Sanjiv Mistry and Jamie Mietz are ECDs at McCann London.

Sanjiv likes his steak bloody. Jamie is an ardent vegan. Yet despite their differences, or quite possibly because of them, they have become one of the most consistently awarded creative pairings in the world.

Since leading McCann London’s dedicated Microsoft unit, they have transformed it from a localisation hub into a creative force, winning a Cannes Grand Prix and 30 Cannes Lions in three years. At the same time, they grew the Qatar Financial Centre business from a one-off press ad into the most profitable account at McCann.

In a career spanning two continents, dozens of brands and, like all teams, hundreds of things that never saw the light of day, many wonderful things did.

To launch a gritty videogame, their Survival Billboard idea turned an ordinary billboard into a watchable event.

When Volkswagen wanted to talk about their eco-conscious technology, they convinced them to walk the walk instead.

And after Xbox’s online store faced consumers put off by the price of controllers, they developed The Fanchise Model - an innovation that changed purchase behaviour and grew sales by 350%.

Between them, they have served on juries for the One Show, Andys, Clios and D&AD New Blood Black Pencil, and every year since 2016 have been rated by Cannes and the Big Won rankings as among the top creative directors in the world.

If you meet them, prepare to be perplexed. Jamie grew up in England, but sounds South African. Sanjiv grew up in South Africa, but sounds English. They have no idea how that happened either.

AWARDS:

D&AD:
1 x Yellow Pencil
1 x Graphite Pencil
20 x Wood Pencil

Cannes Lions:
1 x Grand Prix
11 x Gold Lion
14 x Silver Lion
15 x Bronze Lion
51 x Shortlist

One Show:
1 x Grand Prix
6 x Gold Pencil
5 x Silver Pencil
2 x Bronze Pencil
34 x Merit Award

Clio Awards:
9 x Gold
10 x Silver
14 x Bronze
10 x Shortlist

Clio Entertainment Awards:
2 x Grand Prix
4 x Gold
3 x Silver
2 x Bronze

Andy Awards:
1 x Gold
1 x Silver
1 x Bronze

Webbys:
3 x Winner
3 x Nominee

New York Festivals:
1 x Grand Prix
3 x Gold
7 x Silver
2 x Bronze

Campaign BIG Awards:
1 x Paul Arden Award
6 x Gold
1 x Silver
3 x Shortlist

LIA (London International Awards):
1 x Grand Prix
5 x Gold
10 x Silver
5 x Bronze
5 x Shortlist

Eurobest:
1 x Grand Prix
6 x Gold
11 x Silver
14 x Bronze

Creative Circle:
10 x Gold
9 x Silver
2 x Bronze
Young Guns:
1 x Silver Bullet
2 x Bronze Bullet

Creative Review Annual:
2 x In-Book

Lovie Awards:
1 x Shortlist

Epica Awards:
1 x Gold
3 x Silver
1 x Bronze

Loerie Awards:
2 x Grand Prix
8 x Gold
23 x Silver
20 x Bronze

Eagle Awards:
2 x Black Eagle (Grand Prix)
2 x Gold Eagle
3 x Silver Eagle
4 x Bronze Eagle

The Bookmark Awards:
1 x Gold
1 x Silver
2 x Bronze

(SA) Creative Circle Ad of the Year:
1 x 1st Place
2 x 2nd Place
1 x 3rd Place

Golden Drum:
1 x Gold
2 x Silver

Event Awards:
1 x Grand Prix
3 x Event Awards