We sought to guide these young advertising enthusiasts through the festival, showing them how to have a good time, but not at the expense of their reputations. We aimed for this to be a desirable keepsake beyond just the festival weekend, and although light-hearted in its delivery, it actually contained useful and applicable information.

With many Victorian influences, our agency has a rather unique style within the South African advertising industry. The agency also famously spent their entire first year’s furniture budget on a single Chesterfield couch in appreciation of its meticulous craftsmanship. The book represents both the agency’s quirkiness and the craft upon which its reputation has been built. This Victorian-esque etiquette guide for a 21st century advertising festival certainly drew a lot of interest and was undoubtedly synonymous with only one agency, ours.

The results were staggering. Not only were all 3000 books eagerly snatched up, the Loeries Committee reported that during the festival, public indecency was down 64%, arrests down 78% and not a single client reported being inappropriately groped by a drunken intern. For the first time in the festival’s 34-year history, delegates could themselves be remembered just as fondly as their work would be. Subsequently, in the following weeks, our agency received an influx of CVs that resulted in a number of new hires.