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Draftfcb Cape Town adds new arrows to creative quiver

Draftfcb Cape Town has added two new arrows to its creative quiver with the appointment of Aaron Harris and Doug Larter as creative directors.

Early last year, the Mother City's oldest agency restructured its creative capabilities when it promoted industry doyen, Francois de Villiers, to Executive Creative Chairman and merged its above-the-line and below-the-line creative departments.

This formed one multi-disciplinary studio with through-the-line capabilities and gave additional impetus to its holistic approach to client's marketing dilemmas, which has been the key to some of its most recognisable campaigns.

Harris and Larter have been tasked by De Villiers with adding even more 'smarts' to the agency's creative output and raising its creative profile; Harris with responsibility for helping to raise the standard and Larter to drive the integration of new media into where these add value for clients.

Said De Villiers: "Draftfcb Cape Town emerged from its restructuring well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the recession, and benefit from growth when the economic cycle turned.

"Happy as we were with the single studio's output, we wanted to make the most of our more focussed approach and so I sought two creatives for whom I have tremendous respect and whose complementary skills slot right in with our existing creative capability. It was a bonus that Aaron and Doug had worked together - successfully - in the past.

"Both award-winners at their previous agencies, I fully expect them to add considerable value to the work we do for clients, and take Draftfcb Cape Town to the awards podium in the near future."

Larter, who gave up the company he had started after stints with JWT, BBDO and Lowe Bull to join Draftfcb Cape Town, said it had been a tough decision to stop being his own boss, but that the opportunities he saw at the agency for building its reputation in the 'new media' space proved too great a draw card.

"To say that digital has changed the face of advertising is an understatement - media is changing, creative is changing, the consumer is changing; it is a tremendously exciting time. Draftfcb Cape Town has always been exceptionally good at generating 'earned media' - that is, creating communication that becomes a part of our everyday lives - but I saw the chance to take this capability and extend it, help it reach other media, new consumers and so on, for the benefit of the great brands that call this agency home," he said.

Both he and Harris, who comes to the agency from Lowe Bull, Ogilvy, Saatchi and Joe Public, are excited about working with De Villiers, and other members of the creative teams that gave South Africa 'Met eish' and 'Siriusssss', for example.

"We realise that, as the industry evolves, the traditional role of agency creatives is changing. To make sure our message is seen by the right people, across every touch point, we need to look beyond the standard copywriter, art director pairing. There's nothing like bringing together talented minds from many different disciplines to stimulate creativity. And we're finding those kinds of people here at Draftfcb. It's going to be a privilege working with them," said Harris.

4 May 2011 13:49

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