IDIDTHAT is kicking off our countdown to The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity with South Africa’s Cannes Predictions! We’ve brought together a team of creative heavyweights to view the work entered by South Africa into Cannes this year and choose the work they think will turn heads. A massive shoutout to our judges Fran Luckin, Steph van Niekerk, Roland Sweet, and Xolisa Dyeshana – thank you for being absolute gold as always!

Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML South Africa
Steph van Niekerk, Executive Creative Director at TBWA Hunt Lascaris
Roland Sweet, Founder and CEO of LITTLEBIG Group
 Xolisa Dyeshana, Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public United

With the support of LITTLEBIG, IDIDTHAT is once again able to bring you all the news from Cannes 2024. Having won Gold at Cannes themselves, LITTLEBIG understands the importance of Saffas backing each other on the global stage. We’re obsessed with their commitment to championing South Africa’s creativity! Thank you legends.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity returns to The Palais in Cannes from Monday 17 to Friday 21 June 2024.
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!

🇿🇦 Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML South Africa

One of South Africa’s preeminent creative leaders, Fran studied speech and drama at university but was saved from a life spent as “Second Extra From the Left” by moving into advertising. The move served her well – Fran has won multiple awards, including some of the industry’s most coveted accolades. During her time as ECD of Ogilvy Johannesburg, the agency won its first Film Gold Lion at Cannes Lions in 11 years and became the number one ranked South African agency at Cannes Lions.

Before joining VML, Fran was at Grey which, during her tenure, won its first Gold Lion at Cannes and moved into third spot in the South African Creative Rankings. She also spent two years at Quirk South Africa, during which the agency won its first Loerie award and its first Cannes shortlist.

While winning awards is always a great recognition for an agency’s hard work and passion, Fran derives the most joy from seeing people grow, and learn, and achieve things they might not have thought possible. In 2022, she was named Industry Leader of the Year at the Adfocus Awards. She has an MBA from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership and is a passionate advocate of lifelong learning.

The Riky Rick Foundation ‘Stronger’
(Entered by TBWA Hunt Lascaris)
This work has done well all over the world and I think we can expect it to have a good showing in Cannes.  Heartfelt and beautifully produced.

KFC ‘Make it KFC’
(Entered by Ogilvy South Africa)
Love this.  Cheeky, ballsy, a fun and engaging way to demonstrate product superiority. There’s been a trend in Cannes jury rooms back towards rewarding hard-working great work that actually sells product, so I think this could do well. And as someone who has personally consumed a deep-fried tarantula, I can testify that deep frying anything is a sure-fire way to make it taste great. Even more so if said batter has KFC 11 herbs and spices mojo.

Volkswagen South Africa ‘VW Night School’
(Entered by Ogilvy South Africa)
What a smart way to answer the question, “How do we get more people to do test drives”?
While providing a much needed service in a country where, thanks to load shedding or comatose municipalities, the roads are often unlit at night. Where do I sign up?

Corona ‘Limetime Guarantee’
(Entered by Boundless)
I love smart business solutions that also benefit economies and communities.  The hack about “tricking the trees into thinking it’s summer” is a smart twist on what Corona has done elsewhere in the world.

Steph van Niekerk, Executive Creative Director at TBWA Hunt Lascaris

Having been ranked as No.1 Creative Director and No.1 Copywriter in South Africa in 2019, as well as receiving the inaugural Campaign Magazine’s Female Frontier Award, Steph is one of AMEA’s top creative talents. She is passionate about making insight-driven work that moves people and explores the human condition in all its beauty, imperfection, fragility and hilarity. She is currently Executive Creative Director at TBWA/Hunt Lascaris in Johannesburg.

Chicken Licken ‘Feel the Fire’
(Entered by Joe Public)
You can’t fault the meticulous craft and obsessive attention to detail in this film. It has the production value and scale you need to compete at Cannes and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it up there in the craft categories.

City Lodge Hotels ‘Bedtime Stories for Business People’
(Entered by TBWA Hunt Lascaris)
Full disclaimer: I was involved in this piece and yes, we are hopeful it will do something at Cannes. Internationally it’s been well received so far because it has a well-defined insight (All hotels offer a wake-up call, but why does no one put business travelers to sleep properly?), brought to life with lovingly crafted meditations which straddle both audio and digital categories. You never know though, let’s see.

SAB (ABINBEV) ‘Shebeen’
(Entered by Joe Public)
I really want this piece to do well. It’s smart and powerful and very much needed in the South African context. My hope is that an international jury can grasp the cultural significance making traditional male-dominated shebeens, safe women-only places. I would expect to see it come through in cultural context and single-market categories.

Corona ‘Limetime Guarantee’
(Entered by Boundless)
A globally recognized brand and a smart, sustainable idea that uplifts communities and serves the business at the same time – this piece has all the makings of a Cannes contender.

Mini ‘Landfilla’
(Entered by VML South Africa)
Having once owned a Mini and knowing the impact of potholes on run-flat tyres, I’m fully onboard with this idea. I think the sustainability will be a hot topic this year and this could make an appearance on the shortlists, particularly in OOH.

The Riky Rick Foundation ‘Stronger’
(Entered by TBWA Hunt Lascaris)
Yes, it’s a Hunts piece. Yes, I’m backing it.. 😂 Although the competition around A.I is extremely tough, I believe the underlying message and purpose of this piece will make it hard to ignore. Putting mental health front and centre, Ricky should make us proud in the health, wellness and audio categories.

Roland Sweet, Founder and CEO of LITTLEBIG Group

Roland Sweet is the founder and CEO of LITTLEBIG Group; a team of 20 full-time South African – and one American – creatives and producers, working to solve storytelling problems for companies big and small worldwide. More recently, they’ve launched a second brand, Flattery Films.

Roland launched LITTLEBIG twenty years ago, initially as an events company that quickly grew into something much bigger. LITTLEBIG is now a global offering of highly-skilled services in Live and Broadcast, Events and Activations, and Creative Content. LITTLEBIG has offices in Cape Town, Amsterdam, Dubai, and Cypress with international awards including a Gold Lion at Cannes for their work on Bread of a Nation with Ogilvy South Africa.

Roland is husband to Kelly Sweet and dad to Bailey, Georgia, Harrison, and Alfie.

Savanna ‘Dry Jan’
(Entered by Grey Advertising Africa)
I think this campaign brilliantly taps into social behaviour and cleverly uses the product to show that taking a break during Dry January doesn’t have to mean being boring. The script is sharp, capturing the essence of party culture. When executed well, comedy in advertising is always a standout for me, and this piece hits the mark perfectly.

Volkswagen South Africa ‘VW Night School’
(Entered by Ogilvy South Africa)
This cleverly leverages the brand to spotlight a very real challenge. The approach is simple and innovative, addressing a significant issue with clarity and lots of creativity.

The Riky Rick Foundation ‘Stronger’
(Entered by TBWA Hunt Lascaris)
I think this is such a powerful piece of work, and an interesting use of trending technology. To create a track that not only talks to a huge societal issue but also does justice to a man who was a huge inspiration to many is no small feat.  It’s been very well received so far so fingers crossed it sees main stage at Cannes.

SAB (ABINBEV) ‘Shebeen’
(Entered by Joe Public)
This is an extremely good activation that sheds light on a serious issue faced by many South African women while providing them with a safe space to enjoy themselves free from harassment or violence. I think the broader campaign to identify and highlight other safe taverns for women across the country is an excellent follow-through, that could have a lasting and meaningful impact.

Aware.org ‘Drunk Drivers Stay for Free’
(Entered by Clockwork)
Very clever use of organic media and PR to make the general public aware of the consequences of driving drunk. It’s a smart and fresh approach to promoting road safety and responsible behaviour.

Corona ‘Limetime Guarantee’
(Entered by Boundless)
This is a really great piece of socially conscious marketing from a big globally recognised brand. I think this has the potential to resonate widely, making it a strong contender at Cannes.

 Xolisa Dyeshana, Chief Creative Officer at Joe Public United