Planting the seed of growth: Joe Public celebrates 25 years with 25 bursaries

This month, Joe Public proudly celebrates 25 years of growth in the SA advertising industry. 

To mark the occasion, the organisation — currently ranked the largest independent and locally owned communication group in the country — is making a commitment to the next generation of creative talent.

“We are celebrating this milestone by living our purpose of growth, which has remained at the core of everything we've done over the years. We are grateful to be in a position to commit 25 bursaries for the next 25 years to support the growth and transformation of our industry,” says Pepe Marais, Joe Public’s co-founder and chief creative officer. 

Joe Public launched in 1998 with a revolutionary takeaway advertising model, which was sold to an international holding company in 2001. The agency faced near bankruptcy in 2008, but gave everything to buy the business back in 2009. 

Since then, Joe Public has continued to grow, becoming the largest black-owned independent agency in 2020, and also ranked as the number one creative agency in SA by all global and local industry platforms, as of March 2023.

“We are excited to give young creatives from underprivileged backgrounds the opportunity to excel in our industry, in partnership with the Red & Yellow School of Advertising. We're building a pipeline from grassroots into our business — as we strive to put the SA industry on the global map, by means of a diverse talent pool,” says Marais.

Khuthala Gala Holten, Joe Public’s co-MD and shareholder, says: “We’d like to thank our people and clients, past and present, for their commitment and partnerships over the past 25 years. As we step into the next chapter, and plan for the next quarter century, we are fully committed to delivering on our purpose of growth, through creativity. This is why we invest in the growth of young creative talent.”

This article was sponsored by Joe Public.