South African brands and agencies earned notable recognition, securing a significant share of the awards for their creative and innovative campaigns.
Each winning campaign brought something unique to the platform, tapping into TikTok's engaged community and innovative ad solutions to captivate audiences and exceed campaign goals. These brands delivered a masterclass on how to succeed on TikTok, showcasing the strategies and ad formats that lead to exceptional results.
Today we are sharing the full list of winners and medallists from South Africa.
Community Core
Celebrates the best use of creators and the community. The category shows how creators can use their unique voices and content styles seamlessly within a campaign idea.
Gold Winner: Hear ZA Hearing Challenge by Vodacom & VML
Raising awareness about hearing health through a fun & engaging branded challenge.
Vodacom's "Hearing Challenge" aimed to raise awareness about hearing loss among South African youth by using an interactive, music-based hearing test. The brand collaborated with the rising musician Lady Du and an audiologist to create a special music track used to empower users to test their hearing while sharing results on TikTok. The campaign went viral, sparking conversations about hearing health and encouraging young people to seek professional help.
It’s the Creative for me
This award focuses on the idea and its strategy and celebrates the brands and agencies that dared to push the boundaries of creativity with campaigns that were built TikTok-first, and showcased impactful results.
Gold Winner: Feel the Fire by Chicken Licken & Joe Public
A creative challenge turning users into actors auditioning for a role in the brand's next commercial.
Chicken Licken "turned up the heat" and engaged the South African community through a fun and interactive TikTok challenge featuring actor Atandwa Kani. This was the brand’s first TikTok content, offering participants the opportunity to showcase their acting skills for the coveted prize of appearing in a future ad.
Bronze Medallist: The Lunch Bar Man by Lunch Bar & VML
Connecting with multiple generations of users through hyperlocal storytelling and humour.
Lunch Bar launched a creative campaign on TikTok where the main character - Lucas "#TheLunchBarMan" Baloyi - gained viral fame by claiming that aliens were visiting South Africa to steal Lunch Bars. Over weeks, he shared his conspiracy theories through a series of TikTok videos linking UFO sightings in South Africa to the candy, complete with "evidence" and humorous commentary. His content resonated deeply with TikTok audiences, driving millions of views and increasing engagement on Lunch Bar's TikTok by over 207%. As of now, the campaign has accumulated over 60 million views.
Sound On Please!
Celebrates campaigns that use sound as an entry-point to their creative idea. There are so many different types of sound, different uses of sound, and likewise different creative approaches to sound on TikTok.
Gold Winner: Hear ZA Hearing Challenge by Vodacom & VML
Raising awareness about hearing health through a fun & engaging branded challenge.
Silver Medallist: Bedtime Stories by City Lodge & TBWA\ Hunt\Lascaris
Combining innovation and humour to build loyalty among business travellers.
City Lodge Hotels, a major South African hotel chain catering to business travellers, sought to stand out in a crowded market by addressing a key issue: stress and poor sleep among business travellers. The brand launched a playful series of guided meditations called "Bedtime Stories for Business People". The bedtime stories were tailored to eight different types of business travellers and aimed to help them relax and sleep better. The stories were promoted via in-room materials and a TikTok campaign.
Bougie on a budget
Recognising campaigns that creatively used modest production budgets and resources through both paid and organic content with community management to create maximum impact.
Bronze Medallist: Reusable Ads by City Lodge & TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Shadi Kandil, General Manager, Global Business Solutions, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Central and South Asia - TikTok
Encouraging South Africans to unwind and embrace the joy of a holiday through relatable and humorous short films.
City Lodge Hotels launched a creative, cost-effective campaign called "Reusable Ads" to inspire local users to take a break from life's stresses. The campaign featured three dialogue-free films with comedy carried entirely by subtitles. The unique aspect of the ads was that they could be easily repurposed without the need for additional production costs. The entire campaign aligned with City Lodge's new positioning: "Life is Hard. Check into Easy", emphasising that sometimes all it takes to cope with life's challenges is a break.
"We are thrilled to witness the first-ever TikTok Ad Awards in the region evolve into a remarkable celebration of creativity and bespoke storytelling, and the impactful campaigns that have set new benchmarks," - said Shadi Kandil, General Manager, Global Business Solutions, TikTok, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Central and South Asia. "We received entries from a diverse range of brands and agencies, with content that created connections, tapped into wider trends and truly brought brands to life, while driving significant impact. Our heartfelt congratulations to the winners and medallists - we are excited to see the next wave of innovation and excellence from all of you."
A big congratulations to the shortlisted entrants, who all delivered exceptional campaigns on the platform and helped make last night so fun and inspiring!
Check out the full list of winners here.