Last week, South Africa’s Cannes Lions jurors made a little history. For the first time, current jurors came together with former jurors and Jury Presidents for Jury Duty, a new IDIDTHAT.co and Nedbank initiative designed to share knowledge and hard-earned lessons before they step into the world’s most influential judging rooms.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Jabulani Sigege, Group Executive Creative Director at Machine_ and Jessie Zinn, Director at Bioscope Films. Thank you kindly legends for your time and expertise on this. And wow, there was a lot of work. We love seeing the industry producing at this volume. Let’s keep going! Massive congratulations Zee Ntuli from Darling Films on taking home Best in Craft for your work on KFC.
Copywriter Devaksha Vallabhjee and art director Danike de Jager have spent almost a decade moving through the industry side by side, from Ogilvy to AndPeople, King James (now Accenture), Saatchi & Saatchi, Duke and now FCB. We caught up with the long-time creative partners to talk about how ideas get made, what they're looking for in director treatments, the South African work they wish they'd done, and why protecting a great idea is often the hardest part of the job.
South Africa’s 2026 Cannes Predictions were revealed at IDIDTHAT’s industry dinner in Joburg on the 19th of May. Over 220 people from agencies, production companies, and brands packed out the restaurant, kicking off South Africa’s official Road to Cannes in exactly the right way: an industry showing up for each other, like only we can.
We all know that feeling. A piece of work drops and your stomach sinks a little because… damn, you wish you’d did that. The idea, the craft, whatever it is, it gets under your skin in the best possible way. So instead of pretending creatives don’t get wildly jealous of good work, we decided to celebrate it. We asked some of South Africa’s top talent to look at the work released between September and December 2025 and pick the pieces they genuinely wish they’d done themselves.
Under an absurd apartheid-era law, that keeps rapists anonymous and silences rape victims, women who publicly name their rapists can be prosecuted before a case has even gone to trial. We had to read that twice. We take a look at the new campaign called ‘NXME HIM’, whose sole objective is to get the Minister of Justice, Mmamoloko Kubayi’s, attention and force this long-ignored law into the spotlight.
We caught up with, Chantelle Dos Santos, the new Creative Director at Bananas to chat about choosing directors, the marketer relationships that elevate the work, the campaign she wishes she’d made, and why overthinking can quietly kill a great idea.
South Africa picked up a handful of shortlist recognitions at this year’s D&AD Awards, with a Wood Pencil awarded to Accenture Song for Allan Gray’s ‘A Seat at The Table’. Love this work, go team! And while it wasn’t the country’s biggest year at D&AD, getting shortlisted here still means the work stood out among some of the best creative entries in the world.
IDIDTHAT JUDGE MIKE SHARMAN FOUNDER & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER RETROVIRAL SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Retroviral, which has made more brands ‘go viral, [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE NEEMA NOUSE CREATIVE DIRECTOR THE ODD NUMBER SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO A creative leader with over 10 years of experience, Neema's innate fascination with the human [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE MARKUS WORKSTORM COMPOSER, MUSIC SUPERVISOR & FOUNDER OF BIBLO.TV SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Markus is a music producer and film composer operating from a 5.1 studio [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE THEMBALETHU MSIBI CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF CREATIVE PARTNER BLACKSWAN SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO I am the Co-Founder of BlackSwan, a boutique powerhouse creating magic for various [...]
IDIDTHAT JUDGE LAUREN MEYER CREATIVE DIRECTOR TBWA\ HUNT LASCARIS SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Lauren is a copywriter and writer with an Honours degree in English Literature from Wits [...]
Last night, at a packed Cannes Predictions Dinner hosted by IDIDTHAT in Johannesburg, South Africa’s 2026 Cannes Contenders were revealed live to the industry. And now you can view that work right here.
South Africa came out punching at The One Show Awards 2026, with local agencies, production companies, creatives, marketers, and brands picking up Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit recognition across a wide spread of categories. Go team SA! Congratulations to all the South African Pencil and Merit winners. Here’s the work that brought it home.
For 29 years, the Young Director Award has championed emerging directing talent from around the world. But this year, YDA is turning its attention toward a region overflowing with creative energy, cinematic innovation, and stories that continue to shape global culture. Or, in the immortal words of Shakira circa FIFA World Cup 2010, ‘This time for Africa.’
There’s something powerful about women opening doors for other women, especially in an industry where access still shapes who gets seen, heard, and celebrated. This year, Open Chair once again secured passes through the Cannes Lions ERA Programme, sending 14 South African women to Cannes. The Croisette won’t know what hit it.
On Tuesday 19 May, the IDIDTHAT Cannes Predictions Dinner returns, bigger than before, bringing together agencies, marketers, and production partners for the live reveal of South Africa’s Cannes Lions contenders for 2026, as predicted by our judges. Make sure you secure a table for your team.
Best in Craft goes to Greg Gray (Direction) from Romance and Ricky Boyd from Deliverance Post this month. Big cheers, loud applause, and general (Raj) whoohoo-ing all round. This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by two people who know a thing or two about making excellent work; Martin Schlumpf, Executive Creative Director at Joe Public and Chloe Coetsee, Director at Darling Films.
IDIDTHAT JUDGE MARTIN SCHLUMPF EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR JOE PUBLIC SOUTH AFRICA JUDGE'S BIO Martin Schlumpf is the Executive Creative Director at Joe Public South Africa. He believes that [...]