Julie Maunder has been lurking (and leading) in the advertising and marketing industry since 2001. She began her career as an Art Director at agencies like Ogilvy Johannesburg, Lowe Bull, and DDB, before climbing the creative ladder to Creative Director and eventually Executive Creative Director of DDB Cape Town.
Her work has been recognised with multiple awards, including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix. She’s also been named one of South Africa’s Top 30 most influential digital people by Memeburn and listed in the Superbalist100 as an entrepreneur and change-maker shaping her industry – all accolades she would never bring up herself (except here, obviously).
In 2013, Julie founded IDIDTHAT.co, originally built to solve a simple problem: good people should be easier to find. Over time, it has grown into a central meeting point for South Africa’s advertising and creative industry. IDIDTHAT now sits at the intersection of agencies, marketers, production companies, and talent, creating a common space where the industry can see itself, talk to itself, and occasionally argue with itself (constructively).
A long-time advocate for women in the industry, Julie has consistently used her platform to spotlight female talent and amplify underrepresented voices, pushing for visibility, and real participation at every level of the work.
She is a committed stakeholder and cheerleader for South African creativity, both locally and on the global stage. Whether you’ve won, lost, or are still pretending you didn’t care at the Loeries, she’ll probably buy you a shot anyway. When not doing that, she can be found waving the South African flag at Cannes. She unapologetically champions local work, backs local talent, and will insert South Africa into global creative conversations whether the room asked for it or not.
She has served on several key industry boards and contributes to the ongoing shaping of South Africa’s creative landscape while asking the necessary questions and occasionally rolling her eyes.
She often jokes about her “bad taste in music” and her refusal to be told what to do…except by Taylor Swift.