• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 26, 2015

OK this is brilliant! It's never ever been done before. It's groundbreaking and earth shattering and will change the way agencies work in a way the industry has never seen before. So what's this brilliance that's about to be unleashed? Are you ready? OK, here we go.

South Africa-based boutique agency Pangea, after trashing big agencies splitting off individual departments into specialty shops, has launched Pangea Ultima, an "ideas hub" which then partners with specialty shops to implement the idea. 

Yeah, you read that right. Pangea thinks agency specialty shops breed inconsistency and disconnection from the big idea but Pangea Ultima can somehow do the exact same thing minus the inconsistency and disconnections.

Explaining the radical new approach, creative partner James Cloete said,  “Through our model, clients work with multiple specialist suppliers, yet they enjoy the same control as if they worked with one agency partner. All of which means more consistent messaging and more simple collaborations."

How the f*ck is that different than a "big" parent agency co-ordinating and overseeing work done that same agency's specialty shops?

Seemingly asleep for the past 30 years, creative partner Gareth Lessing adds, “There’s a lot of talk about integration, but this is the first time an agency has been structured specifically to ensure absolute seamlessness across all platforms.” 

And then Lessing drops acid and finishes with, “Millions of years ago, the earth comprised a single super-continent called Pangea. Over time, Pangea broke apart to form the continents we know today. However, the earth continues to change, and scientists believe that in millions of years, the continents will once again merge to create a single landmass called Pangea Ultima. In the same way, our agency reflects the various trends that have taken place in communications, from the breakaway of specialist boutiques to today’s accent on integration. It’s an exciting space to play in and we’re proud to be leading the way.”

WTF?