Shapeshifter of the Year

SHAPESHIFTER OF THE YEAR: Melusi Mhlungu

Have the courage to be your own creative self

ow based in Miami, this year’s

NShapeshifter is remarkable for his bravery. As a highly awarded creative, he could have settled for success locally —he certainly has the credentials to show for it. However, not content with making a success locally, he has had the courage to move to new shores where he is continuing to create superb work.

Melusi Mhlungu, the winner of this year’s AdFocus Shapeshifter of the Year Award, has learnt a lot about shapeshifting —and the value of staying the same —during his recent tenure at David Miami in Florida, US.

He admits that on arriving at the agency, away from home and firmly out of his comfort zone, he had doubts about whether he was good enough to be there. In the face of his intimidation, he started trying to be like the other talented creatives there,forgetting what made him different.

“It took a while for me to build my confidence and become myself again —t he Melusi the agency had seen and wanted. It changed everything for me and taught me the most valuable lesson to date: staying true to my s e l f ,”he says.

Ultimately, it is advice Mhlungu would give to any young creative. “Do n ’t try to be the next anyone in the industry. Be the next you.”

His career started at FCB Joburg, where he worked on brands such as Coca-Cola, Toyota and Vodacom. He later moved to Ogilvy Joburg, working predominantly on DStv and KFC. It was here that he was offered the opportunity to join the team at David Miami, where he gained further experience working on Budweiser and Burger King.

Mhlungu is currently working as a creative director at Ogilvy Chicago. “It ’s been a crazy time to move jobs and cities, and I’m really just finding my feet and getting to know my team and our brands,”he says of the recent move.

For Mhlungu, his experience in the US has been priceless. “I’ve grown so much as a creative over the past few years and learnt an enormous amount,”he says, adding that while he misses home and his family, he is grateful for their support, which keeps him going.

It was in the US that Mhlungu experienced his biggest career highlight.“Working on the second Super Bowl commercialfor two years in a row was exciting enough,”he says. “On one of them I worked with Kathryn Bigelow, the first female director to win an Oscar, which was very exciting.”

Not surprisingly, his career has been accompanied by lows too. “There have been a lot of disappointments,”he reveals. “If I had to choose one, it would be attending an awards show with 15 other finalists early in my career and winning only one bronze. It crushed me, but it was also a turning point in terms of the type of work I started producing after that.”

For someone who loves people — entertaining them and having conversations — Mhlungu believes he has found the perfect place for himself in advertising. “After all, advertising is really entertainment, and it’s about having conversations with your audience. It’s telling stories, stories that only you as a creative can tell. They’re stories that are relevant to your brand and at the same time, relatable to people,”he s ay s .

Advertising, he believes, gives him a chance to do something new every day, and this is what he loves the most about the industry. “Each new day provides another chance to try new combinations. It’s a constant challenge to beat the idea you had yesterday. There aren’t many jobs out there that give you that opportunity and I feel lucky to have it,”he says.

That said, the industry is going through a tough time and Mhlungu says that the Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge it has faced for some time.

Of course, with challenge comes opportunity and Mhlungu sees this as an opportunity for creativity to once more lead and get clients the results they need at this time. “Now, more than ever, clients are in need of creativity that yields results.”

AdFocus jury chairTumi Rabanye says Mhlungu is an inspiration to the local industry. “Despite his myriad successes, he has remained disciplined and humble.”

Melusi Mhlungu