Rabatho Laka’s journey from a young cartoon enthusiast to an acclaimed Art Director at Machine, part of the prestigious Publicis Groupe, is nothing short of inspiring. With roots in Johannesburg and a creative process that blends maximal minimalism with cultural insights, Rabatho has made his mark in the advertising world.
His path, marked by a love for storytelling and a unique ability to merge his passion for visual arts with cutting-edge branding, offers a roadmap for aspiring creatives looking to make a splash in the industry. In this interview, Rabatho shares his creative process, the influences that shaped him, and his vision for the future of creativity.
How did you first get into the industry?
I got into a graduate programme in my final year of university. I started as a motion graphics intern at a production studio. Thereafter, I went solo, and I was a freelancer focusing on branding and digital design.
I partnered with various agencies over a course of two years and did work for large companies like Hollard and Tourvest. It wasn't until I was approached by Ogilvy that I stumbled upon advertising in 2017.
Where are you based now and who do you work for?
I am currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa and I work for an agency called Machine. It is under the Publicis Groupe structure.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
My background involves me being that kid who wanted to be a cartoonist. I loved Disney so much and cartoons in general. As I got a bit older, I got into skateboarding and I started to embrace skate culture a lot and I started recognizing logos, clothing brands & graffiti culture.
I then transitioned into drawing. These pockets of pivotal moments all built up to me choosing to study Multimedia Design with no backup option in mind. I intentionally saw myself becoming a creative person and to my luck my career started near the end of my studies.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
I would be a combination of a full-time visual artist and filmmaker. I love telling stories and consider myself a storyteller. I majored in film in my 4th year when doing my honours in Multimedia design and I thought I would be a film director. I already am a practicing visual artist, but I am not successful enough to make it my primary employment yet.
Can you explain your creative process? What makes it unique?
My creative process is a combo of my influences inside and outside of the world of advertising and my passion in the arts. Every good idea starts with an insight. A real-life experience that I identify with or a common truth that forms the basis of my thinking. I then do my research and conceptualising, then dive into rapid crafting & refinement.
What makes it unique is how I blend creative thinking from ad work with my personal experiences in culture and sometimes my participation as a visual artist. I'm always cross-pollinating between the spheres to find a balance in pushing the boundaries of what's possible.
How would you describe your style?
I'd describe my style as mostly involving maximal minimalism. I am often working towards achieving the most impact with the least elements possible. It is important to maintain a clear focal point or message.
I love playing with contrasts when working with colour, always playing around with boldness and I love to involve my illustrative skills wherever I can like in moving footage or photography.
Which individuals do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
People such as Ahmed Tilly, Roanna Williams, and Kagiso Tshepe inspire me as they are always contributing to the industry on a higher level. One of my heroes in Advertising is Molefi Thulo.
He always advocates for creatives to bring out their best daily and is a beacon to many creatives of colour. The Ogilvy South Africa bursary program is named after him, focused on discovering and supporting the next generation of industry creative talent.
What tips would you give to aspiring creatives looking for work?
I would encourage creatives to build a killer portfolio – but make it focused and realistic to the work and standard you would like to set for yourself. Show your best work, even if some are from real work experience or from your own passions.
Employers look for what makes you unique and what sets you apart, and passion projects are a good way to show how you can take ownership of your own work if real work from clients is not achievable yet.
In my experience, I have found that this helped get my foot into the door as a graduate starting out. Don’t take rejection as a bad thing too.
What tips would you give to other professionals to get more clients?
Diversify your skillset but hone in on a signature style. Leverage your unique identity and perspective on the world—in my case, blending the cultural creative landscape with my passion for the arts into advertising gives me my edge as an art director on the job.
Build a formidable relationship with your current clients and collaborators. A good reputation can get you recommendations. Share your proudest moments even if you may be the most private person. Your work can speak for you, so take pride in that and share your skills with others.
Can you share a memorable experience from your career journey that shaped your approach to creativity?
It has to be the recent Bookmarks 2023 bronze award that we won for Mercedes-Benz South Africa. The award was in the "Best use of Data" category and the campaign "Seamless Luxury" itself is a testament to the challenges that we faced meeting the client's objectives.
We were tasked to sell 40 Mercedes Benz GLC Special Editions which are only on sale online in a space of two weeks. We had very little visual material to work with and we could not necessarily come up with alternative solutions outside of the directive from the client.
Using dynamic creative optimization as our backbone, we were able to reach the client's target within 7 days thanks to the customer loyalty and database that we were targeting. This helped shape my perspective and approach on creativity because it shows that with the barriers we face when solving problems, your work can perform as long as your determination shows in the final work.
What kind of tools/kit/software could you not do without?
I love working in Illustrator and Procreate the most as it involves a more modular way of creating. I also tend to use software for brainstorming and mood boarding like Apple's
"Freeform" or "Vizref," which is important to me. Then there is Adobe Photoshop & After Effects.
What’s your secret to staying inspired and motivated?
Always strive to be better and never be satisfied with the status quo. Have interest in what you do. Learn about your industry, the people, and the work. Study the game to level up yours.
Find a balance between being onscreen every day and your personal space. Be a sponge and take in inspiration from many facets of life and bring that with you every day.
What’s the work achievement you’re most proud of?
The Vodacom brand positioning refresh campaign. We were able to incorporate illustration & animation to effectively have a conversation on why #TheFutureIsExciting.
We asked consumers what the future looks like to them? We then made snackable content depicting the most creative and unique submissions from our audience responses.
What's funny about this now is that it sounds like we were a human AI entity taking prompts from our consumers then generating their submissions back to them. It was a great engaging user-generated campaign early on in my career that got recognised by Facebook and still motivates me today.
As someone with experience in the industry, what trends do you foresee shaping the future of creativity?
I see tech growing in our industry to the point where we now work alongside tools such as AI more often. It is important to adapt quickly and be open-minded to the world that's ever changing.
Experiential Marketing is also growing, connecting with Gen Z's in IRL events. Capturing first-party data using innovative activations and personalizing experiences for your consumers.
Lifestyle content is being preferred over graphic-heavy work. Using influencers correctly is vitally important to connect with your audience in an authentic manner.
What do you think sets apart truly exceptional creatives from the rest of the pack?
The ones who care to the point that they live their work are usually the ones whose work speaks in rooms even when they are not present in them. Individuality is important and the ability to think differently. How they sell their ideas can set them apart from being average.
How do you think technology has influenced the creative industries and how have you adapted to these changes?
I see tech growing in our industry to the point where we now work alongside tools such as AI more often. It is important to adapt quickly and be open-minded to the world that's ever changing.
AI can be a useful productivity tool but it is important to maintain our creative integrity and our mobility of thought as to not depend too much on these new technologies but rather use them to enhance our objective.
What is the one thing that you would change about the industry?
The lack of growth and opportunity in the industry is creating a barrier of entry for creatives to evolve beyond their roles and responsibilities. We need to continue to transform our industry if we are to see a progressive shift in the culture of advertising. It has become more corporate- skewed with the growth ladder not so formidable for creatives vs. suits.
Any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Always stay in tune with the industry and follow award-winning work. Websites like Love the Work and Deck of Brilliance are always a great place to start. I always recommend Pinterest as a good visual place to gather your thoughts. Check out film platforms such as Shots.net and EyeCannndy.com to get some cool references. Coffee table books on art, fashion, and sneaker culture are always good.
