7DKS’ Year-End Celebration 2012

It was the best of times. It was Christmas time. So despite the intense South African summertime heat, we hopped into our suits and dresses, called up the limos, and took a little tour of our beloved City of Gold. We took the Breed team (well, those of them who hadn’t already hit the road for December) with us, adding a little more estrogen to our team.

After a quick pop by Supremebeing in Rosebank to take a look at our illustrator Kyle Baillie’s latest exhibition, we enjoyed a quick breakfast and then made for the Gold Reef City casino. Some of us even managed to make a little cash on the side. From there we hit Narina Trogon in Braamfontein for an awesome early dinner, and then it was on to The Griffin in Illovo.

It was a great day out for everyone, looking slicker than ever, and getting a chance to live the lavish life.

The boss getting stern.

This is where it all goes wrong. Every. Damn. Time 🙂

7Dffrnt Knds of Smke End of Year Party

A gorilla suit, putt-putt, the oldest pub in Jo’burg and a stretch hummer – these are just some of the things that we experienced during our “Die Another Day” end of year party.

It was a full day of insanity. At about 10.15 on Thursday morning we happened to look out of our first floor office window down at the street below and saw what was to be our chariot for the day: a gleaming white, pimping stretch hummer. We gathered around to start the proceedings and a die was thrown. 

We had no idea what we were throwing for, but after we got our numbers it became clear – the lowest number got to wear the infamous gorilla suit. With gorilla suit in hand we clamoured into the hummer. If it was awesome on the outside, we had no idea just how cool it was inside.

We hit the road, still completely in the dark as to where we were going. The drinks started to flow in the limo, with champagne, cold beers and of course, Kam’s Captain Morgan and cola.

After driving for a good 30 minutes, we pulled into a rustic venue. As we drove down the dirt road, our task for the day came into view:

Our choices were bungee jumping, abseiling, giant swing off the top or simply enjoying the view. Sadly, the weather wasn’t in agreement and our hopes of the scaling these guys were dashed. We didn’t let it get us down.

The die was rolled and the next person got to don the gorilla suit. We putted a ball into a cup (or rather, all of us missed except for one), downed some Sourz and hit the road again.

Next stop: Newtown. 

Newtown is such an amazingly vibrant place. The people are friendly and the buildings colourful. We passed some beautiful graffiti before pulling into Sophiatown Bar and Lounge for some 30 seconds, dice throwing and putt-putt.

The constant shots and “champagne showers” in the limo were starting to hit home. We loaded back into the hummer and headed to our next stop: Guild Hall pub in the Jo’burg CBD.

The pub opened in 1888 and is still alive and kicking today. It’s small, and from the road completely unassuming. Inside it’s all framed black and white photos and wood panelling. We joined the Thursday afternoon drinkers for a few rounds and some indoor putt-putt and of course, the changing of the gorilla suit.

7DKS named Media Game Changers!

The Smartest Event of the Year was today and it marked the release of The Annual 2011/2012, a collection of anything and anyone involved in branding, marketing and advertising.

The latest edition is an impressive 2kg (our creative director Neil even tried a couple of bicep curls with it).

The Annual named 7 Dffrnt Knds of Smke Media Game Changers!

“In days gone past some would have referred to this as a creative hot shop, an idealistic bunch of dreamers with a couple of good ideas wanting to make a difference. While all of this is true, this actually is applying sound creative and strategic solutions for brands wanting to use the mobile space imaginatively and effectively. We were particularly impressed with a clever interactive gaming concept the agency developed for a leading fast food brand that pitted users against a sportsman with a prize as an incentive.”

Pretty amazing stuff. But then, that’s how we roll…