Saks Afridi is an art-based Creative Director with 20 years of US and global experience. He's the proud recipient of 2 Gold Cannes Lions, 3 D&AD, 2 One Show pencils and a UN Award for Peace and Understanding.
He is a Group Creative Director at Merkley + Partners. He has overseen the marketing work for Mercedes-Benz, Smart Car, White Castle and Tic Tac to name a few. During his time at Merkley, he has helped pitch and win multiple clients. He and his partner, Eddie Van Bloem, currently oversee all creative on White Castle, Vanda Pharmaceuticals and Florida’s Natural.
Prior to Merkley, Saks was a Creative Director at TBWA\RAAD in Dubai. He headed the regional creative work for Nissan Motors, Mars Foods (Galaxy, Twix and Pedigree dog food), Axiom Telecom and MTV.
Prior to TBWA, Saks co-founded and ran GreenSoap Design, a digital design firm in San Francisco. Saks works seamlessly between digital and traditional advertising and sees no difference between the two, as ideas are at the core of everything, regardless of platform.
He has lived in several places around the world, including Dubai, South Africa, Sri-Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, San Francisco and finally, New York City. He speaks English, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi and Pashto. A random fact about him. He once studied Hair and Make Up at the Paul Mitchell Institute, and no, you can't call him Zohan.
Advertising/Design Recognitions:
United Nations Award for Peace & Understanding
D&AD
Cannes Lions
The One Show
Art Directors Club
Communication Arts Typography Annual
Communication Arts Advertising Annual
Communication Arts Design Annual
Clio Awards
New York Festivals
Dubai Lynx Awards
OBIES
