He also went on to win a second Gold, this time in the Online Branded Film category, for his Wreaths ad for the Rapid Lion South African International Film Festival.

The criteria for the Young Director Awards is that the film director must not have been directing professionally for more than three years and the entry must be one of the first five commercials they have produced. 

The Showmax 'Zero Bucks Given' aimed to be a comedic take on an office worker who decided he didn’t care about work anymore and only wanted to watch TV shows.


"I was quite fortunate to work on Showmax’s 'Zero Bucks Given' campaign, which is in my wheelhouse: strong, simple concept infused with subtle, mischievous humour," says Mokgotho. "I’d like to thank Showmax and the creative team there for really trusting me with the brand and also entrusting the scripts to me."

The ad, which was shot in Showmax’s offices in Johannesburg, was not without controversy. The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) received a complaint that the ad portrayed "complete disrespect for the employee's work environment and fellow workers" and that "young people will get the wrong impression of how to behave at work".

The ASA rejected the complaint and, according to Showmax, the ad became the cornerstone of one of its most successful campaigns ever, resulting in a significant increase in the company’s subscriber base.

The commercial was conceptualised and written by Showmax’s in-house creative lead Philippa Heal and art director Tree Pechau, and additional credit goes to marketers Nicola Van Ast, Macy Seperepere, Neil De Witt and Lauren McInnes, as well as strategist Thandeka Mali. The success for Showmax’s in-house agency follows three wins at the Bookmark Awards for the 'Tali’s Wedding Diary' and 'Roast of Somizi' campaigns.

Mokgotho is a practicing visual artist who has exhibited both locally and internationally, and whose honours include nominations for the Vera List Prize for Art and Politics, the MTN New Contemporaries and the Sasol New Signatures. He joined Massif, the production company behind the Showmax ad, in 2017.

"Winning two Gold Awards at the Young Director Awards for two different commercials in the same year is an incredible achievement, which is testimony both to Nare and to the depth of rising new talent that we have in South Africa," adds Massif co-founder Peter Carr.  


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