In drawing inspiration from the Lovers Plus and We the Brave brands, the campaign adapted from We the Brave the concept of reversible packaging, which allows one to remove a first layer and see what’s on the reverse side; and from Lovers Plus, the theme of safe sex…
Phillips and Kazi: Robyn just moved to Cape Town and Azraa currently resides in Pretoria. We both study creative brand communications at Vega School. You can find us sipping coffee, reading books and taking flat lays in secluded coffee shops.
Phillips and Kazi: Well, we were recently awarded the 'Golden Muse for the Future' award at the PromaxBDA Africa Awards. Our entry, Brave is Sexy, is a campaign for We The Brave and Lovers Plus that aims to offer young individuals the opportunity to take ownership of their sex lives.
We have been extremely grateful for the exposure of Brave is Sexy over the last couple of months and we hope to inspire younger students to use the industry to push boundaries and incite social change.
Phillips and Kazi: Both our careers have had ups and downs. We have worked on many creative briefs and entered many competitions, however, up until now we were rather unsuccessful, but we continued to focus on the bigger picture and pursue our goals. Our Brave is Sexy campaign is the perfect example of this. Vega School entered our work into various competitions. Each time we entered a different competition it gave us the opportunity to continue to push forward and improve our work. The PromaxBDA Africa awards finally allowed us to represent ourselves and Vega School. Hopefully these awards are only the start of our careers and we can use this incredible experience as motivation to continuously develop strategically and creatively.
Azraa is currently focusing on developing controversial campaigns that aim to push boundaries and get the public speaking. Robyn has spent a year dedicated to NGOs (Non-Profit Organisations), brand campaigns and public service announcements through creative and innovative messaging.
Phillips and Kazi:
Phillips and Kazi: In the advertising industry there is this constant drive to be original and creative. It’s an industry that requires us to always produce fresh and innovative concepts. We both thrive on this challenge, and our ability to work under pressure makes us love what we do.
Phillips and Kazi: Our average Vega day consists of drowning in Grande coffees before 8am, then we spend most of our days jumping between classes, shooting in the studio and helping each other with concepts and designs until 5pm. The rest of our evening is spent on FaceTime together, stressing about the quality of our executions until 2am. Each day involves different content and fun creative briefs, which keeps us both on our feet.
Phillips and Kazi: The tools of our trade involve anything and everything from concepts to executions in creative briefs and advertising. We find inspiration in many different places. Robyn finds hers in secondhand creative books and Azraa in flat lays and minimalist photographs.
Phillips and Kazi: We are both inspired by innovative advertising. There is a lot to be proud of within the African advertising industry. Creative work such as #BeAbsolut in Kuli Chana’s One Source music video displays some ground-shaking excitement within the advertising industry. Internationally, we found a lot of amusement in Durex advertising – a big inspiration for Brave is Sexy - as their campaigns use visuals to approach a taboo topic.
Phillips and Kazi: Budgeting and spending more resources on NGO work. There is significant support towards NGOs and public development from creative agencies. However, with the resources and the creative minds agencies have to offer, more of it needs to be filtered into helping local communities. We both hope to be a part of this in the years to come.
Phillips and Kazi: Small freelance briefs and our beach tans as it’s Vega Holiday Time.
Phillips and Kazi: ‘Collab’ is a word we constantly use when talking about upcoming campaigns in the industry. Many brands are collaborating and teaming up to create some awesome and innovative campaigns.
‘WHEN?! WHEN?!’ This may not be popular within the industry, however it’s something we almost utter daily. We are constantly questioning when we will have the time to rework a creative brief, when we will have the time to see friends and when we will have the time to sleep in.
Phillips and Kazi: Under pressure – ALWAYS! We both tend to work at our best when the pressure is on. Either at 12am on FaceTime or during a coffee refill throughout the day.
Phillips and Kazi: Having first studied photography, Azraa is always being asked to take photographs for friends at birthday parties. Robyn is involved in some online gaming, but won’t talk about it.
Phillips and Kazi: Both of us are definitely technophiles, constantly eyeing out the latest Apple products.
Phillips and Kazi: Azraa’s phone is filled with screenshots of bathrooms, architecture and minimalistic deco. Robyn’s phone has apps for everything – books, news and design, as well as loads of music and a few unread messages.
Phillips and Kazi: Find what makes you niche, what makes your work different and unique. Once you’ve found that, put your head down and never stop working to improve it. It’s that drive and dedication that will allow you to create something extraordinary.
Simple as that. Click here for the Vega School press office, here for a chat with Vega’s Loeries 2016-winning students, here for Kazi’s Behance profile, here for Phillips’ Behance profile and be sure to follow both Kazi and Phillips on Instagram.
*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.
