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.
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.
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.