The Heavy Chef Project

Category Archives: Heavy Chef / WWC News

Heavy Chef Session: Advertising agency FoxP2 presents a talk on Creativity And Its Power To Transform Business

“Why Wookiees Don’t Wear Pants”

- A Study Of Creativity And Its Power To Transform Business

In 2005 a new kid arrived on the South African advertising block.

The new venture was called ‘FoxP2’. Since opening its doors, the agency has been rated Finweek’s Cape Agency Of The Year 2009, Financial Mail Agency Of The Year 2008, Finweek’s Small Agency Of The Year 2007 and Finweek’s Newcomer Agency Of The Year 2006. Arguably the most successful independent agency to start up in the last five years, FoxP2 has continuously been rated the most creative agency in the country on a per capita basis and is the smallest agency in South African advertising to win the Finmail Agency Of The Year award.

Founder Justin Gomes and MD, Charl Thom, have kindly agreed to talk at the next Heavy Chef presentation, presenting “Why Wookiees Don’t Wear Pants”, a study of creativity and its power to transform business. They will give us a unique insight into the relationship between art and commerce and how it relates to the world of advertising. This is NOT one to miss – to whet your appetite, take a gander at some of FoxP2’s work here.

Oh, and they’ll even tell you what the name “FoxP2″ means - but only if you ask nicely.

Want to attend?

The next Heavy Chef Session is going to be held (on the 1st July) at the familiar venue of 24.com’s high tech facility in Greenpoint, Cape Town.

If you’d like to join us, please email us to get on the invitation list (click here). You will then be sent invites to this and upcoming Heavy Chef Sessions.

Venue: 3rd floor, 24.com building, Greenpoint, Cape Town (directions here)
Date: Wednesday, 1st July 2009
Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Cost to attend: Gratis, but there is a dress code… guys come as wookiees; girls as Princess Leiah in ‘Return of the Jedi’

There are 50 seats available, on a first-come first-serve basis.

As usual, the venue will be provided by 24.com, wine by Perdeberg and the beer by Corona. And, for those non-alcohol drinkers, we’re proud to announce that Glaceau Mineral Water will also be present.

You can also check out their great advertising work on Ideate, our sister blog.

By Fred | June 25, 2009
Comments (3)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Reflecting on work.02

And this is Beverley, an account manager at World Wide Creative.

We think she’s in love.

By Rudolf | June 2, 2009
Comments (2)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Reflecting on work

This is Rudolf, a junior designer at World Wide Creative.

The pic was taken by Paul, master CSS whiz, Flash guru in making and budding photographer.

By Fred | June 1, 2009
Comments (3)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Welcome Warrendean

Our latest chef in the World Wide Creative kitchen is a long-haired, skinny hooligan called Warrendean. Replacing Rowan Jacklin on maintenance and programming, Warrendean has stepped nimbly into the gaping void left by his predecessor. There are high expectations for the new guy. After all, since Rowan went to the greener pastures of Mossel Bay, who was left to Rick Roll or receive the Double Nelson? Warrendean arrived first thing on Monday to a torrent of abuse from the incumbent programming team, and he’s managed to survive the first part of the week relatively unscathed.

Warrendean, mate, good luck with the general mayhem that is World Wide Creative. We’ll check in on your progress in due course, maybe even get you starring in a video like this one…

Welcome to our world - !

By Fred | May 6, 2009
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

World Wide Creative cooks up a storm at Capsicum

In the spirit of Heavy Chef, the World Wide Creative team got together on Saturday for a cooking lesson at Capsicum Culinary Studio (a client of World Wide Creative’s). The result: sumptuous food, leisurely eating, great laughs and funny looking marrows.

Witness a bunch of geeks getting ready for some cooking action.

A vital call comes through to Jbg Manager Louis v Rensburg.

Well, hey there. How YOU doin’ - ?

About 3 secs after this pic, the whole table lurched forward. It wasn’t embarrassing or anything.

The Tiramisu lady lets rip.

Miranda teaches us how to chop onions. Yes, there is a right way.

Thanks to the team from Capsicum, especially to Miranda and her crew for doing the impossible: getting a bunch of geeks and marketers to conjure up some pretty amazing food.

More pics here.

By Fred | April 20, 2009
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Farewell Rowan Jacklin

Today is a very sad day for World Wide Creative: Rowan Jacklin, our studio manager and Heavy Chef event-organiser, is leaving the building. Rowan, who has been a mainstay in the studio for 14 months, has decided to leave for the green pastures of Mossel Bay to open up a tanning salon for midgets* together with his (soon-to-be) wife. Rowan will be leaving a rich legacy of stories, memories and anecdotes, including some of the following chestnuts:

The Eyebrow-Plucking Incident

Rowan, the epitomy of Natalian manliness, came to the studio one day after having his eyebrows plucked. He thought he would get through the day without everyone taking him to the cleaners. He was way, WAY wrong.

(Above) The aforementioned eyebrows - notice the reddish scar

(Above) Rowan realising that we spotted his plucked ‘brows - that’s me going in for the close-up shot.

The Wedding Song

When asked what Rowan’s wedding song would be, it turns out that this (see video below) was his choice. Too radical.

Whigfield

Rowan had a mindblowing penchant for reminding us of irritating, catchy Eurotrash songs that we really thought we’d put behind us… possibly the worst was having us go through an afternoon of Whigfield’s ’Saturday Night’ playing in our heads.

There are too many stories to recount here, but Rowan, God Bless you brother. We will miss your showstopping comments and musical references, and we wish you all the best for the future.

*Not really, but this has been a standing joke in the studio since Rowan showed us photos of some of the equipment he’s got - in particular, a 5ft high contraption that encases your body so that only your head sticks out, and that only a pygmy, a midget or Tom Cruise would be able to fit into.

p.s. Rowan, if you ever get whimsical or sad about the ‘old days’ at WWC, keep this link handy to remember us by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo : )

By Fred | April 17, 2009
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Heavy Chef March Jozi: “The New Tools of PR 2″

Following the success of the first “Web PR” Session in Feb, the Johannesburg proved to be a fascinating follow up. Glitches notwithstanding, we were enthralled by the presentation by Mel Attree on “Connecting with Online Communities” and the conversation on measurement initiated by Lisa Clark of Sentient.

Here’s Mel’s presentation:

Connecting with Communities Heavy Chef March09

View more presentations from MelissaAttree.

Thanks to Corona and Perdeberg, our sponsors. The venue was provided by the Graduate Institure of Management and Technology.

A big thanks to Mel and Lisa for some scintilating learning, and thanks to the audience who came.

* some of the drinks got lost in transit, loads of people got lost, Hein Kaiser was sick and couldn’t make the third speaker slot - and I dropped a bottle of Corona on the tiles of the reception room, spraying broken glass everywhere. Good times.

By Fred | March 27, 2009
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Floor Diving

Here at World Wide Creative we encourage a healthy work-life balance. Being stuck in front of a computer screen all day can be very draining so it is vitally important to be active - even in the workplace. One of our favourite pastimes is Floor Diving as demonstrated here by our chop-up guy Paul:

We are always looking for great in-office activities so if you have any suggesions please feel free to let us know and we’ll send you the photos of our team trying it out.

By Mike | March 13, 2009
Comments (2)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News, There's a Fly in My Soup

Heavy Chef Feb 2009: The New Tools of PR

Last night saw the first Heavy Chef Session of 2009. We had our biggest attendance yet, with around 80 people crowding into the venue on the third floor of the 24.com building in Green Point. (I know we only allow 50 people, but we’re working on a better system for inviting people). Apologies to the multitudes who were turned away, but we’re going to try and get the video of the proceedings sorted soon.

Thanks to our three speakers, Bev ‘Feisty’ Merriman, Cath Luckhoff and Kaz Henderson - you guys were great.

The Session started with Bev giving a brief overview of the new tools and how they work. Cath followed with a fascinating insight into the Rocking the Daisies PR campaign, which is a great example of the ‘new style’. Kaz ended off with some examples from Total Media’s stable - giving us some indication of how the bigger agencies (with bigger clients) are making the transition to true offline / online integration within PR strategy.

Thanks again to our sponsors: 24.com, Perderberg and Corona - the beer and wine went down a treat after a sweltering Cape Town afternoon.

By Fred | February 26, 2009
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

8 Types of Creative Directors

Ahhh, I stumbled accross this old strip from branding/comic genius Tom Fishburne and immediately asked myself… where does Fred fit in?

Tim Fishburne

NOTE: Fred is the Creative Director at World Wide Creative and sees himself falling into the 9th-type… The ‘Do-ya-feel-lucky-punk?’-Type - hence the high productivity levels at our humble studio!

By Louis Janse van Rensburg | February 5, 2009
Comments (1)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

WWC’s Managing Director Found !!

What a day, what a day… first we were on a super high after President Obama’s inauguration and THEN, World Wide Creative’s fearless leader and web marketing mastermind, Mike Perk, was found!!

After an almost 5 month pledge of silence, Mike shocked the entire WWC team (and apparently Obama himself!) by writing and publishing his first blog post since September 12, 2008 - albeit on our client’s blog www.smallcapital.co.za… check it out…

>> What to pay for search engine optimisation?

Now, question is, how are we going to get him to blog more often on Heavy Chef?

Maybe using subliminal flattery tactics… afterall such sophisticated, talented and pure genius piece of writing is hard to come by, right!?

Please shoot with other ideas….

By Louis Janse van Rensburg | January 21, 2009
Comments (6)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Rockin’ 2009! 4 Things To Look Forward To In The New Year

Fact is 2009 is going to be a tough year no doubt, with the grim global and local economic outlook taking centre stage.

However, an offset of these circumstances is that 2009 has a couple of things we can look forward to - specifically within the digital environment in South Africa…

Results. It’s crunch-time and there will be little tolerance for hyped-up buzz-words and flaky delivery. Rather decisions and delivery will focus on things such as ROI, profitability, value, accountability and measurability…i.e. results.
Innovation. When forced out of one’s comfort zone, innovation and creativity comes to the for. Companies will re-evaluate their communications internally as well as to their customers - so, expect to see an exciting application of digital channels combined with well thought-out, creative messaging.
Relationships. 2009 will see companies, individuals and brands cherish relationships, current and new, more than ever. We can thus look forward to more time being spent on nurturing and growing relationships. The use of appropriate digital strategies and technologies to improve on CRM systems and procedures will thus be prominent this year.
More of WWC. World Wide Creative has kicked off this year with some really awesome projects of which we will start unveiling the curtain from March onwards and start shouting from the hilltops!! We have also made a concerted effort to increase our exposure exponentially in 2009 - so, expect to see and hear a lot more of the Heavy Chefs during the next couple of months!

As a side note, you can also view these presentations I found from the guys at TrendsSpotting on ‘Influencers Predictions’ for Online Marketing and Social Media in 2009 - A well summarized piece of work on what key figures on the web are expecting for the new year.

Here’s to a spectacular 2009 to all!

By Louis Janse van Rensburg | January 8, 2009
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News, Hot Stuff

December Heavy Chef Session: What To Expect in 2009

We had a great time on Wednesday night, at the penultimate Heavy Chef Session for the year, with some great pearls thrown down by Jon Cherry, Simon Leps and Dave Duarte.

The topic was ‘What to Expect in 2009′ and was followed by some hearty and rigorous cross-questioning by the audience - mostly directed at a game Simon Leps on the mobile front - and then the usual networking afterwards.

We’re editing the video shortly, so keep checking this space for the update. Here are some pics to tide us over until Brandon Golding posts his up on Facebook : )

Thanks once again to our sponsors, 24.com with Chris Roper and crew proving very gracious hosts; and of course (the real reason why everyone comes) the awesome wine (Perdeberg) and the ice cold beer (Corona).

Here’s a very brief snippet of Dave’s talk on digital trends on YouTube.

By Fred | December 12, 2008
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Heavy Chef Session November: “Smoke, Mirrors and Social Media (Part 2)”

Last month saw our very first venture up north for the first Heavy Chef Session in the dark, dangerous streets of Johannesburg. Fortunately we weren’t killed, and the talk went swimmingly - especially as we were situated in the opulent luxury of the Twiice International showroom.

Mike, Louis and I got the ball rolling with a presentation on ‘Smoke, Mirrors and Social Media’ which you can view on Zoopy here and here.

So, we’re excited to announce Part 2, which will see the talents of Mike Stopforth, Arthur Goldstuck and Andy Hadfield continue the conversation.

We’re talking about Social Media and separating the hype from facts. The question is: ‘Where does the value really lie?’

Mike comes from an agency perspective, Arthur from an analyst’s and Andy from the corporate viewpoint.

It’s going to be a cracking presentation, with great examples, solid explanations, hard facts, open discussion encouraged from the audience, fireworks and dwarves*.

So, what are you waiting for? Book your place already!

If you’d like to join us, please email Rowan or phone the studio at 0861 932226. (Since the newsletter went out, the venue is almost fully booked, so hurry!)

Venue: Twiice International, 1 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank, 2196, Johannesburg
Date: Wednesday, 26th November 2008
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Cost to attend: You will have to sing a karaoke song at the door, which will be filmed and uploaded to YouTube immediately. It’s the price you pay.

Once again, drinks will be supplied by our fine sponsors, Perdeberg Winery and Corona Beer.

NOTE: We’ve listened to the advice of the various people who attended the previous Session. This has meant some tweaking to some minor details; one in particular being the start time. To allow people to get to the venue after work, we’ve bumped it to 6pm, with the talkers starting at 6.30pm.

See you then!

*we’re just kidding about the fireworks.

By Fred | November 13, 2008
Comments (0)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News

Blogger Bake Off on the World Wide Creative balcony

There is a worldwide movement happening. It’s hot, it’s fresh, and it came to World Wide Creative on Friday. The World Wide Blogger Bake Off campaign to end hunger (a Breadline Africa initiative) has been doing the social media circuit recently. Conceptualised by Quirk, this fine initiative soon caught the attention of the guys in our Cape Town studio.

And so, the chefs at the home of The Heavy Chef Project got stuck in to creating what was undoubtedly the finest bread baked so far in the campaign (don’t let any other bloggers tell you otherwise). Truth be told we don’t really bake; we braai - so we took a recipe that Nic and Utoia found, then fired up the Weber on the WWC balcony. Niiice.

Above: Rowan, Nic and Utoia get fired up.

Above: probably the finest bread ever baked.

Above: the main protagonists.

Above: Paul talking up an appetite.

Above: the feeding frenzy was quick and violent.

Above: Bagley waited patiently for the others to calm down, before making his move.

All in all, it was a fantastic meal, accompanied by some chilli con carne, a la Nicola, and washed down with some fine conversation around the merits of Massa, Hamilton, Spurs and the Paralympics.

Breadline Africa and Sarah, good luck with this campaign; we salute you. Thanks also for a great excuse to swan around on the balcony on a Friday afternoon!

As for who’s next in line to bake up a storm, we believe it’s only right to pass the baton to the Yuppiechef crew. Shane and Andrew, we’re looking at you, punks!

btw. here is the recipe in case anyone’s interested:

Beer Loaf
¾ cups self rising flour
2 ¾ cups self rising flour
2 Tbsp White Onion Soup Mix
1 Tbsp Chopped Chives
1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
½ Tsp. Mixed Herbs (Thyme, Sage, Oreganum, Marjoram)
1 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 1/3 Cup Beer (Don’t use light beer)

Directions:
Combine flour, onion soup, herbs and chese
Stir in beer
Turn into oiled bread pan
Bake on grill for 20 minutes
Sprinkle ½ cup cheddar cheese on top
Bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes
Allow to cool for 10 minutes

Enjoy!

By Fred | November 3, 2008
Comments (3)
Posted in Heavy Chef / WWC News