JASMIN VANDERSTEEN & ZAINAB MITHA

How did your upbringing, family, or culture shape you as a creative?

Jazz: My mom is the reason I am the creative I am today. During university, I was told that I’d never make it through my degree. But my mom believed in me so strongly that I ran on her faith instead of my own. Fast forward to today, I not only bagged that degree and an Honours, coming out top of my classes, but also I get to work at the best agency on the African continent and be acknowledged on prestigious platforms like this one. To this day, my parents still have a hard time explaining what a copywriter is, but that never stops them from telling everyone with the utmost pride. It’s a privilege to be shaped by people who believe in you before you do.

Zainab: My upbringing definitely shaped who I am as a creative. I was raised by a family who were all creative in their own ways. So I was blessed that I was encouraged to pursue a creative career instead of getting pushed into a mainstream one. Culture and religion also play a massive role in shaping how I treat creativity. In Islam, there’s a concept called “Tawakul,” which means placing complete trust and reliance on God after taking all necessary efforts to achieve a goal. And that’s resulted in a bit of a creative superpower. Where there’d normally be fear and anxiety about where the next big idea will come from, we’re both able to rely on our respective faiths, throw caution to the wind, and trust that it will happen no matter how tight the deadline or ridiculous the brief.

“It’s a privilege to be shaped by people who believe in you before you do.”

What’s your best hack for overcoming a creative block?

As a team, we’re not shy to admit we get creative block all the time, but our best hack has been making an environment change. There’s something incredible about the power of new spaces to spark new ideas – coffee shops, rooftops, the ocean, the car, even the elevator. We’ve turned it into a game we play, where if something starts with a “B,” we do it in conjunction with our brainstorm. So beach and brainstorms, bowling and brainstorms, barefoot and brainstorms (yes, a foot massage). We’re both dying to go to a monkey sanctuary nearby so hopefully baboon and brainstorm will be an upcoming instalment. We’ll keep you posted.

What’s a piece of work are you most proud of and why?

Zainab: It’s difficult to pick one project I’m most proud of, but I think the piece of work that had the most goose-bump-inducing journey was Nedbank Youth Honours Board. From researching the Soweto Uprising and speaking to the surviving next of kin of the school-aged victims, to witnessing them see their loved one’s names being honoured in schools around the country – this was something very few people are lucky enough to do, let alone do as their job. We had the opportunity to hear from David Moloi about how his son, Karabo Moloi (15), enjoyed singing in his school choir. And how Hector Pieterson (12), a global symbol of the Uprising, used to collect all his spare change so he could watch karate movies at his local church. As a generation fortunate enough to be born after Apartheid ended in South Africa, it was a privilege to learn about and encourage others to pay tribute to the sacrifices schoolchildren made for our freedom.

Jazz: Of the work we submitted, I’m most proud of our Nedbank Money Warnings campaign. Because I’m surrounded by survivors of financial abuse – friends who have their locations tracked because their new car was a grand gesture, and friends who have been encouraged to leave their jobs so they can be “taken care of.” And on the other side of the spectrum, friends who have had their hard-earned money used up and their signatures forged on official documents. The biggest problem is that you don’t know you’re being financially abused until it’s too late. But while financial abuse is everywhere you look, through this campaign, we made sure our warnings were too – empowering women with the awareness and resources they need to protect their money and their futures. And that is an honour.

“The biggest problem is that you don’t know you’re being financially abused until it’s too late. But while financial abuse is everywhere you look, through this campaign, we made sure our warnings were too.”

What’s the most creatively inspiring part of living in Durban?

Zainab: My people got here on a boat. I need to know I can leave on a boat. But seriously, is it wrong to say everything? Durban, South Africa, used to be a place where creative people would grow up and then leave as quickly as they could get a job in another city. Which is a pity, when it has such a rich heritage, beautiful Art Deco buildings, and a multitude of cultures waiting to inspire everyone. Considering that wandering around our city is our solution to creative block, you can say it’s critical to both our creative processes.

Jazz: The most inspiring part of living in Durban is the fact that I get to do it in the first place. I was always told I had to leave my hometown to find success, and a lot of people I knew did. In fact, Joe Public was my dream agency, but at the time it was only based in Johannesburg. I knew without a doubt God wanted me in Durban, so I stayed out of faith. And a year later, the guy brought an entire agency to me. Staying has taught me there’s something entirely inspiring about living and working in a city that doesn’t shout about its creativity. It has this quiet confidence about it, this “yet to be discovered” suspense that lingers, and there’s novelty in the way people so blindly underestimate it. I always say, if the copywriting thing doesn’t work out, you can find me on the streets, because my plan B is becoming a tour guide.

“Staying has taught me there’s something entirely inspiring about living and working in a city that doesn’t shout about its creativity.”

What does paying it forward look like for you?

Jazz & Zainab: For the longest time, advertising has been known as a boy’s club where female creatives are either on the outskirts of or somehow receive honorary access to. Society tells us that our response to the boy’s club needs to be to create a bigger and better girls’ club – to strive to prove we can do anything a man can. But that route only repeats the cycle. Having been on the other side of that cycle, we couldn’t quieten someone else’s voice to have ours heard, or steal someone else’s seat at the table – even if it belongs to a man.

I’ve learned that the answer to creative inclusivity is not a club, a louder voice, or a seat. It’s leaning into your unique gifts and talents and letting them do all the talking. Because while society calls for women to prove we can do whatever a man can, the real purpose is getting busy doing what only we can. What only Jazz can. What only Zainab can. What only you can. And in the spirit of paying it forward, that’s an atmosphere we want to create for the young talent that follows us.