John Hunt

Born in Zambia and educated in England and South Africa, John Hunt was the creative founder partner of Hunt Lascaris, widely recognized as one of the leading agencies in the
world. The agency started in 1983 with the mantra ?Life?s too short to be mediocre.? The stated objective was to be the fi rst
world-class communications group out of Africa.

TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris has grown to be South Africa?s premier advertising agency, judged Agency of the Year six times over the last seven years. In addition, the agency was judged International Agency of the Year in 1993 and won the IMM Marketing Organization of the Year in 1994. In May 2000, Financial Mail Adfocus named TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris ?Agency of the Century? in South Africa. The same year, Advertising Age named TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Agency of the
Year for Europe, Middle East and Africa. The agency has won
numerous awards locally and internationally for a number of
diverse accounts.

In 1996, John was elected to the South African Advertising
Hall of Fame, the first working creative to be so honored. In
1997 he was the recipient of the Financial Mail Long Term
Achievement Award. John was intimately involved in Nelson
Mandela?s fi rst ANC election campaign in 1993. Although
harrowing at the time, this unique moment in history ushered a
battered South Africa into the warm light of democracy.

In April 2003, John relocated to TBWA\?s New York headquarters to assume the role of Worldwide Creative Director.

John is married with three children. He is a keen African Art
collector and has found time to write a number of television
and theatre plays. Amongst other awards, he was named 1989 South African Playwright of the Year for ?Vid Alex?, a comment on censorship during the apartheid years.