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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For years now, IDIDTHAT has brought together a select group of the industry’s sharpest minds to review the South African work entered into Cannes Lions and to call, ahead of the world, what they believe will rise on the global stage. Here's who's doing South Africa's predicting this year.
South Africa is showing up strong at the The One Show, leading the Middle East and Africa region with 48 finalists. From agencies to production and post, the work is cutting through for Team SA, and with every finalist guaranteed a Pencil or Merit, it’s already a big win.
The world is in need of soul. That was the starting point for Chicken Licken’s ‘#SoulFood2TheWorld’ campaign, which began with the slightly audacious suggestion that global soul levels are running dangerously low, and that South Africa might be uniquely qualified to intervene. If Soul Food® is what the brand sells, then why not export it? Why not flip the usual narrative and position Mzansi not as the recipient of aid, but as the provider? High time, we say! So, we got some of the creators of the campaign from Joe Public and 7Films in a room to find out how they made this work happen.
When four South African respected jury presidents sit down together, you listen. Between them, they’ve presided over Cannes Lions, Loeries, Dubai Lynx, and the IAB Bookmark Awards - shaping what the world calls “award-winning work.” At this year’s IDIDTHAT HOUSE, inside the Nedbank Loft at Loeries Fringe 2025, this powerhouse panel brought together Fran Luckin (CCO, VML South Africa), Khensani Nobanda (Group Executive: Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Nedbank Group), Kabelo Moshapalo (CCO, Ogilvy), and Xolisa Dyeshana (CCO, Joe Public).
In this Q&A, Assaf Levy, one of South Africa’s top creative leaders, opens up about what makes a director “right” for a board and why the best scripts sometimes belong to specific voices. With over two decades in the game, a client list spanning Nike to Nedbank, lots of Chicken Licken inbetween and a trophy cabinet that includes wins at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, and The Loeries (where he ranked as the 11th top ECD last year), Assaf has helped define Joe Public’s reputation for big human ideas.
Yes, we know Cannes is over… but we’re not quite done talking about it. Here’s your full roundup of the week: the complete winners table, the work, and the companies that brought it home. You’ve inspired us all and reminded the world (and ourselves) what South Africans are capable of.
Today’s diary comes from Mpume Ngobese, Co-Managing Director of Joe Public and proud first-time Cannes attendee. Wide-eyed, curious, and taking notes like a pro, Mpume shares her Day 3 highlights, and it’s a fresh, fired-up take from someone soaking up every moment of the festival. Cannes virgin no more!
South Africa’s creative scene made a strong showing at this year’s One Show, bringing home two Bronze Pencils, three Silver, and 13 Merits. Congrats to the teams at Joe Public, TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, Carbon Films, Darling Films, Dash Digital, Post Modern, Sterling Sound, and newly launched agency Bananas! Here you can view all the awarded work and the brilliant talent behind it.
Chicken Licken ads have become creative benchmarks in our industry. And leading the charge is CEO and Head of Marketing Chantal Sombonos–Van Tonder, who runs one of South Africa’s most iconic fast food brands with instinct, guts, and a deep love for storytelling.
The One Show has revealed its 2025 finalists, and South Africa again shows up with 18 for the second year in a row. Finalists include local agencies and production companies: Joe Public, TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, Bananas, Promise, Carbon Films, and Enpower Trading. These finalists await the final Pencil decisions, which will be announced during Creative Week in New York on May 15. All finalists will win Gold, Silver, Bronze Pencils or Merits. Go team SA!
Chicken wins again! This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Chantelle Dos Santos, Creative Director at Joe Public and Gale Maimane, Director at Darling Films. Congrats to Zee Ntuli from Darling Films and Evi Katz from Left Post Productions for taking home the top spot this month for their KFC ad.