After studying Fine Arts at the Natal Technikon,The Hardy Boys' Dale Tomlinson started off his career as a designer, working in studios in London, San Francisco and South Africa. After several years spent gaining experience in the industry, he launched own design business in Durban: The Hardy Boys.
The inspiration behind the name 'The Hardy Boys' is the 1927 series of novels based on amateur detectives Frank and Joe, better known as The Hardy Boys. Currently he is focusing on expanding The Hardy Boys further into Africa. The Hardy Boys has landed five Loerie Awards and one Craft Award for various campaigns. On top of that they had received a Bronze Medal at the 55th annual Clio Awards in New York (the only SA agency to win an award in that year) and two silvervawards at the ADVAN Awards in Nigeria. The Hardy Boys were also awarded two Diageo Marketing Brilliance Awardsand Global Best Innovation Agency Award for the launch of the Diageo Snapp brand into Kenya and Nigeria.
Mr. Tomlinson has also been the only African to speak at Cannes to an audience of 3000 at the Cannes Lions Awards in 2013. With their excellent team, they continue to grow into one of South Africa’s and Africa’s top agencies.