The Young Creatives Repping South Africa on a Global Stage
“It was as beautiful as it was stressful.”
“It nearly killed us.”
These reviews come respectively from Khomotso Makoto and Paula Andropoulos, an art director and copywriter duo from TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris in Johannesburg. The topic being discussed: Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025 – where they recently won Silver in the Young Lions Film category.
They earned their place at the festival after emerging victorious from the local rounds in South Africa – an experience which, according to Khomotso, was “way more pleasant.” He adds: “Our first film felt like a labour of love. Our Cannes film was born of blood, sweat, and tears.”
The task that nearly ended them was to create a 60” piece for Ovarian Cancer Action – in two days. That meant just 48 hours to conceptualise, write, produce, and edit; but they couldn’t do any of that without a foundational knowledge of the topic. Determined to handle it sensitively as well as creatively, research had to come first. That’s where they unearthed the insight that would inspire their entire submission.
Paula relives the moment: “We discovered that ovarian cancer was first diagnosed 216 years ago. We came up with a cure for erectile dysfunction in six. This horrible disjunct gave rise to a sense of anger and incredulity, which fuelled our creative process.” Khomotso adds, “The idea also stemmed from the ‘real-life’ frustrations we felt about the task at hand. It felt like 48 hours wasn’t enough time to address the life and death consequences of this cancer. This got us thinking about time and priorities in general, and those themes are central to our idea.”
The pressure surrounding the competition was palpable. When quizzed on how they coped, Paula’s not actually sure they did. “We experienced emotional and collaborative highs and lows throughout the 48 hours. Our saving grace was that we knew we had to put the idea first, even before craft, which is hard for two detail-oriented people. But we worked hard on developing an idea that we believed in, and, from there, everything fell into place – at the last minute. Naturally.”
While they had a lot to contend with – nearly 40 other international teams, for a start – they had plenty working in their favour. Two years of close collaboration and learning one another’s processes oiled their creative machine. “There was certainly friction within the process,” Khomotso admits, “as there is in any creative process – especially when you’ve got two passionate creatives and a lot at stake. But we respect each other so much, we were able to find a way to get the work done, without doing harm to our relationship in the process.”
Both being career-switchers also gave Paula and Khomotso a unique competitive edge. They weren’t just attacking their brief from the perspective of a copywriter and art director; they also came armed with editorial and design experience, respectively.
Khomotso explains: “I always apply my design brain when it comes down to it, (this helps me understand the brand's identity and intentions more than I would otherwise), and I am also very aware of how incredibly great of a writer Paula is. We use each other’s strengths to navigate through the challenges. With all that in mind, I think it's fair to say that a lot of our decisions were inspired by our experiences.”
The pair are keen to pay their respects to the broader group of people who also had a role in placing them on the podium. Shout-outs go to the TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris team, who rallied around them without interfering, offering “ongoing encouragement, emotional support, sense-checks, and check-ins,” in Paula’s words. Khomotso also spotlights the “wealth of support” from all their fellow South Africans in Cannes. Representing their talent as a nation was an honour.
Having survived the intensity of it all, Paula and Khomotso have come out the other side with an invaluable appreciation of their potential as young South African creatives and the strength of their bond as a team. Asked whether they’d do anything differently if they could go back to the start, Paula simply answers, “No. In spite of all the madness, it was imperfectly perfect.”
And Khomotso? “Probably would just pack more shorts.”
