Effie Awards South Africa announces 2026 finalists

Effie Awards South Africa has announced 45 finalists for the 2026 programme, following the first round of judging. Following 2025’s record-setting programme, the 2026 Effie Awards South Africa recorded a further 29% increase in entries, reflecting growing participation from agencies, clients and specialist partners and reinforcing the value placed on marketing effectiveness across the industry.

Hosted by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), the Effie Awards remain the globally recognised benchmark for marketing effectiveness. Reaching finalist status is already a significant achievement, recognising work that has demonstrated the potential to meet Effie’s rigorous standard for effectiveness through clear objectives, strategic thinking, creativity and measurable results.

Judging and finalist recognition

“Finalist status at Effie means the work has stood up to a process that interrogates not only the idea, but the challenge, the strategy, how the idea was brought to life and the results achieved,” said Gillian Rightford, ACA Executive Director for Effie South Africa. “With a record number of cases entered this year, the continued growth of the programme reflects how seriously the industry is taking effectiveness. These finalists represent the cases that have shown the discipline, ambition and evidence required to compete at the highest level.”

All Effie finalists earn points towards the global Effie Index, giving both agency and client teams recognition beyond the local programme. Finalists now progress to the next stage of adjudication, where Round 2 judging will determine which campaigns will go on to win Bronze, Silver and Gold, with the most effective work considered for the prestigious Grand Effie.

Effie South Africa extends its appreciation to the moderators who guided the adjudication sessions, managed the judging rooms and helped keep discussions focused and on track: Refilwe Maluleke (Jury Co-Chair), Ahmed Tilly (Jury Co-Chair), Franco D'Onofrio, Sue Napier, Sarah Dexter, and Quantin Montello, and the Effie Score Review, comprising the Jury Co-Chairs, Adeshia Singh and Mpume Ngobese, for their time and expertise in supporting the integrity of the judging process.

Appreciation is also extended to the Emeris students who provided valuable technical support during judging.

Effie South Africa congratulates all 2026 finalists. This is a significant achievement, recognising work that has demonstrated the potential to meet Effie’s global standard for marketing effectiveness.

Key dates and further information

Round 2 judging will take place on Thursday, 13 August 2026, followed by Grand Effie adjudication on Thursday, 10 September 2026. Winners will be announced at the 2026 Effie Awards South Africa Gala on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

2025 Effie Awards South Africa Finalists full list in the link below:

https://effie.org/partners/south-africa/latesteffiesanews/#effie-awards-south-africa-announces-2026-finalists

Effie Awards South Africa is hosted by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) and sponsored by Nedbank, South African Breweries (AB InBev), Heineken Beverages, Emeris, IAS, Eat Big Fish, Investec, Boundless and Motion Ads.

For more information visit the Effie South Africa website at https://www.effie.org/partners/south-africa/ or visit www.acasa.co.za.

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