TBWASouth Africa (TBWAHuntLascaris)

TBWA is a global advertising and marketing communications network founded in Paris in 1970 by four former Young & Rubicam executives, William Tragos, Claude Bonnange, Uli Wiesendanger and Paolo Ajroldi, whose initials form the agency’s name. The Omnicom Group acquired TBWA in 1993, according to a provider record checked in August 2026.

Registered name

TBWASouth Africa (TBWAHuntLascaris)

Type

Private company (advertising, part of Omnicom)

Fields funded

Copywriting, graphic design, marketing, multimedia, brand strategy, visual communication and finance

Website

tbwa.com

Email

tbwasa-hr@tbwa.co.za

Phone

011 322 3100

The Disruption Company

TBWA describes itself as a global collective of creative companies united by Disruption, its proprietary method for helping brands identify industry conventions, break them and build “Disruptive Worlds” across the customer journey. TBWA says it has been named one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for six years, Cannes Lions Agency Network of the Year in 2025, and Adweek’s Global Agency of the Year four times. TBWA describes itself as “always in Beta”, meaning never satisfied.

TBWA in South Africa

In South Africa, TBWA is headquartered in Sandton and trades as TBWAHuntLascaris, a name that honours Hunt Lascaris, one of the country’s best-known creative agencies. TBWASouth Africa works alongside sister companies including Grid Worldwide, HDI Youth Consultancy, Sting Content Production and Magna Carta, together employing more than 500 creative and strategy staff, according to the provider record.

Careers in an agency

An advertising agency employs far more than designers. Copywriters write campaigns, art directors create visuals, strategists study consumers, account managers look after clients, media planners decide where ads run, and finance teams keep projects profitable. Youth consultancies such as HDI study how young South Africans think and spend.

The TBWA bursary

TBWASouth Africa’s last published bursary round offered ten bursaries in copywriting, finance, graphic design, marketing, multimedia communication and design, strategic brand management and visual communication, with study costs set per student. Applicants sent certified documents by email; there was no application form.

That round closed on 8 November 2021, and no round had been announced when BursariesAfrica checked, so the bursary may not run every year.

How to research TBWA

Email TBWASouth Africa’s HR team to ask whether a 2027 round will run, and build a portfolio of creative work in the meantime, since agencies judge creative applicants by what they can do. Study famous South African campaigns and think about why they worked. Ask about internships and junior roles too, which agencies often use to find talent.

See our interactive multimedia bursaries list.