Tyler Lambert and Kevin Radebe named Loeries 2021 Young Creatives

Tyler Lambert is a writer and Kevin Radebe is an art director, both at Grey South Africa. We find out from the two young creatives what led them to win this prestigious title...

They’re young, they’re creative, and now they have the @loeries Award to affirm what we all already knew! Congrats Kevin Radebe & Tyler Lambert on winning the 2021 title for the Young Creatives! We’re so proud to have you as Grey wolves �� Awoooooo! pic.twitter.com/ZuJkizZJML

— Grey Africa (@GreyJHB) October 21, 2021

Congrats on your Loeries win! How do you feel about being recognised as one of the top young creatives in the brand communications industry?

Lambert: Firstly, it’s an honour. A lot of people who are just as talented as us and work just as hard (if not harder) may go their whole life without this type of recognition. So, I’ll never take this for granted. And then, to be honest, it did come as a bit of a surprise and it feels is quite surreal. Maybe because as creatives we spend so much time with our ideas before they go out into the world, that after a while you really can’t predict what type of impact it will have. So to have a body of work impactful enough to earn an award like this is pretty unbelievable.

Radebe: It still feels unreal, mostly cause we’re back to working like normal - LOL. But seriously, it’s such an honour. Such an accolade reaffirms the reason why we push every day, and it reminds us of what more is possible when we scribble on paper, stare at our screens for hours and have a good laugh whilst doing it! I usually have very few expectations, so to win this achievement is completely mind-blowing!

What led you to discover your craft and why did you choose a career in advertising/brand communication?

Lambert: I always knew that I could write. I was very young when I discovered I had a talent for it. But I never had a clear picture of how to pursue it. So I went to University like good kids do, and I flamed out after a year. At that point, my dad asked me since I love writing so much why don’t I try studying advertising and copywriting. It sounded better than going back to University and probably failing again, so I did and that was it. I was sold a dream on my first day of college, and here I am seven years later still trying to make it come true.

Radebe: I’ve always been creative (since primary school). I’ve always loved drawing and creating things - so the journey into a creative industry was inevitable. I even went to the NSA and the Open Window where I studied design and photography, so advertising emerged as one of the very few industries that just fit the bill in terms of my love for all things creative, whilst having the opportunity to impact change in people’s lives (big or small).

What do you love most about working for Grey and your role in particular?

Lambert: The people. We work with amazing people at Grey who have achieved everything you can achieve in this industry – and for some reason, they trust us and believe in us and support us. And that’s not just now that we’re a little more experienced and are winning things, it’s been that way since day one. So I’ll be forever grateful to Grey for that.

Radebe: My creative seniors and colleagues. There’s a ‘GREYt’ family in the agency, and their support and mentorship is a strong driving force for my desire to learn and grow as an art director in this industry.

Comment on the current state of the industry.

Lambert and Radebe: The industry is chaos. But chaos is beautiful.

Ultimately, in this industry we’re all chasing after creativity and there’s no serene way to do that.

But when I think of the best work I’ve seen since I joined the industry, both locally and abroad – there’s never a lack of inspiring work. We still see things all the time that make us go: damn I wish we did that. And remarkably in these last two years of living and fighting and working through a global pandemic, that has remained status quo. So I think we’re in pretty good shape.

Tell us something about yourself not generally known?

Lambert: To be fair I’m a pretty open book. The people who know me pretty much know everything. I’m not hiding any secret talents or anything like that. But I did once shake Diddy’s hand, most people don’t know that.

Radebe: Contrary to popular belief (and my size) I’m actually a really great swimmer.

Where to from here?

Lambert and Radebe: We keep going and our journey continues. As far as I’m concerned we haven’t arrived anywhere and there is no “next” for us.

It’s about doing the work and trying to get better and that’s it.

I love the idea about creativity that the beauty is in the attempt. And that’s how I feel – the joy of doing this work is in the process and the outcomes are just a bonus. So we’ll continue with the process until we can’t anymore.