BMW leaves Ireland/Davenport for OpenCo

by MarkLives. BMW will be parting ways with its South Africa agency, Ireland/Davenport (a WPP agency), after a decade of working together. BMW was Ireland /Davenport’s founding client. The BMW business will be taken over by Openco (majority-owned by TBWA\South Africa).

King James II wants to rule in Jozi

by Herman Manson. It's been a little over two years since Rob McLennan and Graeme Jenner teamed up with King James Group to launch full-service startup ad agency, King James II, in Johannesburg.

2015 APEX Awards — all the winners

Congrats to all the 2015 APEX Awards winners!

Homegrown: Brand-building for busy lives

by Lynne Gordon. Everywhere on the roadside of Mzanzi life are the masters of ‘in-between’ — small businesses that make our busy lives simpler, fast and better. And as our lives grow more manic, it’s brands which enable this seamless flexibility that will create new opportunities to win consumers’ love and loyalty.

Creation: Five ways to successfully kill your creativity

by Artwell Nwaila. We as creatives get so caught up in our work that we forget the small things that help fuel our craft. Today I look at five simple things that may contribute to deflated creativity.

#TheFutureByDesign: The future is function

a #TheFutureByDesign interview. The future will be filled with more cake and less decoration. That’s a prediction from Clayton Sutherland, creative lecturer and academic head at Red & Yellow. Future By Design speaks to him about the future of creativity.

Regular reads:

• Ad of the Week: Hello, Cape Town weekend!

• Talk Africa: Kenya going digital *NEW WEEKLY COLUMN*

• Global.Ad.Geeks: Carlsberg’s heavenly haircut *NEW WEEKLY COLUMN*

• Shelf Life: Hill’s finds the ideal balance for pets

• MagLove: Celebrating the human form

• Ad Feature: How good does the top of the corporate ladder look?

Account moves:

• Arc South Africa wins Sunglass Hut and Cape Consumers

Appointments:

• Two new executive producers for Velocity

On the radar:

• Absa renews sponsorship of KKNK

• Creative Circle Awards: May, June 2015 winners

• Box Office: Top 10 movies at Cinema Nouveau

Covering the advertising and marketing industry without fear or favour — MarkLives.com for breaking news, exclusive industry opinion, company news and jobs! Sign up here for an email round-up every Monday and Thursday and follow MarkLives on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube.