the SA market and will be of great benefit to the Palace clients."
“Gerhard and Brent haven’t just proven they can do world-class work themselves they’ve proven they can inspire the department around them to do world-class work too. It’s the ‘direction’ part of creative direction all too often overlooked. I’m thrilled they’re joining us and looking forward to them taking The Melbourne Palace’s creative profile to new heights," added Palace Chairman and ECD, Paul Fishlock.
Myburgh and Leibenberg bring impeccable credentials to the role, with stints at TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris under Tony Granger, and at Lowe Bull with Matthew Bull. They are awarded at D&AD, Cannes, Clio, and The One Show and are perennial winners at South Africa’s local awards, the Loeries. Their client experience includes retail, FMCG, finance, telcos and automotive.
“Right now, we’re nervous and excited. Nervous because it’s a whole new country with a lot of big challenges. Excited because it’s a whole new country with a lot of big challenges. The Campaign Palace is one of the few agencies that you heard people speak of with reverence as a young creative, and we’re thrilled at the opportunity to be a part of it. That said, it’s all about the work, and we can’t wait to get stuck in," said Myburgh.
The pair will commence at The Palace on November 1.
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They may well have good credentials on paper, but, ooh, that's a pretty out-there idea to appoint a couple of South Africans, who we all know can grate rather quickly on Australians.
As an ex-Palace person from the Golden (read Stone) Age, I'd love to be proven wrong, but ...
Monty?
shouldn't it be about the work rather than the accent?
Well, we all know how successful agencies have been bringing over Kiwis - our market just aint the same - so this will be an interesting experiment.
Too true 2:00.
1:12, you sound like the kind of person who says things like "He's a great bloke, for a (insert derogatory name for race/nationality)".
Look what a Kiwi has done for the Wallabies. Good luck to them.
If they deliver big ideas for real clients, good for them. I sure hope they don't import that New Zealand disease of doing high profile/award-winning work of no commercial consequence.
Have they been granted diplomatic immunity?
Welcome to Australia.
First lesson : ignore this blog.
I think what Paul said was brilliant thinking.
"It’s the ‘direction’ part of creative direction all too often overlooked."
Inspiring a team is more than stealing every brief and scamming it up. Well played.
I worked with Gerhard for years and he's a good bloke and a great creative. As far as adapting to different markets go, I think you'll find that when you're talking to a population as racially diverse as South Africa in 11 different languages, you adapt pretty quickly to different markets.
We are lucky to be in an industry where our skills are transportable around the globe, and which allows a cross pollination of talent and ideas.
Aren't we a supposed to be a progressive industry where we fight against things like racism?
Good luck to the guys. Don't let the bastards grind you down.
These guys won't grate on Aussies. They're great blokes. You can't paint all saffers with the same brush, mate. Some are obnoxious and others aren't. Like all nationalities.
Will the grass still be as Green Benny?
2:36, your comedy licence has just been revoked.
I've worked with Gerhard and Brent - they're top, polished guys with good hearts. No grating gonna happen, mate - unless its from your side.
i reckon South Africa is killing it creatively. Their best work is better than ours, because they're not afraid to have their own unique voice, rather than trying to mimic the US and the UK.
Too often, aussie work looks like a cheap pale imitation of 'global' work. The best saffer work is rougher and cheaper, but also fresher with a unique personality.
If I was hiring CD's, I'd have no problem going for a couple of south africans. I reckon they'd fit better than the average brit or yank.
3.39
\But given the fact you're spending time writing to the blog (like me) , you're probably not in a position to hire CD's are you.
I've been to South Africa.
I know a South African creative.
B-man.
3:25
Don't be surprised the next time you find plastic on the floor.
Vorstedt.
nice one 2.36....gold
This will be great for the Palace - they needed, DESPERATELY, a creative shake up. Good luck guys!
Ahhh, the Messiah Syndrome. The comforting thought that all you need to turn around a financially immobile agency is a Big Star Creative Director. See him walk through the door and all the flowers bloom! See him attract new clients like moths to a light! See him modestly acknowledge the accolades of the adoring crowd! Yes! For overseas overlords, it has all the appearance of doing something substantive without the messiness of inconvenient structural change. Yes, what we need, a shiny new CD. Shuffle the old one off with a cheque, well done old chap, and let the chosen one weave his magic. Instant results ensue!
And why not? This tried and trusted formula has worked every eight months for JWT Sydney.
The Messiah Syndrome has been proven to be a false god many times, but usually in an agency which wasn't very creative in the first place.
I've seen it first hand many times.
The Palace Melbourne is Australia's original creatively driven agency with a true pedigree from day one, unlike large multinationals which usually commit to becoming creative without really understanding what that means and what sort of pain it will involve.
So this is not a case of MS, 7:46. The Palace is no JWT.
Melb Palace is full of good people (mostly) and this new hire can only be a good move. Staff should embrace this positive change with energy and a fresh outlook. People who think they are too good to be working under this new CD team should do them all a favour and move on. Boys....
12.20am So true
The blog rythmes with bog
3.25pm, I'm getting too old for this shit.
What really grates with aussies are the the colonists, now the palace has been full of them for years.
THEY MAY BE GREAT CREATIVES, BUT WILL THE POWERS THAT SIT ABOVE AT THE PALACE ENDORSE AND SUPPORT THEIR CREATIVITY?
WORD ON THE STREET IS THEY RUN A MILE FROM CREATIVITY THESE DAYS. IT'S ALL ABOUT SAFETY AND DOLLARS.
TIME WILL TELL.
HOPEFULLY (FOR THE CREATIVES WHO ARE CURRENTLY THERE BUSTING THEIR BALLS TO GET GOOD WORK UP), IT WORKS OUT.
5:15, 10:41 - you couldn't even give me a porking tickit.
Speak up, 12.20. Can't hear you.
I AM BEEEEAVER!!!
The Campaign Palace is in Melbourne.
11:15, your caps key is on. Might wanna turn it off next time.
I love carpet.
I love lamp.
You're absolutely correct 9.29pm....."The Palace is no JWT"
We have 6 lovely new Lions on our reception desk.. they (and I suspect you also) don't
I respectfully suggest you get back to your sketch pad
The average human head weighs 8 pounds
11.15 - you are talking out of your ........
The pwers that sit above at the palace support and encourage great creativity and provide the freedom and the environment for it to flourish. What they do not support is scam - that is not the palace ethos.
maybe you are confusing that to real work?
I know Bart Liebenberg very well (well enough to call him Bart, a tradition I hope not to see disappear over there). I don't know Gerhard, but if he's ok with Bart, he must be ok. You've rarely seen a work ethic like this guy. He's a feasant plucker, I've never met anybody who didn't like him, but I garantee you he'll get the job done, whatever it takes.
Take care of them Australia, we're sending you some of our best stuff.
Hey: 5:47, I didn't realize 6 Lions entitles you to be nob jocky.
And - are they your lions, or do you just know the people who won them?
I strongly suspect the later, so blow me.
You like carpet. You like lamp. I like to collect postage stamp.
5:47, you must be young and relatively new to the industry.
The Campaign Palace's collection of Cannes Lions and other major awards stretches all the way to Uranus and back.
They were hot before you were even born. They showed the way for everybody else.
Campaign Palace Melb has done bugger all real award winning work for years, you all know it, it's almost a retail agency these days. Get frigging real.
9.50am - i collect postage stamps, maybe we should meet and trade? Have some ripper old ones WW2 vintage from some weird places and if you put them together someone way back in the family must have been in the underground or a spy! Interesting
skipping ropes are cool too
Anonymous said:
We are lucky to be in an industry where our skills are transportable around the globe, and which allows a cross pollination of talent and ideas.
Aren't we a supposed to be a progressive industry where we fight against things like racism?
Good luck to the guys. Don't let the bastards grind you down.
August 27, 2008 3:12 PM
I love the saying "Don't let the bastards grind you down"
It's also the name of a ska track by The Toasters. Pretty good in my opinion.
I'm surprised that George Lois is visiting the blog.
Maybe we'll see Bernbach and Krone popping by with a comment or two in the
future.
We know Brent well and have worked with him. He has a superb character and very affable nature - and he is possibly the best writer South Africa has to show for itself. Campaign Palace has just pulled off a major coup - and the proof WILL be in the pudding.....