Eugene Botes

I began my career in advertising as a junior copywriter at the Johannesburg offices of Ogilvy & Mather Rightford Searlle-Tripp & Makin in January 2000. Thrown in at the deep end, I soon learnt to swim by writing ads for global brands such as Audi, Avis, Kodak, and Motorola. Working under the leadership of Robyn Putter and Alan Bunton - both of whom are Creative Director Hall of Fame inductees – I soon won my first Loerie Award for outdoor advertising on the prestigious Nedbank account. The first few years of my career were also spent under the guidance of exceptional, international award-winning Creative Directors like Peter Badenhorst, Graham Lamont and Howard Smiedt.
After several years at Ogilvy & Mather, I went out on my own to provide freelance writing services for agencies such as Publicis, TBWA Hunt Lascaris and The Agency. I felt right at home at The Agency and soon took up a permanent post as Creative Group Head.

After a long and loyal stint at The Agency, I joined Saatchi & Saatchi where I was the Lead Creative on the Proctor & Gamble account. I was then offered a great position at J Walter Thompson where I handled the Ford business. As a car lover, it was a dream job.

I left J Walter Thompson on a high note and took up the role of Executive Creative Director at LeftRight Advertising where I took charge of BiC, Club Med, Weber, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and Grant’s Whisky. After LeftRight Advertising, I was hired as Creative Director on the Absa Business Banking account at Mortimer Harvey. I also took care of the Road Accident Fund, SAICA, and Scania accounts.

My international awards include a special mention in the 1998 One Show New York Student Category, a finalist at the 2007 One Show New York for Poster & Outdoor, and 5 finalists at the 2006 London International Awards for Poster & Outdoor. Locally, I have won many Loerie nominations, finalists and winners. I have also won radio ad of the month at the Creative Circle’s monthly awards evening on several occasions. My interests include spending quality time with my wife and our two dogs, cooking, golf, karate, non-fiction and classic sports cars.