#BehindtheSelfie: Sunshine Shibambo, integrated director at The Racket Club
We sat down with her to find out more about her two-decade-long career, what's missing in today's ad campaigns, and who her dream dinner date is.
What are three words people would use to describe you?
- Creative pioneer
- People’s person
- Monophile - which is a big contradiction but so true.
Briefly describe your career up until this point
My career in advertising and marketing has been extremely rewarding and created opportunities I never could have imagined as a 21-year-old graduate in 2003.
In a nutshell, I started as an intern at Hunt Lascaris.
My first real attempt at a career was ignited at the SABC. I then moved on to Metro FM, followed by Media24.
A year later joined SAB, which gave me the confidence and tools to establish a business, Cheri Yase Kasi, and become the creative brave heart that landed at The Racket Club.
Where do you look/who do you look to for inspiration?
My inspiration has always been women in my industry and all the arts.
Previously there were very few women, and women of colour, taking up space in the creative industries.
But since 2010, the growth and strides taken have given us international fame, which no one expected.
There are so many to mention now, I would hate to even list them for fear of missing someone.
What is something everyone in the advertising industry should incorporate into their work?
During the pandemic, so many campaigns were missing an element of “heart”.
Even though we were being told to stay safe, everything felt so ingenuine.
We were in the cookie-cutter, bubblegum era of advertising during the pandemic. That’s why I was so happy to genuinely shed a few tears while judging some of the 2024 Loeries entries.
We need to go back to using advertising as a tool for change, aspiration and hope again.
If you could have a one-on-one dinner with someone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Charlotte Manye Maxeke.
She was a woman who broke social barriers throughout her life, as she was the first Black woman to earn an international college degree in the early 1900s.
Throughout her life, she worked to create opportunities and equality for women in South Africa.
Imagine having the opportunity to pull from a woman of that stature.
A conversation with someone who could overcome the adversities of South Africa then, and achieve what she did today, would be a mental game changer for any woman.
Favourite song at the moment?
Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us
What are your long-term goals for your position as integrated director?
To grow a strong team that creates work our agency and clients can be proud of for years to come.
What do you hope to have accomplished at the end of your career?
One day, I want to be able to pass this knowledge forward and teach as many people as I can.
There are very few industries that have the ability to mould open-minded people and communities.
This industry has the potential to change minds, broaden perspectives and help communities overcome prejudices.
