More than 200 people gathered for the first-ever South African Creative Showcase where 14 agencies and their clients presented the work they hope will make South Africa proud at Cannes Lions 2026. It was a rare and wonderful sight: competitors and clients all in one room, cheering each other's work on. A rare chance for the industry to come together and get behind Team South Africa.
Being invited to judge at Cannes Lions is one of the highest honours in our industry. This year, 31 South Africans help shape the festival's most important conversations, serving on both shortlisting and awarding juries across categories ranging from Titanium and Glass to Film to Media, Design, PR and a Jury President in-between. Meet the marketers, strategists, filmmakers, designers and creative leaders representing South Africa on the global stage. Thank you legends for making us proud.
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.