Ogilvy South Africa Leads Regional Rankings Following Major Wins At The One Show 2026

Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town is the 2026 One Show ME & Africa Agency of the Year, and Promise Johannesburg ME & Africa Independent Agency of the Year (Image supplied)

This is based on point totals for wins in The One Show 2026 announced last week during Creative Week in New York.

Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town’s top ranking in the region was powered by its secondary credit on Vaseline Verified for Vaseline, a big winner this year from Ogilvy Singapore with Ogilvy UK London and Ogilvy New York.

The work picked up three Best of Discipline wins (Creator Content, Direct Marketing, and Public Relations), the inaugural Best Use of TikTok award, the Creative Marketer Pencil, 10 Golds, two Silver, and one Merit.

It is also the highest-ranked work overall, with Vaseline ranked the top brand, and Unilever the top brand parent company.

Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town won two additional Merits for work on behalf of Volkswagen South Africa and Audi South Africa.

The Ogilvy Group is also ranked at the top in the Agency Network Rankings.

The rankings

Here are the The One Show 2026 Top 10 ME & Africa Agency Rankings.

1. Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town
2. Accenture Song South Africa Cape Town
3. Promise Johannesburg
4. Impact BBDO Dubai, Joe Public Sandton (tie)
5. VML South Africa Johannesburg
6. Leo UAE Dubai, Memac Ogilvy UAE Dubai, TBWA\Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg, VML Riyadh (tie)

ME & Independent Agency Rankings

Here are the The One Show 2026 Top 5 ME & Africa Independent Agency Rankings.

1. Promise Johannesburg
2. Joe Public Sandton
3. M+C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg, The Odd Number Johannesburg (tie)
4. Bananas Johannesburg, Edelman Dubai, Edelman Johannesburg (tie)

The One Show 2026 Global Creative Rankings highlights

Here are the Global Agency Rankings.

1. VML New York
2. Rethink Toronto
3. Uncommon Creative Studio London
4. Serviceplan Germany Munich
5. Ogilvy New York
6. Grey México México City
7. adam&eve\TBWA London
8. FCB Canada (TBWA\Canada) Toronto
9. Publicis Conseil Paris
10. LePub México

Here are the Global Independent Agency Rankings.

1. Rethink Toronto
2. Serviceplan Germany Munich
3. Courage Inc. Toronto, Motion Sickness Auckland (tie)
4. NoA Åkestam Hoist Stockholm

Other cateogries

Global rankings in other categories are as follows:

• Independent Agency Rankings: Rethink Toronto
• Design Firm Rankings: By-Enjoy Fujian
• Brand-Side Agency Rankings: Apple Marcom Cupertino
• Non-Profit Client Rankings: SickKids Foundation
• Production Company Rankings: Whitecoat Singapore
• Music & Sound Company Rankings: Supreme Music Berlin
• Independent Agency Network Rankings: Rethink
• Highest Ranked Creative Professional: Debbie Vandeven, global chief creative officer, VML

The One Show 2026 Global Creative Rankings methodology

Rankings in each category are calculated by the company that garners the most points overall for winning entries based on One Show Pencils, Merits and Special Awards, allocated as follows: Gold Pencil 45 points, Silver 21, Bronze 9, Merit 3, Fusion Pencil 90, Creative Marketer 90, SDG Pencil 90, Green Pencil 90, Penta Pencil 150, Best of Discipline 90, Best of Non-Profit 90, and Best of Show 135.

Ranking points are awarded to eligible agencies credited under the Primary Agency listing on a winning entry, including agencies, digital agencies, media agencies, PR/marketing agencies, design firms, type foundries, and brand-side / in-house agencies.

When multiple eligible agencies are credited on the same win, the points are divided equally among them.

These points determine honours such as Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Design Firm of the Year, and Brand-Side Agency of the Year.

If the same entry wins multiple awards within a discipline or in multiple disciplines, the points for all awards and wins are counted towards the rankings.

The showcase of all 2026 One Show winners can be viewed here.