Pete Case, CEO and creative chairman of Ogilvy South Africa, comments; “What an amazing result! And huge congratulations to all of our client partners, that shone so brightly on the night - Vodacom, Audi, Astron, PEP, Black Cat, Vaseline, The Gates Foundation, Cadbury, Volkswagen, Dove, KFC, Coronation, Deaf SA, Standard Bank, Carling Black Label and The UCT Institute. Our north star is highly creative thinking that unlocks effective marketing, so these results really underline that ambition in a very clear way. This year we’ve seen unstable economic trading environments for many of our clients, so further industry acknowledgement of our ability to create brand growth and brand differentiation is wonderful to see.”
In an impressive display of consistency, this is the 6th year in a row that Ogilvy now holds the Agency of the Year title at the Assegais. In addition to this, Ogilvy also received the coveted Nkosi award. Presented each year to an agency showing the highest excellence in strategic thinking and Return On Investment. – cementing its promise to partner clients and provide impactful business results.
“Our commitment to brand impact keeps our feet on the ground,” says Neo Makhele, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy South Africa. “It’s a commitment to pursue the best possible campaign approach, and to deliver distinctiveness, ROI, equity and effectiveness for our clients’ brands, across all our disciplines. Our performance at the Assegais is testament to this obsession and the partnerships we’ve been able to cultivate for effective results. We believe in the power of great ideas to deliver ROI and we’re thankful that our clients share the same ideals.”
Vodacom was also named Brand of the Year at this years event, taking home 9 awards for campaigns across digital, retail innovation, integrated marketing and B2B. The brand also demonstrated how keeping purpose at the heart of their brand ecosystem can deliver culturally relevant work that drives behaviour and conversation. Andisa Ntsubane, managing executive: brand, Marketing and communications for Vodacom Group Africa, was honoured as Marketer of the Year. Recognising his exceptional contribution in the marketing space, whilst acknowledging his ability to consistently deliver results.
Andisa Ntsubane, managing executive: brand, marketing and communications Vodacom Group Africa comments:
“We are honoured to be named Brand of the Year for 2025. At Vodacom, our purpose is to connect everyone for a better future, and this recognition reaffirms the progress we’re making in becoming a more human-centric and meaningfully differentiated brand. Our partnership with Ogilvy continues to demonstrate the power of collaboration, creativity and shared ambition.
This achievement reaffirms the progress we are making in our quest to be purposeful in our actions and the meaningful change we aim to make across the continent. A big thank-you to our agency partners, who help us live the spirit of Further Together and show what’s possible when we unite behind a shared vision. And another big thank you Assegai awards, being named Marketer of the Year is deeply humbling.”
Case concludes, “It was wonderful to see Vodacom’s long-term commitment to marketing excellence also rewarded on the night. Large congratulations to Andisa and the wider marketing teams for all their hard effort and the great work they entered. We’re grateful to have a partner that believes in the power of creativity to move their business forward.”
It’s become increasingly important for brands to harness the power of social-first thinking, in an era where marketing budgets are being deployed to social, influence and digital platforms. 18 of Ogilvy’s wins were won in these categories, underlining the power to understand culture across communities and social-first thinking.
These wins at Assegais follow a winning streak for Ogilvy this year and their 5th consecutive title as Agency of the Year at the Effies awards - South Africa’s’ largest awards that focus on effective marketing.
