Paul Hankinson
To most in the industry, Paul is better known as Hanko. In fact, the only people who call him Paul are various family members and the odd law enforcement official - the latter tending to opt for the longer-form Paul Edward Hankinson.
After arriving in Australia with the First Fleet, Paul put his hand to a series of humble occupations including chimney sweep, cobbler and pickpocket, the latter preparing him brilliantly for a career in advertising — which for the past three decades he has loved and loathed in equal measure.
He’s worked for some of the most highly regarded agencies on either side of the Tasman (plus a couple of shit ones) and has called New Zealand home since 2007.
Gerhard Myburgh
Gerhard was born into the Boer War era in South Africa. A sickly child, he was more often than not referred to simply as G — as owing to the privations of post-war life, neither his family nor the townsfolk could afford to utter more than one syllable at a time.
However, one area of abundance in G’s life was his prolific talent, which — combined with a Protestant work ethic — earned him a highly coveted spot at legendary agency Hunt Lascaris, where he cut his teeth.
A few more years passed, and with his teeth mostly healed and a killer portfolio, G landed a job as CD at The Campaign Palace Melbourne, which turned into a job at The Campaign Palace Sydney, which turned into a job at JWT, which turned into what a job at JWT always turns into.
After a couple of campaigns that came perilously close to jumping the shark, G decided it was time to jump ship — ending up at M&C Saatchi where the bromance with Hanko began, and everyone lived happily ever after.
Until a new regime decided their faces no longer fit and showed them the door. And what a lovely door it was. Though having worked there for almost six years, both had already seen it on a number of occasions.
We also have a host of other handy folk who come and go as needed.