JWT South Africa is further investing in its creative talent with the hiring of Rob McLennan as Executive Creative Director. He joins from Lowe Bull where he has been Executive Creative Director for the past two years.
McLennan succeeds Mick Petherick who becomes Creative Chairman of JWT Johannesburg. Petherick will take on the specific responsibility for the development of the agency's Absa business - for both above- and below-the-line activities.
McLennan, an Art director who started his career at Collett Dickenson Pearce, is the second key creative hiring by JWT South Africa in recent months. In August 2005, the agency hired Conn Bertish, the former Saatchi and Saatchi Creative Director, to become its creative chief in Cape Town.
Following CDP, McLennan founded design shop Graphic Link in 1986, which subsequently joined forces with Column Advertising in 1989 where he was appointed Creative Director. Column was later purchased by Lintas in 1999 and in June 2000 Lowe Worldwide merged with Lintas internationally. He was appointed Creative Director of Lowe Bull in 2000 before being promoted in 2003 to Executive Creative Director.
As Executive Creative Director of Lowe Bull, the agency has consistently featured in the top three within South Africa's creative rankings. It has collected 11 Cannes Lions, most notably for the award-winning Dulux "Any colour you can think of" ads, which many industry pundits rate as one of the finest South African advertising campaigns of the last five years. In addition to his creative credentials, McLennan is an accomplished singer and guitarist and produced five albums and six top hits in the alternative rock band "No Friends of Harry." He now fronts his new band "Doris".
