The countdown to The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is here, starting with South Africa’s Cannes Predictions! We’ve rounded up a gang of fearless industry leaders who’ve tapped into their inner psychics to conjure up the future and predict who’ll be bringing home the metal for South Africa. Thank you to these talented legends for lending us their knowledge, time and expertise. These visionaries have spoken, and below are their predictions for the metal-grabbing work at Cannes 2023.

 Xolisa Dyeshana, Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public United
 Pete Case, CEO & Creative Chairman, Ogilvy South Africa Group
 Neo Mashigo, Chief Creative Officer at M&C Saatchi Abel Group South Africa
 Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at Grey Africa
 Adam Howard, Owner and Sound Director at Howard Audio

This year, IDIDTHAT has joined forces with Howard Audio led by Cannes veteran Adam Howard. Howard Audio is the perfect partner for Cannes, having previously won Gold, Silver and Bronzes at Cannes, the company understands the importance of supporting our Saffas nominated on the international stage.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity returns to The Palais in Cannes from Monday 19 to Friday 23 June 2023.
Don’t miss a single moment of the rosé-fueled action – follow us on Facebook and Insta, subscribe to our newsletter, and join the ride. It’s Cannes, baby!

 Xolisa Dyeshana, Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public United

Blackboard ‘Many Jobs’
(Entered by Accenture Song)
This is one of my favourite print campaigns to come out of SA this year. The idea is powerful, the executions are great, and it’s an extremely important message. I also think the brand collaboration and link is extremely strong.

Standard Bank ‘Priceless Print’
(Entered by M&C Saatchi Abel)
This is a wonderful piece of work which demonstrates how you can still be innovative in fairly traditional mediums. It’s beautifully executed and it does a great job of democratising something that is inaccessible to most South Africans, art.

Castle Larger ‘Bread Of The Nation’
(Entered by Ogilvy South Africa)
This is a very bold and impactful piece of work. It’s one of my favourite examples of real agency and client collaboration to create scale. Many of the pieces that cut through at Cannes rely on this level of disruption. I love how local this piece is in what it solves, and in how it is put together. Holding thumbs big time for it.

AfriSam + BlackStudio ‘Construction Material Plan (a)’
This is a beautiful piece that has had very favourable results both locally and internationally. It’s fresh, unique and it addresses a real challenge for South Africans. Hopefully, the Cannes gods will be on our side and give it its due.

 Pete Case, CEO & Creative Chairman, Ogilvy South Africa Group

What a grrreat opportunity to look through our country’s entries to Cannes all in one go! After viewing everything I was excited and proud to be part of the growing wave of creativity we’re building as an industry. We certainly have some strong work representing us, across many categories, but the difficult question is what will stand out in the specific circumstances of Cannes.

Here’s my long list – congratulations for the amazing film craft in ‘Matriach’ and sound craft for Capfin and MTNs ‘Voice’, alongside graphic design that really caught my attention for ‘DYICTA’. Huge applause for the strategic insights at the heart of ‘Hurt people, hurt people’ and the Wesgro ‘Play before you stay’ campaign. Work with an extra dose of SA flavour which stood out for me included Chicken Lickens ‘Big John’ and ‘Build that Ad’ for Afrisam. In terms of innovative use of media, I’d highlight VW’s ‘Blind Spot’.

I think these all deserve nods at Cannes but the shortlist and ones I’d pick out above these are; ‘Many Jobs’ for Nikon & Blackboard, alongside the ESG radio work for RMB. These two entries have that extra layer of ‘I wish I’d done that’ about them. Fantastic writing and great use of the medium in both, so I hope they get extra large applause at this year’s show.

Included in the shortlist but from our stable, I’d put forward Castle Lager’s ‘Bread of the Nation’ for its bold delivery of both societal and brand impact, and the craft in KFC’s ‘Taste Inspector’ campaign.

With 10’s of thousands of entries from all over the world entered at Cannes – let’s wish all the work from SA good luck this year. When SA flies the flag high in Cannes, I think the whole industry wins.

🇿🇦 Neo Mashigo, Chief Creative Officer at M&C Saatchi Abel Group South Africa

KFC ‘Anything for the Taste’
This is one of those “I wish I did that” moments”. The ad has it all, quality credentials, full menu range, relevance, store footprint and craft. This is evidence that with creativity all briefs are an opportunity for captivating and fun storytelling.

Wesgro ‘Roblox Campaign’
I love how Roblox is used to unleash Kid Power in Tourism Advertising. The campaign uses this popular gaming platform to create an immersive experience that not only entertains but also empowers kids to become the ultimate travel influencers. SA will be well represented in categories that we don’t usually feature.

Nando’s ‘Sthuthuthu’
This campaign stands out with its refreshing originality and clever use of vernacular craft writing and performance.  I love this even though it’s still traditional it brings something fresh to the platform in a true entertaining Nandos way.

Carling Black Label ‘Bride Armour’
Carling Black Label impressively demonstrates its ability to generate impactful ideas across various categories. The consistent dedication to addressing Gender Based Violence is commendable, showcasing their commitment to raising awareness and finding innovative ways to discuss and combat this pressing issue.

🇿🇦 Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at Grey Africa

I’ve been asked for my Cannes predictions but let’s be honest, I’m no prophet. I can no more predict what’s going to happen in those Palais judging rooms than I can tell you exactly what the weather in Cape Town will be like between 10 and 12 tomorrow morning. But I know what I like. And I know what feels like a good, solid, honest, original idea to me.  And so here is my list of the work I’d award if I were the boss of Cannes.

Chicken Licken ‘Bigger Person’
(Entered by Joe Public)
Because it’s beautifully observed and meticulously written. The one about voice notes makes me howl with mirth. Howl.

Coke ‘Beatcan’ in Effectiveness Category
(Entered by FCB Africa)
A 17% increase in sales is a serious number when you take into consideration the size of the base that that increase is coming off.  It was a fun, inventive idea that created great experiences for many, many people – and it sold product.  And that’s really what we’re all about.

NikonxBlackboard ‘Many Jobs’
(Entered by Accenture Song)
I love the insight, I love the copy lines and YES PLEASE, it’s high time someone actually did this. We’ve been talking about it for years.

Castle Lager ‘Bread of the Nation’
(Entered by Ogilvy South Africa)
I can’t take credit for any clairvoyance here because we already know this piece is a Shortlist in the Titanium Lions. I don’t think this sort of thing has ever been done on this scale before and this is the kind of work – big brands expressing their purpose by making a difference in the world – that always meets with a lot of favour in Cannes. Holding thumbs for the team as they present their work to the jury in Cannes next week. May your suitcase on the return flight be heavy with Lions!

 Adam Howard, Owner and Sound Director at Howard Audio

It’s been such a rewarding exercise going through South Africa’s entries for this year’s Cannes Lions. I feel so proud to be a part of the South African advertising industry. We have such strong work being considered this year and it’s been really tough to single out a few pieces. Six pieces of work stood out just that little bit and I think these have a great chance of bringing some Cannes metal home that will make us all proud. In no particular order:

Chicken Licken ‘Big John Ya’hunga’
(Entered by Joe Public)
I fell in love with this campaign the first time I saw this epic film. The craft that went into this – from the concept, scriptwriting, VFX, edit, music and the wonderful cinematography and direction from Greg Gray is absolutely world-class – right at the level of the Wakanda Forever actual movie. A big shout out to the awesome team at Pressure Cooker whose epic orchestral music track elevates this piece to the highest level. The campaign launched on the day Wakanda Forever was released and created a worldwide stir – even getting a nod from the makers of the Wakanda film – it has to be worthy of a Cannes Lion.

Carling Black Label ‘Carling Over Time’
(Entered by Ogilvy South Africa)
Up for a “long-term strategy” Lion – this long-term campaign is very impactful. Carling as a brand had to change with the times – and as it did – had the issue of Gender Based Violence at its very core – challenging what “masculinity” means – and rolling out so many powerful campaigns over 6 years – I hope this long-term strategy and commitment gets recognised.

Pendoring Awards ‘Quinoa’
(Entered by TBWA Hunt Lascaris)
I’m a sucker for a great radio spot! I just love this piece – the copy is superb and the sound design supports the fantastic performance. The idea is simple but so effective. A perfect piece for the Pendoring Awards that promotes the richness of South Africa’s creative content in all its indigenous languages.

Standard Bank ‘Priceless Print’
(Entered by M&C Saatchi Abel)
What a fantastic piece of work from a brand that has supported the Arts in South Africa for 40 years. A wonderful way of igniting the love of art in South Africans. I’m a huge fan of the artist Blessing Ngobeni – him being a past recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artists Award makes this campaign all the more authentic.  I see this doing well at Cannes.

Corona ‘Free Surfer – Cass’
(Entered by NET#WORK BBDO)
Oh what a powerful film and campaign. The message of this short film is so profound – you get taken on an emotional journey as we fall in love with Cass. The fantastic cinematography, direction and edit (and the sound design/music)  bring out “all the feels” and you can’t help but be moved by the work. A perfect piece for Corona – “This Is Living”.

AfriSam + BlackStudio ‘Plan (a)’
I love this piece of work – the concept, design and execution stands out. The series of press ads that double as open source architectural drawings is an idea that I believe will stand out this year. The idea is simple, clear and goes a long way to solving South Africa’s housing crises.