The Women Spearheading Darling – South Africa’s No. 1 Production House

Lorraine Smit and Melina McDonald boast an impressive collective track record. Since founding Darling together, they’ve been inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame (and described by its CEO as “the embodiment of creative excellence”), been ranked the number one production house in South Africa by both The Immortal Awards and MarkLives – and they’ve just won South African ad of the Year.

Strong work and strong ethics go hand in hand at Darling. The production house is built on a commitment to better the industry, investing in under-represented talent to promote gender and racial equality. The proof is in the pudding: a quick glance at its roster shows a practically 50/50 gender and racial split.

Read how Lorraine and Melina are blazing a trail in the South African industry in this interview with LBB’s Zara Naseer.

LBB> How did the two of you first begin working together? And how long have you been doing so?

Lorraine> We both worked on a small promotional video which had a very urgent deadline – the editor would have to work through the night. Neither of us wanted to leave and return in the morning and we realised that we clearly had the same work ethic and were also both control freaks!

A few years later, we had the opportunity to start a company with a vision of doing award-winning jobs and growing young directors rather than make money initially, and this was the start of a partnership that took that company to number one in South Africa 18 years ago.

Melina> When we started Darling, we had already worked together for eight years in the previous shop – and so we decided to make Darling about all the things we love: the people and the work! Darling is now 10 years young and we have had the privilege of being ranked as the number one production house in South Africa across the board – both by the Loeries and the Immortals as well as the MarkLives survey, which is judged by the clients and agencies in South Africa.

LBB> What’s the most valuable thing you’ve each learnt from the other over that time?

Lorraine> We are such different personalities and it’s never that one is wrong and one is right… There are so many ways to get to an end goal and more than one can work. Also, the biggest thing for a partnership to work is trust. Nothing is more important.

Melina> Lorraine and I have completely different personalities but very similar values – which has always stood us in good stead. Also, complete trust and communication.

LBB> You established Darling in 2014 – what was the driving force behind that decision, and what was your dream for the company?

Melina> As Lorraine mentioned, we had been working and succeeding for others and it was time for us to make a move to achieve in our own company. We decided to start with a bunch of young and diverse talent whose biggest part of their career was still to come. Our vision was to always stay abreast of what the industry required – and to fill that need in the best way possible. The advertising landscape was changing and we wanted to form a company that could change with it.

LBB> What was the South African landscape like for two women founders at the time, and how has that changed today?

Melina> There were not a lot of women-run and women-owned production houses – even today the numbers are limited. While there are many women-run production houses, the shareholders are mostly a combination of men and women. But to be honest, we didn't really focus on that – we kept our eyes firmly on our vision and just kept moving. Focusing on producing good work ensured we had the support of the entire South African industry.

LBB> Looking back over all the projects you’ve worked on together, what’s each of your favourite and why?

Lorraine> Mine is definitely Nedbank Youth which we have just won various awards for, including South African Ad of the Year and a Loeries Gold, as well as a Ciclope Bronze for Direction. It is an emotive piece of work that captured the 1976 uprising of students in Soweto on June 16th, when they courageously marched to fight for freedom and education. The entire process was a very meaningful once in a lifetime for the entire crew, the agency and the client. It also included meeting parents and honouring children at schools by adding their names to the honours boards.

Above: Nedbank 'Youth X Class of '76'  (Director's Cut)

Melina> The next project 😂

Definitely Nedbank Youth as a recent project. And I have to include all the work we have done for a cause:

#blamenomore, which won South Africa’s first Glass Lion for Change

Joburg Ballet #breakingballet, which won gold at Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD. etc

Carling ‘Bride Armour,’ a piece of work which also picked up a number of awards and opposed abuse against women

LBB> You’ve previously referenced your “need to do things differently, and to build a better ad industry from the inside” – in your view, what specifically still needs changing, and what steps are you taking to achieve that?

Lorraine> Definitely the number of women in senior positions in our industry. There is also a bit of a perception that beauty, fashion, pads, etc. are reserved for female directors and anything with cars or action, etc. does not often get seen by women.

Melina> Darling’s director base is predominantly women – and it’s diverse. We focused on growing young and diverse talent from the very beginning of our company – we weren’t afraid to take a so-called risk on a less popular option at the time. Investing in people and giving back to an industry is one of our primary focuses. This is also why Lorraine and I were inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame.

Lorraine> We are part of a local organisation called OPENCHAIR, supporting women and juniors in the industry in many ways, like giving them a mentor for advice, and encouraging the industry to adhere to a code of conduct. It’s mostly to ensure there are more chairs filled by women…

LBB> What’s the craziest situation you’ve ended up in during a production?

Lorraine> Once we had trained a small bird from when it hatched to fly into a car on command, but on day one, there was a huge banging sound on set and our hero flew away!

Melina> Gosh, there are so many. To name a few, getting an artist to do a cold plunge through a hole in the ice on top of a mountain in New Zealand; training 100 monks to sing and dance in English; programming 1000 car lights to play an animation in a desert-type landscape and filming it real time; making bitesize ballets – and they were all turned over in no time.

LBB> What do you look out for in the directors you represent? What kind of talent gets you excited?

Lorraine> No prima donnas allowed. Talent talent talent, but also people that have the same ethos regarding how to treat others whilst pushing the creative all the time.

Melina> We definitely have a no arseholes policy 🤣

Diversity – both socially and in their skillset.

LBB> And how do you nurture that talent?

Lorraine> Darling is known for nurturing young talent, usually by starting someone in research where they will learn from all our directors, shadow and help on pitches, come to sets, etc., thereby gaining confidence and invaluable experience. Then we help them to build reels and get them launched into the market, with our full promise and backing.

This is one of the reasons why we were honoured to be inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame in 2021 amongst some stalwarts in our industry.

LBB> What’s your vision for the next decade of Darling?

Lorraine> To stay ahead of the game and continually get recognition amongst the top three production houses in South Africa. It will require us to reinvest and adjust to the changing demands of the industry.

Melina> And to always ensure that we aid growth and give back to the industry we love and appreciate