The WesBank New Generation Awards set a new benchmark, attracting a record number of submissions and yielding the largest shortlist in the platform’s history. The winners were announced at a packed banquet ceremony in Sandton on Wednesday, 23 September. Modern Marketing is the proud media partner of these prestigious awards.
Winners announced for the 2026 WesBank New Generation Awards
30 September 2026
The New Generation Awards stand as South Africa’s premier independent recognition platform for social-first marketing, digital innovation, AI, and creative technology. For 14 years, New Gen has benchmarked industry excellence, processing over 6,500 entries across corporate, agency, and emerging talent spaces, and awarding more than 1,700 trophies to the campaigns defining our digital future.
Stephen Paxton, founder of the awards, remarked: “We raised the benchmarks significantly this year, and our industry delivered beyond expectation. The sheer volume, quality, and creative bravery of the work submitted surpassed our highest expectations, with many Silver and Bronze winners reaching the gold benchmark of 82% and above – it has been profoundly inspiring.”
A deeper look at this year’s entries revealed a surge in high-performing, revenue-generating campaigns, alongside rich content marketing built on genuine community resonance and cultural relevance. Across categories, clear defining themes emerged: Trust over noise. Meaning over volume. Advocacy over impressions. Human connection over optimisation. Authenticity over trend-chasing.
In a digital landscape flooded with content, the rarest commodity is something that feels authentically human. This year’s work proved that brands understand people better than ever – favouring lasting community connections over quick campaign cycles.
Paxton conveyed heartfelt appreciation to the 30 esteemed jury members for their dedication and invaluable insights throughout the judging process.
Special gratitude was directed to our headline naming sponsor, WesBank; our Bronze sponsor, Unilever South Africa; our brand sponsors, Mettlestate and Naritive Global; and our category partner, OnPoint PR & Lifestyle Management. Being an independent awards programme means our sponsors aren't just partners – they are the fuel behind this magic! Thank you for helping us create an unforgettable night. We can't wait to keep building this momentum and sharing many more inspiring gatherings with you all. Thank you!
The coveted Black Onyx Main Award winners included:
Small Agency of the Year joint winners: Lucky Hustle, retaining their title for the second consecutive year, and EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot as first-time winners.
Medium Agency of the Year honours went to Penquin Advertising
Large Agency of the Year Award went to Ogilvy.
Golf: Volkswagen Group Africa was named Digital Brand of the Year, with agency partner Ogilvy, and Volkswagen Group Africa took top honours as the Overall Social & Digital Corporate of the Year.
Telkom was awarded Best Customer Experience (CX) Campaign of the Year for the Possibility in Play Campaign, by Mscsports.
Online Strategy of the Year joint winners included: Dis-Chem with agency partners Black&White and M&C Saatchi Abel, alongside Volkswagen Group Africa for the Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf Campaign by Ogilvy.
Biggest corporate winners:
Dominating the corporate categories this year, the evening's biggest winners included industry powerhouses AB InBev, Volkswagen Group Africa, Mondelēz South Africa, Suzuki South Africa, Castle, and Unilever South Africa.
In order of ranking, the four highest-scoring campaigns of the night:
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign Award: Lucky Hustle for Xiaomi South Africa, Xiaomi RN15 – Titan Tough Campaign – Scoring 93%
Excellence in Content Marketing Award: Volkswagen Group Africa for Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf Campaign by Ogilvy – Scoring 92%
Excellence in Content Marketing Award: Mondelēz South Africa for Chappies Heritage Campaign – "We've been there since” by LePub Johannesburg – Scoring 91%
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign Award: Clockwork for Nivea, Nivea Micellar – The Bare Minimum Campaign – Scoring 90%
Here are your 2026 winners:
CORPORATE CATEGORIES | |||
Best Revenue-Generating Marketing Campaign / Event by a Corporate | |||
GOLD | Payflex | Anomaly | Payflex - The Inside Man |
SILVER | Crocs South Africa | Clockwork | Croctober 2025 |
SILVER | Sasol | Bluecloud AI | Danki Mzansi - Sasol's 75th Anniversary Growth Platform |
BRONZE | Ackermans | 99c | Ackermans Packs Summer’25 |
BRONZE | FNB South Africa | Vivid Theory | FNB Festive Campaign: Get in the Game |
Best Social Media Reach from an Event / Activation by a Corporate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | AB InBev South Africa | Draftline | Flying Fish Surprisingly Good Sets |
SILVER | Volvo South Africa | Have Your Say | Volvo EX30 Cross Country Launch |
BRONZE | Ford Motor Company SA | VML South Africa | Ranger Super Duty: The Battle for Bothaville |
BRONZE | Sasol | Bluecloud AI | 75HRS, Sisonke and the grand openings - forecourt events the whole country watched |
Best Online Competition by a Corporate | |||
GOLD | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
SILVER | Craft Homes | The Red Wall Campaign | |
BRONZE | AB InBev South Africa | iProspect – dentsu EGG Studios – Powered by Blue Robot | Castle Milk Stout – Songs to Savour |
Most Innovative App Developed by a Corporate | |||
SILVER | AB InBev South Africa | iProspect – dentsu EGG Studios – Powered by Blue Robot | Castle Milk Stout – Songs to Savour |
BRONZE | AB InBev South Africa | EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot & iProspect-dentsu | Castle Lager 130 |
Best Use of Technical Innovation by a Corporate | |||
GOLD | AB InBev South Africa | iProspect – dentsu EGG Studios – Powered by Blue Robot | Castle Milk Stout – Songs to Savour |
SILVER | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Amarok 4XForce of Nature |
BRONZE | Bonitas Medical Fund | Adclick Africa | Dr B AI Influencer Campaign |
BRONZE | Windhoek | Dentsu Redstar & Honest Marketing | Windhoek x Food Commerce |
Best Low Budget Campaign | |||
GOLD | Absa | Lumico (Pty) Ltd | Absa Agritrends Autumn Edition |
GOLD | Unilever South Africa | VML South Africa | Vaseline - Mntana Ka Gogo |
SILVER | Payflex | Anomaly | Payflex - The Inside Man |
BRONZE | The Pool Team | Fenix Marketing Solutions | Just Keep Swimming |
BRONZE | Woodrock Animal Shelter | Lucky Hustle | Kennel to the Crib |
Mobile Marketing Excellence by a Corporate | |||
GOLD | AB InBev South Africa | iProspect – dentsu EGG Studios – Powered by Blue Robot | Castle Milk Stout – Songs to Savour |
GOLD | Mondelēz South Africa | OGILVY | Cadbury Dairy Milk – Snacking Made Right |
BRONZE | Xiaomi South Africa | Lucky Hustle | Xiaomi RN15 – Titan Tough |
Blogging Excellence by a Corporate | |||
BRONZE | Suzuki Auto South Africa | Spitfire Inbound and Penquin | Beyond the Blog: From Search to Suzuki |
Most Innovative Use of Social and Digital Media by a Corporate | |||
GOLD | Xiaomi South Africa | Lucky Hustle | Xiaomi RN15 – Titan Tough |
SILVER | PepsiCo South Africa | Accenture Song South Africa | NaksLevel -The AI Mentor on WhatsApp |
SILVER | The Beverage Company | Hellosquare | Reboost Big Kasi Energy |
BRONZE | The Magnum Ice Cream Company | Simunye Media | Nothing Cracks Like Magnum |
Most Innovative Gamification Campaign by a Corporate - Sponsored by Naritive Global | |||
GOLD | Aware.org | WONDER x Seamonster | Gaming for Good |
BRONZE | AB InBev South Africa | EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot & iProspect-dentsu | Castle Lager 130 |
BRONZE | AB InBev South Africa | iProspect – dentsu EGG Studios – Powered by Blue Robot | Castle Milk Stout – Songs to Savour |
Best Community Engagement Campaign by a Corporate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
SILVER | SuperSport | EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot | SuperSport Dream Team |
BRONZE | Mondelēz South Africa | OGILVY | Cadbury Dairy Milk – Generous First |
Excellence In Content Marketing by a Corporate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Mondelēz South Africa | LePub Johannesburg | Chappies Heritage Campaign - "We've been there since" |
GOLD | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
SILVER | Mondelēz South Africa | LePub Johannesburg | Ask OREO – Let The Cookies Decide |
BRONZE | Mondelēz South Africa | VML South Africa | The Cadbury LunchBar 60th Anniversary Campaign - The Monolith Mystery |
BRONZE | Procter & Gamble | WPP Media | Head & Shoulders – #DramaFreeMzansi |
Best Online PR Campaign by a Corporate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | PepsiCo South Africa | DNA Brand Architects | Cheetos Can’t Hide The Fun |
SILVER | Mondelēz South Africa | VML South Africa | The Cadbury LunchBar 60th Anniversary Campaign - The Monolith Mystery |
SILVER | Coca-Cola South Africa | Offlimit Communications | FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola |
SILVER | Ichikowitz Family Foundation | Flow Communications | The Trials of Winnie Mandela |
BRONZE | Sizekhaya | Flow Communications | Launching the new home of the National Lottery |
Best Integrated Marketing Campaign by a Corporate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Aware.org | WONDER | Shiy’imoto |
GOLD | Heineken Beverages SA | TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS (Johannesburg) a division of TBWA South Africa | Savanna - We Outside |
GOLD | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
SILVER | Dis-Chem | Black&White | Your Till Slip Never Looked Better |
BRONZE | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Amarok 4XForce of Nature |
Most Viral Campaign by a Corporate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Unilever South Africa | VML South Africa | Vaseline - Mntana Ka Gogo |
SILVER | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
BRONZE | SuperSport | EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot | SuperSport Dream Team |
Best Use of Social Media to Research and Evaluate - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign by a Corporate | |||
SILVER | Ackermans and Spur | 99c | Ackermans x Spur Design-A-Tee Competition |
SILVER | Crocs South Africa | Clockwork | Croctober 2025 |
BRONZE | NIVEA | Clockwork | Nivea Micellar - The Bare Minimum |
Best Use of AI in Marketing Campaign by a Corporate – Sponsored by Naritive Global | |||
SILVER | PepsiCo South Africa | Accenture Song South Africa | NaksLevel -The AI Mentor on WhatsApp |
BRONZE | Vodacom | Carbon1 | Extra Your Summer |
Best Email Marketing Campaign by a Corporate | |||
SILVER | Dis-Chem | Black&White | Your Till Slip Never Looked Better |
Best CRM Strategy Campaign by a Corporate – Sponsored by WesBank | |||
SILVER | Henley Business School Africa | Spitfire Inbound | Connected Journeys: Henley Africa's CRM-Led Growth Engine |
BRONZE | Suzuki Auto South Africa | Spitfire Inbound and Penquin | Driving Customer Intelligence: Suzuki’s AI-Ready Transformation |
AGENCY CATEGORIES | |||
Best Augmented Reality Marketing Campaign by an Agency | |||
BRONZE | Hyphen Creatives | Captain Morgan | Spice it Your Way |
Best Use of Technical Innovation by an Agency - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot & iProspect-dentsu | AB InBev South Africa | Castle Lager 130 |
SILVER | 4What Digital | EL-I Tech | Proving it works |
SILVER | Rainmaker Media | Nestlé - KitKat | KitKat Novelty Model |
BRONZE | Carbon1 | Vodacom | Extra Your Summer |
Most Viral Campaign by an Agency | |||
GOLD | VML South Africa | Unilever South Africa | Vaseline - Mntana Ka Gogo |
SILVER | DNA Brand Architects | PepsiCo South Africa | Cheetos Can’t Hide The Fun |
BRONZE | Sherbet Agency | Pizza Hut | Chicken Pops Pizza. Pop Culture. |
BRONZE | VML South Africa | Mondelēz South Africa | The Cadbury LunchBar 60th Anniversary Campaign - The Monolith Mystery |
Most Innovative Social and Digital Media Campaign by a Small Agency | |||
SILVER | Distrikt 9 | Showmax | The truth about banking |
BRONZE | Anomaly | Payflex | Payflex - The Inside Man |
Most Innovative Social and Digital Media Campaign by a Medium Agency | |||
SILVER | Lucid Performance and Humanz | L’Oréal South Africa | Level Up with CeraVe |
BRONZE | PlusNarrative and Grid Worldwide | Canva Africa | Canva Africa Launch |
Most Innovative Social and Digital Media Campaign by a Large Agency - Sponsored by OnPoint PR & Lifestyle Management | |||
GOLD | OGILVY | Vodacom South Africa | Vodacom – When You See It |
SILVER | OLIVER MARKETING | Unilever South Africa | DOVE X STARBUCKS: SPRAY. SIP. SLAY. |
BRONZE | OGILVY | Volkswagen Group Africa | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf |
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign by an Agency | |||
GOLD | Clockwork | NIVEA | Nivea Micellar - The Bare Minimum |
GOLD | Lucky Hustle | Xiaomi South Africa | Xiaomi RN15 – Titan Tough |
SILVER | Clockwork | Crocs South Africa | Croctober 2025 |
SILVER | OGILVY | Unilever South Africa | How Dove Opened the Creator Industry to New Voices |
SILVER | OnPoint PR & Lifestyle Management | Spur Corp | RocoMamas Fire Wings Challenge: Turning a Cult Favourite into South Africa's Hottest Food Challenge |
BRONZE | Lucid Performance and Humanz | L’Oréal South Africa | CeraVe World |
BRONZE | OnPoint PR & Lifestyle Management | Absa | Absa Rewards Travel – Go Beyond |
Best Integrated Marketing Campaign by an Agency | |||
GOLD | Clockwork | Crocs South Africa | Croctober 2025 |
SILVER | Offlimit Communications | Coca-Cola South Africa | FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola |
SILVER | OGILVY | Volkswagen Group Africa | Amarok 4XForce of Nature |
BRONZE | Lucid Performance | Nedbank | Get Money Fit |
BRONZE | OGILVY | Unilever South Africa | Vaseline Cera Glow - Glow that Never Declines |
Blogging Excellence by an Agency | |||
BRONZE | Spitfire Inbound and Penquin | Suzuki Auto South Africa | Beyond the Blog: From Search to Suzuki |
Best Use of AI in Marketing Campaign by an Agency – Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Mscsports | Telkom | Possibility in Play |
GOLD | Net#work BBDO | Mercedes-Benz South Africa | New Vito SELECT Product Launch Campaign |
SILVER | Flow Communications | Hollard Insure | Customer & Broker Promise Campaign |
BRONZE | Adclick Africa | Bonitas Medical Fund | Dr B AI Influencer Campaign |
Best Email Marketing Campaign by an Agency | |||
SILVER | Black&White | Dis-Chem | Your Till Slip Never Looked Better |
Best CRM Strategy Campaign by an Agency | |||
GOLD | Spitfire Inbound | Henley Business School Africa | Connected Journeys: Henley Africa's CRM-Led Growth Engine |
SILVER | Spitfire Inbound & Penquin | Suzuki Auto South Africa | Driving Customer Intelligence: Suzuki’s AI-Ready CRM Transformation |
BRONZE | Adclick Africa | Bonitas Medical Fund | Always-On Lead Gen |
ONLINE MEDIA & TOOLS CATEGORIES | |||
Best Corporate Website | |||
BRONZE | Tourvest Destination Management | Flow Communications | Your Africa website development |
Best Marketing Automation Campaign – Sponsored by WesBank | |||
GOLD | Spitfire Inbound and Penquin | Suzuki Auto South Africa | Always-On Intelligence: Automating Suzuki Auto South Africa's Customer Journey from Interest to Action |
Best Online Newsletter | |||
BRONZE | CHAS EVERITT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY GROUP | Stratitude | THE PROPERTY SIGNPOST |
Best Use of Podcast/Vlog to Promote a Brand or Event – Sponsored by Unilever | |||
GOLD | Xiaomi South Africa | Lucky Hustle | Xiaomi RN15 – Titan Tough |
SILVER | Woolworths Foods South Africa / W.Creative | Pop24, a division of Media24 | What’s the Difference? A Woolworths Foods Branded Vodcast |
BRONZE | East Coast Radio | SA Rescue: Out Alive | |
BRONZE | TIM.Africa | The Incredible Machines Podcast | |
Best Online Magazine / Newspaper | |||
GOLD | SME South Africa | ||
Best eCommerce Website | |||
GOLD | Berlitz Method | 'AI & Soul' & Stratitude | Berlitz Shopify |
STUDENT CATEGORIES | |||
The New Generation Student Group of the Year – Sponsored by Mettlestate | |||
GOLD | AAA School of Advertising - Bryanston | NOTARRA | |
GOLD | Vega School at Emeris | Fifth Season | Orphan Clothing Company – Tagged by OCC |
The New Generation Student of the Year – Sponsored by Mettlestate | |||
GOLD | Francois van Loggerenberg | AAA School of Advertising - Bryanston | One Colour. Every Market |
BLACK ONYX AWARD WINNERS | |||
The Black Onyx Community Engagement Manager of the Year - Sponsored by Unilever South Africa | |||
Ndimi Matomane | Bluecloud AI | ||
The Black Onyx Top Graphic Designer of the Year | |||
Kyle Anthony | Lucky Hustle | Unlucky Lemonade | |
The Black Onyx UX/UI Designer of the Year | |||
Alex Cannon | Stoneway | ||
The Black Onyx Social Wiz of the Year – Sponsored by Unilever South Africa | |||
Siyabonga Mzolo | DNA Brand Architects | ||
The Black Onyx Best Customer Experience (CX) of the Year – Sponsored by WesBank | |||
Telkom | Mscsports | Possibility in Play | |
The Black Onyx Digital Brand of the Year – Sponsored by WesBank | |||
Golf - Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | ||
The Black Onyx Online Strategy of the Year - Sponsored by WesBank | |||
Dis-Chem | Black&White and M&C Saatchi Abel | ||
Volkswagen Group Africa | OGILVY | Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf | |
The Black Onyx Small Agency of the Year - Sponsored by Unilever South Africa | |||
Lucky Hustle | |||
EGG Studios. Powered by Blue Robot | |||
The Black Onyx Medium Agency of the Year – Sponsored by Unilever South Africa | |||
Penquin Advertising | |||
The Black Onyx Large Agency of the Year – Sponsored by Unilever South Africa | |||
OGILVY | |||
The Black Onyx Social & Digital Corporate of the Year – Sponsored by WesBank | |||
Volkswagen Group Africa | |||