South African team Avish Gordhan and Mandie van der Merwe lured to Whybin\TBWA Sydney

CB Exclusive – Award-winning South African team Avish Gordhan and Mandie van der Merwe have been lured from Black River FC in Johannesburg to join the creative department at Whybin\TBWA in Sydney.

The pair recently won the Grand Prix at South Africa’s Loerie awards for their Nando’s ‘The Last Dictator’ spot and also scooped the Black Eagle for their ‘First For Women Insurance’ campaign.

They also leave behind an impressive body of award winning work for Virgin, Woolworths, Musica, Dairybelle, and MINI. Work that has been awarded at Cannes, D&AD, OneShow and the other usual shows.

Says Whybin\TBWA co-ECD Dave Bowman: “We were really impressed by the work this pair were doing, we saw it at Cannes and were laughing at it – they have funny ideas. We wanted them to come and work for us and now, with a stroke of luck on our side, they are here. They have already impressed us with their ideas and it’s only week two.”

Adds co-ECD Matty Burton: “We are in an okay spot as an agency but we are not where we want to be yet. We’ve been looking at the next five years and figuring out who we need to get us where we want to be. Avish and Mandie are a big part of that. There’s change on the horizon and more to people to come with us – it’s exciting times for us.”