The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media.
Ralph unveils CannesFessions, an anonymous hotline for festival confessions
Global entertainment-based creative agency Ralph is adding some ooh-la-la to the Cannes Lions this year (16-20 June) by launching CannesFessions, a dedicated hotline allowing adland’s finest to anonymously admit their funniest, craziest and cringiest stories from the event.
Whether it’s overindulging in cocktails then redecorating your hotel room, drunken midnight skinny dips on the beach, getting lost in Le Suquet and missing a session, face-planting a palm tree on La Croisette, embarrassing yourself in front of a client or falling off your barstool at the Carlton, no tale is off limits.
Anyone can admit their transgressions, clear their conscience and be absolved of their sins, simply calling the CannesFessions automated hotline and dishing the dirt.
Ralph will then feed all voice messages through its Anonymiser Engine to make sure no one can be identified – your secrets will be safely secured and stay forever omerta on the Riviera. After all, what happens in Cannes, stays in Cannes.
Ralph, which has offices in London, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles and Mumbai, is renowned for creating experiences for brands that people love and share, working with clients including Tubi, Sky, Peacock, Spotify, Apple TV+, Corona, Netflix and Sony.
As Ralph co-founder and CEO Chris Hassell explained: “We just wanted to bring a bit of fun to Cannes. There’s nothing as entertaining as a good bit of gossip and Ralph is in the entertainment business after all, so we thought, why not?”
Brand Africa reveals Brand Africa 100
Brand Africa, in partnership with Business Day and Brand South Africa, hosted at the JSE, has unveiled the results of the 15th annual Brand Africa 100 | South Africa’s Best Brands rankings. The announcement was made by Brand Africa founder and chairman, Thebe Ikalafeng, alongside Brand South Africa CEO, Neville Malatji, and deputy minister in the presidency, Ntate Kenneth Morolong.
Despite the continued dominance of global brands such as Nike, Africa’s most admired brand for the 8th consecutive year – South Africa’s GALXBOY andMaxhosa emerged as the most admired African brands in South Africa. They join Bathu, recognised as Africa’s most admired apparel brand in the continental rankings.
The evening also honoured Sydney Mbhele, group chief marketing and corporate affairs officer at Absa, with an Africa Brand Leadership Excellence Award for Distinguished Leadership in Building Great African Brands. He has consistently championed African storytelling, cultural authenticity, and home-grown solutions, driving sustainable, purpose-led growth across his career.
Grand Prix Awards – Brand Excellence and Impact
- MTN was awarded the Grand Prix: Most Admired African Brand for its unwavering, purpose-led leadership.
- Woolworths received the Grand Prix: Most Admired South African Brand for exceptional purpose-led excellence, a steadfast commitment to sustainability, social impact, and building a better Africa; demonstrated through consistent performance across multiple categories.
- Shoprite/Checkers was honoured with the Grand Prix: Sustainability Award for its purpose-led innovation and impact, job creation, digital transformation, and bold sustainability agenda aligned with Africa’s development goals.
In its 50th year, African Bank received a Special Recognition Award for its pioneering role in financial inclusion and economic empowerment. Founded by NAFOCOC and visionary entrepreneurs Sam Motsuenyane, Richard Maponya, and Epainette Mbeki, the bank remains a beacon of home-grown innovation and enduring impact.
While 68% of South Africans express strong confidence in Africa’s future, only 32% of the Top 100 most admired brands in South Africa are made in South Africa, though notably higher than the continental average of 11%.
Across generations, Nike leads as the most admired brand among Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X, while Adidas is favoured by Baby Boomers.
“Although global brands continue to dominate South Africa and the continent, the rise of new-generation brands signals Africa’s creative potential,” said Thebe Ikalafeng. “The 32% representation of South African brands affirms South Africa’s leadership as a brand-led and creative nation.”
Award-winning style: Bread bags take the stage
Re.Bag.Re.Use, the South African upcycling initiative that repurposes plastic waste into handcrafted products, has received a SABRE Awards Africa in Mombasa, Kenya.
Founder of the initiative, Regine le Roux, took to the stage quite literally wearing the brand, a vibrant, full-length skirt crocheted from over approximately 200 repurposed bread bags. Created by the Re.Bag.Re.Use team in Hout Bay, the skirt symbolised the project’s core message: giving waste a second life through community empowerment and creative purpose.
“This recognition is not only for our team, but for every person who chooses to support sustainability and social impact,” said Le Roux. “We are incredibly proud to represent a story woven from discarded plastic, transformed by skilled hands into something meaningful, functional and beautiful.”
The Re.Bag.Re.Use team cleans, cuts, and crochets plastic bags into a growing range of reusable products, including shopping bags, accessories and home décor. The initiative has already diverted the equivalent of thousands kilograms of bread bags from landfill, while creating income opportunities and skills development within the local community.
Samsung employees play vital role as Solve For Tomorrow mentors
Samsung has decided to take a closer look at the work done by its mentors, a group of Samsung employees who have volunteered their time to support participating students in the 2025 Solve for Tomorrow competition.
The Top 20 schools that were selected to attend this year’s Samsung Solve for Tomorrow – Design Thinking workshops were paired with a group of mentors who were more than ready to turn and empower participating school learners into the next generation of problem-solvers. During these workshops which took place between April 10 and May 30, the 2025 mentors were able to assist both the participating learners and their educators by ensuring that they were equipped with essential skills and tools to approach problem-solving creatively and systematically.
These advisors also played a crucial role in ensuring that the workshops fostered critical thinking, design thinking practices, teamwork and the ability for the learners to develop human-centred solutions. During these workshops, the mentors were able to offer support through Question & Answer (Q&A) sessions, video calls and other forms of communication.
And when the work of these mentors was analysed – looking at how they contributed in empowering learners from different schools to transform ideas into tangible solutions that address real-world challenges.
Effie announces 2024 Global Effie Index
Effie Worldwide has released the 2024 Effie Index® (effieindex.com), the 14th edition of the annual global ranking that celebrates the most effective marketing around the world. Drawing from finalist and winning entries submitted across regional, national, and global Effie Awards competitions, this year’s Index continues to reflect the evolving landscape of impactful marketing.
“The Effie Index sets the global standard for marketing effectiveness. It’s about recognizing work that works and delivering real impact across geographies, industries and audiences,” said Traci Alford, Global CEO, Effie Worldwide. “This year’s rankings reflect the true breadth of global marketing excellence, and we congratulate all those who earned top honors. We’re proud to celebrate their success and are inspired by their leadership.”
2024 South Africa Rankings
| RANK | SA INDIVIDUAL AGENCY OFFICES | POINTS
|
|
| 1 | Halo | Johannesburg | 76 |
| 2 | Ogilvy | Cape Town | 72 |
| 3 | M-Sports Marketing Communications | Johannesburg | 51 |
| 4 | Joe Public | Johannesburg | 46 |
| 5 | Ogilvy | Johannesburg | 42 |
| 6 | iProspect | Johannesburg | 30 |
| 7 | Dentsu Creative | Johannesburg | 21 |
| 8 | Hearts & Science | Dubai | 18 |
| 8 | Living Masks Experiential | Johannesburg | 18 |
| 8 | Mindshare | Johannesburg | 18 |
| 8 | Punky Starfish | Johannesburg | 18 |
| 8 | SHIFT | Johannesburg | 18 |
| 13 | Draftline | Johannesburg | 13 |
| 14 | Foneworx | Johannesburg | 12 |
| 14 | Retroviral | Johannesburg | 12 |
| 16 | 99cents | Cape Town | 6 |
| 16 | Design Bridge and Partners | Cape Town | 6 |
| 16 | Shaun James Film | Johannesburg | 6 |
| 19 | Accenture Song | Johannesburg | 3 |
| 19 | Juno | Johannesburg | 3 |
| 19 | Massif Films | Johannesburg | 3 |
| 19 | PHD | Cape Town | 3 |
| 19 | Starcom | Johannesburg | 3 |
| 24 | Dentsu | Johannesburg | 2 |
| 24 | Levergy | Johannesburg | 2 |
| 24 | M&C Saatchi Abel | Johannesburg | 2 |
| 24 | Promise Group | Johannesburg | 2 |
| 28 | Hirt & Carter | Johannesburg | 1 |
| 28 | IMA | Cape Town | 1 |
| 28 | Machine | Johannesburg | 1 |
| 28 | Moonsport | Cape Town | 1 |
| 28 | PHD | Johannesburg | 1 |
| 28 | SABC | Durban | 1 |
| 28 | The Media Shop | Johannesburg | 1 |
The PRISM Awards 2025: Call for Entries now open
- The prestigious PRISM Awards, recognising impactful storytelling campaigns and communicators
- The PRISMS Summit, bringing together thought leaders, professionals, and change makers for future-focused learning and collaboration.
- A new Academic Track, showcasing research that informs and advances the profession.
Final Call for Entries: NACA Awards 2025 Celebrating the Bold, the Brilliant, the Best in South African Creativity
South African short film ‘Caleb: Beyond the Bite’ wins Gold at International Tourism Film Festival
As the world celebrated World Ocean Day on Sunday, 8 June, a proudly South African conservation film was timeously honoured on the global stage. Caleb: Beyond the Bite, produced by WILDTRUST and Love Africa Marketing, has been awarded Gold at the 2025 International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA) – one year since the film’s release. This marks the fourth Film Festival that the film has been recognised by to date.
The Film Festival received over 450 entries from across the world, which culminated in a red carpet event on Friday evening at the Hotel Sky in Sandton, Johannesburg.
“This film was truly inspirational,” says ITFFA Festival Organiser Caroline Ungersbock. “It delivered a very strong and necessary message that resonated deeply with our judges and attendees of the film festival.”
The short film follows para-athlete, actor, and shark bite survivor Caleb Swanepoel’s emotional return to the ocean to swim with sharks, the very species that altered the course of his life in 2015.
Far from a typical wildlife film, it offers a deeply human narrative that challenges fear-driven perceptions of sharks and highlights their importance in South Africa’s marine ecosystems.
“I’m incredibly excited that the film has been recognised at the ITFFA Awards,” says Swanepoel. “It means so much that more people around the world will now get to see the film and hopefully connect with its message. Being part of the project and a team that’s having an impact and changing the narrative around sharks is a real privilege.”
Edelman, Le Pub and MullenLowe South Africa shortlisted at Gerety 2025
- Germany, USA, UK and France are the countries with more works among the finalists.
- VML is the most shortlisted network
- Kazakhstan, Paraguay and Croatia get into the shortlist for the first time at Gerety.
- Art Direction sees the most shortlisted entries into the Craft CUT with works including Unwrap The Summer, Connecting Europe and In Hot Water.
- The most shortlisted campaign is Dancing Washers for Whirlpool by VML México.
