Lynn Madeley and Jonathan Deeb
After studying at the Red and Yellow School of Logic and Magic under the talented and sometimes terrifying eye of Brian Searle-Tripp, Jonathan left the Mother City for Johannesburg in 2001 and took his place in the interns' programme at The Jupiter Drawing Room (TJDR).
The many late nights and hours of hard work did not go unrewarded. His talent was soon noticed by creative guru Graham Warsop, Chief Creative Officer of TJDR, and Jonathan was appointed as a Creative Director after just four short years in the industry.
Testimony to his leadership and organisational ability - an uncommon quality in creatives - he has headed up the accounts of some of South Africa's biggest billing brands. Under his perfectionist eye, ABSA, the last brand he worked on at TJDR, achieved the highest recall and likability scores in the bank's 11-year history.
In 2009, after 8 years at Jupiter, Jonathan joined Black River FC as Creative Director and has been responsible for leading the much talked about Nando's CEO campaign. He thoroughly enjoyed his stint at Black River FC, but great opportunities don't come around too often. So when Jonathan was approached by Euro RSCG to join them in 2011, it was too hard to resist.
The Euro philosophy of fulfilling potential and the opportunity to become a partner in the business was the next career step that Jonathan wanted to take. Which is why he left Black River FC at the end of February to take up his new post as Executive Creative Director of the Euro RSCG group in South Africa.
Jonathan's own philosophy is clearly aligned with Euro RSCG too: "Our task as advertisers has never been more reliant on 'the big idea' to help our clients differentiate themselves both from their competitors and from every other stimuli competing for their consumer's attention. Consumers have the mike firmly in their hands and they have never had more of a voice. Trying to shout over them is futile."
Jonathan continues to bring home advertising awards both locally and internationally. Last year he also judged the Young Lions entries and the Vuka Awards, and was asked by the Loeries Awards to chair a judging panel.
Lynn Madeley, CEO of Euro RSCG, explains why Jonathan was the ideal choice to take the creative helm, "I didn't just need an ECD for Euro, I wanted a partner in the business. Our paths had crossed previously at The Jupiter Drawing Room and Jonathan's name was at the top of my list to join me as we grow the Euro RSCG group in South Africa. He is a natural leader and insists that his teams produce really strong, potent work that makes a difference. He is a significant gain to our business and I am delighted that he is on board."
