VML South Africa Brings Together The Hardy Boys and Grey under 1 Brand

VML South Africa has announced the strategic shift of its two boutique agencies, The Hardy Boys and Grey South Africa. The newly formed brand will be known as The Hardy Boys South Africa, uniting the extensive creative, design, and social expertise from both agencies into one of South Africa's premier mid-size boutique agencies.

As part of this evolution, Tlali Taoana, who has been serving as CEO and president of Grey South Africa, will be stepping down to explore new opportunities. Taoana, who took on the leadership role at Grey in 2023, has been instrumental in guiding the agency through an exciting and transformative period.

Reflecting on his time at Grey, Taoana said, "Leading Grey South Africa has been an incredible journey and I am immensely proud of the significant strides we’ve made in building a powerful creative force and driving our clients' success. As I look to the future, I am excited about the new possibilities that lie ahead, and I remain deeply appreciative of the talented individuals and clients I've had the honour to work with."

Jarred Cinman, CEO of VML South Africa said, "I have had the privilege of working with Tlali for only a short time, but he has handled the business with courage and provided calm leadership through a challenging year. I particularly want to call out his incredible devotion to his people and his clients. He is an excellent CEO, and I have no doubt will go on to do amazing things in the future of this industry and beyond."

VML recognises the importance of maintaining a presence in the market with a smaller, creatively driven agency. Preserving and enhancing The Hardy Boys as a distinct brand aligns perfectly with this strategy.

Founded in 1994 by Dale Tomlinson, The Hardy Boys was named after the series of books by Franklin W Dixon in which Frank and Joe Hardy use their curiosity to solve seemingly unsolvable mysteries with help from their friends along the way. While their curiosity often landed them in trouble, it was also the secret to their success. This problem-solving curiosity has been the spirit of THB since its inception.

“Launching an agency amid the euphoric emergence of our new democracy was certainly cause for heightened optimism even though Durban was not the epicentre of the industry. Maybe this was a pioneering example of remote working that is now the global norm. We were good at it, and we still are”, said Dale.

Grey South Africa has also made its mark as a creative leader, particularly over the past three years with the Distell (now Heineken) brands. Under Grey’s stewardship, Savanna became the #1 cider in the world. The agency continues to work with an impressive portfolio of brands, including Hunters, Amarula, Bernini, Metropolitan, Burger King, Volvo, RMB, Haleon, and many others.

As The Hardy Boys celebrates its 30th anniversary this month, the merger with Grey marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter, setting the stage for the next 30 years of growth and innovation.

Post-merger, VML will operate two distinct brands in the market: the main VML agency, with nearly 700 employees across Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town, and The Hardy Boys, with around 150 employees and strong offices in Durban and Johannesburg. Both agencies will be creatively led by Fran Luckin, VML chief creative officer, who has a long and successful history with Grey.

“Our vision is to cultivate a mid-sized boutique agency that is part of our broader market offering,” said Jarred. “This business will benefit from the extensive capabilities of the larger VML network, encompassing creative, strategy, technology, data, social, and commerce.”