It is no secret that Ian Mbugua is a man of many talents. Teacher, singer, actor, director, entertainer - he's done it all.
Most popularly known for his judge role at the talent search show, Tusker Project Fame, the seasoned actor has gone on to add more accolades to his impressive portfolio as a creative.
However, unknown to many, the veteran thespian began his career in the 1980s with the most memorable body of work being the Copy-Cat advertisement at the time.
The advertisement was among the few recognisable ones which caused inspires nostalgia for Kenyans who lived through the '80s.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the Brookhouse music teacher explained how they came to make the advert.
"It was shot in the 1980s, a lifetime ago," he began before bursting into laughter, "back then I was an actor at the Phoenix Theatre and Copy Cat (an office solutions company) commissioned the advert."
He explained that the company would sponsor plays and put adverts in their play programs and so it was a natural choice to opt for actors they were already supporting.
His then co-star, Shivona Tavares, now works at the United Nations Office in Nairobi as the Chief Division of Conference Services, according to her LinkedIn profile.
"The Ad agency drafted the script and we read it. It was a piece of cake since I was an actor," he explained.
The video itself is a classic in its own right, with just the right amount of repetition and wordplay to pass the message across.
In the clip, the actors - Mbugua and Shivona - read their individual lines before it takes a comical turn when the former TPF judge repeats his co-star's line
"Copy-cat has everything for the dynamic office," Shivona later refers to him as a Copy-cat to mean a person who copies another's behavior or ideas.
The final scene with everyone, he explained, were all Copy-Cat employees.
Mbugua added that he is proud of the work he did and occasionally, people would send him the clip with laughing emojis accompanying the video.
"The idea behind the video was simple yet effective because it was memorable as opposed to today's advertisement being very visual," he explained.
Mbugua is currently a music teacher at Brookhouse International School that is currently using virtual learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
