By Darren Gilbert

“It was quite by accident that I discovered the AAA School of Advertising,” admits Rangaka. “I was very aware of ads and had strong opinions about a lot of them but I never thought about what happened behind the tube.” After picking up the pamphlet, though, he dug up everything he could find about AAA and advertising as a career. And he was sold. “It was like finally discovering the thing I’d been missing in journalism – license to be creative and not get fired,” he says.

That was over 14 years ago. For eight of those years, he’s been at Ogilvy & Mather. And in September, Rangaka took over from Chris Gotz as executive creative director at Ogilvy Cape Town. He’s under no illusion that it will be easy work. “As creative director, I was looking after my own accounts and the few people I worked closely with. Now, I have to act as caretaker for all the account and everyone in the studio.”

In such a space as advertising, creative excellence is a non-negotiable output. Rangaka knows this. He also knows achieving that requires a strong focus on the people that make the work happen. “In wine production, the quality of the vintage is dependent on the quality and health of the vines,” explains Rangaka. The same can be said for the advertising industry. “I want to help make this agency the best place for creative people to be creative people.”

“It’s my job to inspire the teams to come up with great ideas and then clear the way for those ideas to flourish,” he says. Advertising is one of the most influential industries out there. Both for good and bad. It is an industry that allows 25-year-olds with dirty sneakers and torn jeans to speak to millions. And not only that. They can also make them feel something or change their behaviour. “It’s a huge privilege,” says Rangaka. “Not even the most seasoned state leaders are able to do that effectively.”

With this comes the pressure of responsibility. Above and beyond that, for Rangaka, it’s the pressure of maintaining and surpassing the high standard of creative work that the agency has set itself over the years. After all, Ogilvy Cape Town is one of the most awarded agencies in South Africa. However, he isn’t overly worried.

“Fortunately, it is not just up to me,” he states. There is no shortage of talented people who are passionate about what they do at Ogilvy. “I also know that I cannot be Chris Gotz,” he says, matter-of-factly. "But I can be the very best Tseliso if I try. And that’s what the agency needs from me.”

When Gotz announced he’d be leaving Ogilvy, the agency needed to find a creative head that would inspire and lead from the front. They have that in Rangaka. And it’s all thanks, in part, to an A5 pamphlet.

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