The first day kicked off with a session by Justin Gomes and Charl Thom, partners in Cape Town ad agency FoxP2. At first it seemed like the Star Wars intro score for their onstage walk was just a cheap trick, but it was soon clear how they intended to cleverly mirror George Lucas’ epic production with their own modus operandi. And boy, do these guys know their Lucas facts! Was surprised to hear that Lucas’ phenomenal concept was rejected by major film corporations back in the mid-70s. By sticking to his guns and disrupting the tried and tested rules of “best practice” in favour of “better practice” Lucas created Star Wars himself on his own terms. FoxP2 left us with seven points from the Lucas Lessons archive:

• Best practice cannot be applied to truly original work.
• Have the courage to see your vision through.
• Choose the right partners.
• Better practice can yield better results.
• Better practice can set your business free.
• Better practice can shape popular culture.
• Don’t put pants on the wookie.

Huh? Ok, here’s what they mean… Lucas was urged to clothe Chewbacca as some said “He looks too naked, it’ll just upset kids”. A test clip was shot and just served to prove how ridiculous “Chewie” looked in jeans. A good analogy of how we shouldn’t allow the dilution of simple, pure ideas.

Especially interesting was how Justin and Charl steered clear of shameless self-promotion in that they didn’t just stand up on stage going through their portfolio. Rather they took the humble approach by profiling Lucas and ending with just their innovative Drive Dry campaign for Brandhouse, which is currently airing on TV. Turned out to be one of the most memorable sessions of the ‘advertising indaba’.

Emil Padia, Creative Director.