Grey Names Luckin Chief Creative Officer for Africa

She will oversee creative product and work closely with ECD Glenn Jeffery and CDs, Francois Du Preez and Charlene Oliver

Grey Africa has appointed Fran Luckin (pictured) to take the reins at the agency as the new Chief Creative Officer for the aforementioned market. In the role, she will oversee creative product and work closely with ECD Glenn Jeffery and Creative Directors, Francois Du Preez and Charlene Oliver.

She was named one of the top ten most influential people in South African advertising at The Annual, the country’s most authoritative compendium of the advertising, media, marketing, and branding industry. She has judged at every major marquee award festival.

She has also been awarded at most of the said platforms herself including the Cannes Lions Film Jury, Cannes Outdoor Jury, Clio Awards, and D&AD. Additionally, she has sat on the judging panel for the Apex Awards, which is South Africa’s version of the Effie Awards.

“I’ve always admired Fran’s work and rare ability to transition from the traditional world to the new world of integrated communications so heavily reliant on digital channels and technology to tell brand stories that people can connect with,” said Paul Jackson, Group Managing Director at Grey Africa.

“What makes Fran an all-time great creative is not just the long list of awards won or the many famous campaigns that have made it into popular culture, but rather that she was always prepared to venture out into the creative wilderness and break loose of the expected.”

Luckin’s career spans on the two decades which have seen her work with industry legends like John Hunt and Gerry Human. She grew from a copywriter at The Jupiter Drawing Room in 1997 to Creative Director in 2000. She joined Ogilvy Johannesburg in 2003 and became Executive Creative Director of the agency five years later.

The same year saw Ogilvy Johannesburg take the top spot at Cannes Lions, followed by another number one as the top agency in Ogilvy Worldwide also at Cannes in 2009. This was followed in 2010 by South Africa’s first Film Gold Lion in 11 years and an appointment to the 15-member Ogilvy Worldwide Creative Council.

The milestone started a myriad of local awards for Ogilvy which included top agency status at the Loeries across 2007, 2008, and 2009 as well as number one agency at the Apex Awards from 2008 to 2011. She has spent the past two years as ECD at digital agency, Quirk, honing her digital story-telling skills.