Vega Octant | Semester 2 2016

ALUMNI
AUMNI
Young, Gifted & Killing It: Thabang Tipi Manyelo
(Source: http://www.marklives.com by Veli Ngubane)
Thabang Tipi Manyelo is a natural-born storyteller. He’s been telling stories for as long as he can
remember. Then he made a life-changing discovery after happening to attend a Vega School open day:
“I just couldn’t believe that there was a job that allowed you to write mini stories, and get paid for it!”
Two Pendorings and a Loerie later, this young and definitely gifted copywriter has been killing it!
Veli Ngubane: Where did you grow up and how did your parents
react when you told them you wanted to be a creative?
Thabang Tipi Manyelo: I grew up in Polokwane, Limpopo, and
you can just imagine the “creative” landscape (or lack thereof)
that side. I always joke that, if you want to be a “creative” in
Polokwane you have two options: be an accountant or “the
disappointment of the family”. Unfortunately, my parents passed
away when I was eight, and I was raised by my grandmother who
fully backed my desire to go to Vega (much to the disapproval of
my aunts and uncles). Looking back, I bet my gran is smiling on
some: “TOLD YOU! TOLD YOU!”
VN: How did you a) get interested in advertising and b) break into
the industry and land your first job?
TTP: a) I’m saddened that how I got into the industry was purely
by accident. I was on a gap year, trying to figure things out, and I
found myself at the Vega Open Day. I’ve always loved storytelling
and “creative writing” subjects, so I just couldn’t believe that
there was a job that allowed you to write mini stories, and get
paid for it!
b) As life goes, I couldn’t afford Vega. The money my parents had
left me could either pay for three years at UJ or one year at Vega.
So my gran and I came up with a crazy plan. Don’t go to UJ for
three years: go to Vega for one AND WIN AN AWARD THAT YEAR
(no pressure) because we thought that’s the best way to ensure
a bursary for the other two years. Crazy, right? I am grateful for
my gran’s bravery because I won my first Pendoring Award that
year and (like we thought in our plan) all the agencies lined up.
I went with DraftFCB.
VN: What are your specialisations/creative processes/mostimportant
tools of the trade?
TTP:
• Think on your own. Think on your own for a long time.
People are too quick to present “ideas”.
• Be honest with yourself, the client, the consumer. You owe it
to all three entities not to go with the conceptually bankrupt
idea.
• Present your idea! Selling an idea takes 30% idea and 70%
presentation!
VN: What characteristics do you need to have to succeed in the
advertising industry?
TTP: (n + 1) This is the formula. “n” is the number of times you
fail a brief. (n + 1) is thus the number of times you need to try
again.
VN: What is the South African advertising industry doing right
and what needs to change?
TTP: The SA ad industry knows how to make iconic productmoving
work. Our agencies know how to make work that
answers the brief, even if it means missing out on awards.
Other countries are very award-centric. What needs to change
is representation. The hands that work our industry don’t reflect
our consumers.
VN: You have won lots of awards; what does it take to create
award-winning work?
TTP: First, give the client THE BEST ITERATION of what they
think they want. Now make the ad that you want! Because, more
often than not, [at] the point where what your client wants and
what you want meet, you’ll find awards on awards on awards.
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