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Draft:Philip Ireland

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Philip Ireland (born 7 December 1971 in Zimbabwe) is an advertising creative director, entrepreneur and consultant.

He is best known as the founder of Ireland/Davenport,[1] a Johannesburg-based advertising agency that became one of South Africa's most awarded and commercially successful independent agencies before its acquisition by WPP.[2] He is also known for his work with brands including BMW, Apple, Virgin Atlantic, AB/Inbev(SAB) , Investec, Vodafone, MTN, and National Geographic.

Career

[edit]

Ireland began his career in South African advertising during the transformation of the industry by digital and social media marketing and was part of the team winning South Africa’s very first One Show Digital Pencil award[3] as well as South Africa’s very first People’s Choice Award[4][5] at The Webby Awards, hailed by the New York Times as the Internet's highest honour.[6]

He was ranked by The Gunn Report[7] (now Warc[8]) as one of the world's Top Ten most awarded creatives for the year (ranked 7th in the world).[9]

In 2005, he co-founded the ad agency Ireland/Davenport[10]. The agency was named South African Agency of the Year and Regional Agency of the Year.[11]

He has been recognised at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,[12] D&AD Awards, The One Show,[13] Clio Awards,[14] Loerie Awards,[15] Webby Awards,[16] and other international advertising competitions,[17] including winning agency of the year[18] at the Hollywood Promax awards.[19] Shots magazine[20] included his work in their Best Ads of All Time List.[21]

Ireland was ranked among the world's top ten advertising creatives by the Gunn Report[22] and, with his partners, was voted Most Admired Agency Leader[23] by Financial Mail.

Following his exit from Ireland/Davenport in 2017,[24] Ireland held senior international creative leadership roles including Global Head of Creative[25] at Brunswick Group in London, where he worked across corporate reputation, public affairs and investor communications.

In late 2023 joined Avatar Agency Group as Chief Creative Officer,[26] helping lead creative, strategic and innovation projects across Africa and Global markets. In 2025 Avatar was ranked as one of Africa’s Fastest growing companies[27] by the Financial Times and Top 5 ranked creative agency[28] by Loerie awards.

Ireland has served as a jury member[29] at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the Eurobest Awards[30], and the Clio Awards[31] in New York. His work has been featured at TEDx Oxford and in international industry publications including Campaign magazine, which awarded his work as the Best International Campaigns of the Year[32] two years running.

Ireland is also known for The Dress campaign[33] which repurposed the global viral phenomenon "The Dress" to raise awareness of domestic violence. The campaign attracted international media coverage from hundreds of news outlets including Time Magazine,[34] The Washington Post,[35] Fast Company,[36] ABC News[37] and The Guardian,[38] amongst others, and becoming one of the most widely discussed advertising campaigns and generating global conversation[39][40][41][42] around violence against women.

His work spans advertising, brand strategy, innovation, corporate communications and artificial intelligence.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Ireland/Davenport Company Profile - WPP". www.wpp.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  2. ↑ "Ireland/Davenport Company Profile - WPP". www.wpp.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  3. ↑ "Landrover | Maze". www.oneclub.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  4. ↑ BASIC®. "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  5. ↑ "Help Ireland/Davenport win South Africa's first Webby Award". Media Update. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  6. ↑ "20th Annual Webby Award Winners Announced". The Webby Awards. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  7. ↑ "The Gunn Report - Home". The Gunn Report. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  8. ↑ "WARC | Marketing Effectiveness". www.warc.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  9. ↑ "The Gunn Report - Login". The Gunn Report. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  10. ↑ "Ireland/Davenport Company Profile - WPP". www.wpp.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  11. ↑ "AdReview Agency of the Year Award". Bizcommunity. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  12. ↑ Bizcommunity Staff (30 June 2004). "Cannes 2004 overall awards rankings". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Virgin Atlantic | Stories about my grandchildren, My wife doesn't understand me, My life as a photocopier salesman". www.oneclub.org. Archived from the original on 2024-02-27. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  14. ↑ "South Africans win big at the Clio's". Bizcommunity. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  15. ↑ "Net#work out punches its weight". Bizcommunity. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  16. ↑ BASIC®. "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  17. ↑ https://philipireland.myportfolio.com/multi-awarded-creative-director
  18. ↑ "PROMAXBDA PROMOTION, MARKETING AND DESIGN GLOBAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS WINNERS LIST" (PDF). PromaxBDA. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  19. ↑ International, PROMAX BDA (2013-06-21). "Winners of 2013 PromaxBDA Awards Announced at Ceremony Hosted by Jay Mohr". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  20. ↑ "shots". shots. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  21. ↑ Bizcommunity Staff (2 April 2007). "Keith Rose gets global award". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  22. ↑ https://archive.gunnreport.com/tgr-database/league-tables/2004/print-ads/
  23. ↑ FInancial Mail Staff. "AdFocus Awards 2014". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  24. ↑ "Ireland-Davenport loses co-founder". Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Brunswick Creative Campaigns and Content (8 January 2020). "Merchant Cantos Hires Phil Ireland as Chief Creative Officer". Little Black Book. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS: Philip Ireland joins Avatar as CCO • Article • MarkLives.com". www.marklives.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  27. ↑ Godfrey, Carl (12 May 2026). "Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies 2026". The Financial Times. Retrieved 7 July 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ↑ "Loeries Official Rankings 2025" (PDF). January 2026. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Bizcommunity Staff (28 March 2007). "Cannes Film, Press, Direct, Radio juries released". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 7 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ↑ "Eurobest Awards announces its 2022 Jury members | News". www.eurobest.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  31. ↑ "Clio Awards 2015 Jury Member Philip Ireland". clios.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  32. ↑ "The Annual 2004: The Year in ... International". Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  33. ↑ O'Neil, Lorena (2015-03-06). "Salvation Army Uses #TheDress to Highlight Domestic Violence". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  34. ↑ Gibson, Megan (2015-03-06). "#TheDress Makes a Powerful Statement in Domestic Abuse PSA". TIME. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  35. ↑ Phillip, Abby (2015-03-06). "Salvation Army puts #thedress in a new light with powerful domestic violence ad". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  36. ↑ "The Salvation Army Uses "The Dress" To Make A Point About Domestic Violence". Co.Create. 2015-03-06. Archived from the original on 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  37. ↑ ABC News Staff. "'The Dress' Illusion Challenges Violence Against Women in Salvation Army PSA". ABC News. Retrieved 7 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ↑ Deans, Jason (2015-03-06). "The Dress meme adapted for #StopAbuseAgainstWomen ad". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  39. ↑ "New campaign uses #TheDress to highlight domestic violence". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  40. ↑ Kutner, Jenny (2015-03-06). ""Why is it so hard to see black and blue?": Salvation Army turns #TheDress into a powerful anti-domestic violence message". Salon.com. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  41. ↑ Smith, Patrick. "A Charity Put A Model In "The Dress" For A Domestic Violence Advert". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  42. ↑ "The Dress Meme Used in Salvation Army Anti-Violence Campaign". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2015-04-25. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
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