The Effie Awards South Africa has announced its 45 finalists for 2026 following the first round of judging, with this year’s programme attracting a record 29% more entries than last year.
Hosted by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), the awards recognise marketing effectiveness, with the increase in entries reflecting growing participation from agencies, brands and specialist partners.
According to Effie South Africa, reaching finalist status is a significant achievement, with campaigns assessed on their ability to demonstrate clear objectives, strategic thinking, creativity and measurable business results.
“Finalist status at Effie means the work has stood up to a process that interrogates not only the idea, but the challenge, the strategy, how the idea was brought to life and the results achieved,” said Gillian Rightford, ACA executive director for Effie South Africa.
“With a record number of cases entered this year, the continued growth of the programme reflects how seriously the industry is taking effectiveness. These finalists represent the cases that have shown the discipline, ambition and evidence required to compete at the highest level.”
Global Effie index
All finalists earn points towards the global Effie Index, with campaigns now advancing to the second round of judging, where Bronze, Silver and Gold winners will be selected. The most effective campaign will also be considered for the Grand Effie.
Effie South Africa thanked the moderators and score review panel who oversaw the adjudication process, as well as Emeris students who provided technical support during judging.
Round two judging is scheduled for 13 August, followed by Grand Effie adjudication on 10 September. Winners will be announced at the 2026 Effie Awards South Africa Gala on 20 October.
2025 Effie Awards South Africa finalists
| ENTERING ORGANISATION | ENTRY | CATEGORY | PRODUCT / BRAND |
| Boundless | Forever Committed | Corporate Reputation | South African Breweries |
| Boundless | Rein In The Pain | Non-Profit | NSPCA |
| Clockwork | The Bare Minimum | Influencer Marketing | NIVEA |
| Clockwork | Protect What Built You | Insurance | Old Mutual Business Insure |
| Clockwork | The Bare Minimum | Marketing Disruptors | NIVEA |
| Clockwork | Escape It | Media Idea / Media Effies | The Salvation Army x National GBV Command Centre |
| Clockwork | Escape It | Non-Profit | The Salvation Army x National GBV Command Centre |
| Clockwork | Escape It | Small Budgets – Non-Profit, Products, Services | The Salvation Army x National GBV Command Centre |
| Clockwork | Escape It | Social Good – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | The Salvation Army x National GBV Command Centre |
| Edelman
South Africa |
The Unburied Casket | Non-Profit | Women For Change |
| Edelman
South Africa |
The Unburied Casket | Social Good – Brands / Positive Change | Women For Change |
| Grid Worldwide | Inverroche House of Amber | Experiential Marketing: Live & Digital | Inverroche Amber |
| Halo | How Totes Relentless Consistency Keeps Paying Off for Pineapple | Sustained Success – Products, Services | Pineapple |
| Joe Public | Changing How People C Us: How Cell C Cracked the Toughest Code in Marketing – Shifting Perception | David vs. Goliath (Situational) | Cell C |
| Joe Public | Own the Hours Others Abandoned | Delivery Services | Uber Eats |
| Joe Public | Changing How People C Us: How Cell C Cracked the Toughest Code in Marketing – Shifting Perception | Internet & Telecom | Cell C |
| Joe Public | Own the Hours Others Abandoned | Marketing Disruptors | Uber Eats |
| Joe Public | The Revealing Pour: A print ad that went beyond ink and paper. | Media Innovation – Emerging & New Channels, Existing Channels / Media Effies | Castle Milk Stout |
| Joe Public | Out Of Your Home: How We Made Flying Fish impossible to ignore | Media Innovation – Emerging & New Channels, Existing Channels / Media Effies | Flying Fish |
| Joe Public | Takealot: the marketing case for hyperlocal marketing | Multicultural – Products, Services | Takealot |
| Joe Public | Nothing to Bite Into. Everything to Talk About. | Restaurants | Chicken Licken |
| Joe Public | Takealot: the marketing case for hyperlocal marketing | Retail | Takealot |
| Joe Public | The Revealing Pour: A print ad that went beyond ink and paper. | Small Budgets – Non-Profit, Products, Services | Castle Milk Stout |
| Joe Public | Hard‑working Professionals: How Criminals Arrested a Sales Slump | Finance | Nedbank |
| Joe Public | Hard‑working Professionals: How Criminals Arrested a Sales Slump | Marketing Disruptors | Nedbank |
| Joe Public | Hard‑working Professionals: How Criminals Arrested a Sales Slump | Seasonal Marketing – Products, Services | Nedbank |
| KAMuses Consultancy | Add Hope The Biggest Hunger Hack | Corporate Reputation | KFC Africa |
| KAMuses Consultancy | Add Hope The Biggest Hunger Hack | Social Good – Brands / Positive Change | KFC Africa |
| McCann Joburg | Check My Beat: Heart Health Tracks | Small Budgets – Non-Profit, Products, Services | SA Heart® (South African Heart Association) |
| Mscsports | Possibility in Play | Experiential Marketing: Live & Digital | Telkom |
| Ogilvy | When love Is the Cover Story: How Vodacom Turned “Seeing” Abuse Into a National Intervention System. | Social Good – Brands / Positive Change | Vodacom Foundation |
| Ogilvy | What Happens When Search Never Leaves The Gen Z Feed? | Youth Marketing | |
| Ogilvy | Obsessively Building KFC’s Taste Platform to Unlock a New Generation of Fanatics | Sustained Success – Products, Services | KFC South Africa |
| Ogilvy | Forever Golf – How VW Turned a 47‑Year Nickname Tradition into a Record‑Breaking Golf 8 Launch. | Brand Content & Entertainment | Volkswagen South Africa |
| Ogilvy | Carling Black Label – Be The Champion Coach: reimagined as the highest-stakes fan mechanic in SA football | Engaged Community | Carling Black Label |
| Ogilvy | Forever Golf – How VW Turned a 47‑Year Nickname Tradition into a Record‑Breaking Golf 8 Launch. | Engaged Community | Volkswagen South Africa |
| Ogilvy | Carling Black Label – Be The Champion Coach: reimagined as the highest-stakes fan mechanic in SA football | Experiential Marketing: Live & Digital | Carling Black Label |
| Ogilvy | Forever Golf – How VW Turned a 47‑Year Nickname Tradition into a Record‑Breaking Golf 8 Launch. | Experiential Marketing: Live & Digital | Volkswagen South Africa |
| Ogilvy | How Vaseline Rewrote the Rules of Trust in the Social Era | Marketing Disruptors | Vaseline PJ |
| Ogilvy | When Everyone Went Cheap, KFC Went Bottomless | Seasonal Marketing – Products, Services | KFC South Africa |
| Ogilvy | TikTok Test Drive: How Audi turned TikTok’s scroll into a steering wheel | Social Media | Audi |
| PHD South Africa | Uber Eats Delivers groceries till midnight | Media Innovation – Emerging & New Channels, Existing Channels / Media Effies | Uber |
| Promise Group | The Draught Story | Sustained Success – Products, Services | Castle Lite |
| VML | Insure Your Unsure | Insurance | Hollard |
| VML | The Perfumistic Launch That Made Laundry Desirable | New Product/Service Introduction / Commerce & Shopper Effies | Comfort |
Effie Awards South Africa is hosted by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) and sponsored by Nedbank, South African Breweries (AB InBev), Heineken Beverages, Emeris, IAS, Eat Big Fish, Investec, Boundless and Motion Ads.
