Meet the YouTube Works Awards winners

Meet the YouTube Works Awards winners


YouTube marked its 20th anniversary this week with the YouTube Works Awards, honouring brands and agencies that turned the platform into a powerful driver of storytelling and measurable business impact.

Absa won the Grand Prix Award. Source: YouTube.

Six categories

Launched earlier in the year, a panel of industry leaders was convened to judge entries across six categories, with a focus on campaigns that demonstrated effective use of audience insights, creative vision, technology, and cross-platform integration to achieve significant business impact.

The awards underscore YouTube’s position as a platform that bridges the gap between advertisers and their audiences. YouTube provides a successful platform that also connects new brands to their audience, as 87% of viewers engage with ads and two-thirds find them relevant and trustworthy through the platform.

Speaking at the event, Kabelo Makwane, country director for Google South Africa, said: “Congratulations to all the winners! The calibre of submissions we received was truly outstanding and they showcased the vibrant ingenuity of South Africa’s advertising industry.”

The winners were selected for their ability to push the boundaries of creativity while delivering on their business objectives. The coveted Grand Prix Award, the ultimate accolade for the most effective, creative, and innovative campaign, was awarded to Absa Group Limited for their I Grew It: Finance 101 campaign. The same campaign won the YouTube Symphony Award, demonstrating how it masterfully redefined integrated marketing by harmonising YouTube with other platforms for maximum impact.

“We launched these awards to celebrate the innovative talent behind campaigns that not only tell brilliant stories but also leverage YouTube to connect with over 25 millions of viewers and achieve significant business results. This celebratory moment shows our commitment to the growth of the creative ecosystem in South Africa even as we celebrate YouTube’s 20th birthday,” Makwane added.

The awards also recognised excellence in the following categories:

  • WeBuyCars won the Creative Visionary Award for their Rev-Jou-Jeep campaign, celebrated for its captivating and original creative vision.
  • Takealot – Naspers took home the Tech Pioneer Award for their George & Mason campaign, for its bold and excellent use of technology and AI.
  • Heineken Beverages was awarded the Hidden Gem Award for their The Beer Ads Without The Beer campaign, honoured for its brilliant audience insights that delivered measurable results.
  • Dream Drive Technologies received the Underdog Award for their Dream Drive Launch campaign, proving that a significant impact can be achieved on a small budget.

The winners showcased how bold ideas, combined with powerful storytelling and strategic execution on YouTube, can resonate far beyond the screen. The judging process, overseen by Kantar, focused on clear business objectives and demonstrable impact, ensuring the awards are a true reflection of advertising effectiveness.

Candice Thurston, Absa group marketing executive, who accepted both of the company’s awards with her team, said, “We believe that YouTube will be one of our most important channels across all our Pan-African markets in the next few years, and I Grew It was our first YouTube lead channel campaign. It was created to spark financial literacy and empowerment, reminding South Africans that when you nurture knowledge, you grow independence and confidence. This recognition from YouTube reinforces that your story matters.”

See all the winners

THE CREATIVE VISIONARY
Award Client name Creative agency Media agency Campaign Category View
Winner WeBuyCars Freckle   Rev-Jou-Jeep Vehicles View, View
Silver Lekkeslaap – Tripco (Pty) Ltd Sketchbook Studios & Patriot Films   There’s Something for Everyone Accomadation View
Silver Heineken Beverages Red Star   Savanna Neat Alcoholic Beverages View
Bronze Heineken Beverages | Savanna Dentsu Performance – Redstar/ Carat   Savanna Angry Lemon The Creative Visionary View
Bronze Dromex Nettrade Programmatic, 13th Floor Digital Production Studio, Dromex Marketing Team MetaMedia Cape Town Dromex South Africa Respiratory 2025 “ YouTube CTV Campaign_Meg The Creative Visionary View
Bronze City of Cape Town Ogilvy South Africa, Ogilvy PR, Run Jump Fly (Production)   Worst Passengers The Creative Visionary View
THE UNDERDOG
Winner Dream drive technologies (pty) ltd Dream Drive + Land ON Digital   Dream Drive Launch Competition View
Silver Autotrader – Homefind24 (Pty) Ltd Retro Viral, Conversion Science, Have Your Say, The Media Shop Do it Big with Autotrader Vehicles View
Silver AB InBev Draftline, Dentsu, iProspect & Dentsu Performance   Drive Sharp Alcoholic Beverage View
Bronze Cartrack   in-house Cartrack’s Anti-Jamming The Underdog View
THE YOUTUBE SYMPHONY
Winner Absa Group Limited Until Until Agency & Events, Starcomm, Flume, On Point PR   I Grew It: Finance 101 Banking View
Silver Volkswagen Group South Africa Ogilvy South Africa, Run Jump Fly, PHD, Advanced Driving Academy   Volkswagen Night School Vehicles View
Bronze Woolworths Flume   Easter Awareness + Partnership Ads Experiment The YouTube Symphony View
Bronze Reckitt | Gaviscon Havas   Gaviscon Superiority The YouTube Symphony View
Bronze Mondelez South Africa | Oreo Saatchi , Accenture Song   Oreo Our Way The YouTube Symphony View
THE TECH PIONERR
Winner Takealot – Naspers Internally developed campaign   George & Mason Retail View
Silver Takealot – Naspers     Sol De Janeiro Retail View
Silver Volkswagen Group South Africa Ogilvy South Africa, Run Jump Fly, PHD, Advanced Driving Academy   Volkswagen Night School Vehicles View
Bronze Standard Bank M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg   AI Powered music ads Tech Pioneer View
Bronze MTN Lucky Hustle – Creative agency. Media team – MTN SA inhouse MTN Demand Gen Campaign Tech Pioneer View
THE HIDDEN GEM
Winner Heineken Beverages Red Star   The Beer Ads Without The Beer Alcoholic Beverages View
Silver King Price Porcupine Union, Freckle, Xfacta, ByDesign Bloudruk Media In-Sho-Sho Insurance View
Silver Showmax – Multichoice Studio In-house   Shebeen Queen Entertainment View
Bronze Nedbank LUCID & Joe Public   Youth Honours Board The Hidden Gem View
Bronze Capitec Bank Internal   Capitec Strategic Initiative Connect New Value Awareness The Hidden Gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GubyJLBPD-A  
Bronze Pepkor Payments & Lending Accenture (Creative Agency) Carat, Dentsu Performance Volume Driver The Hidden Gem View
Bronze Betway SA20   Special Effects Media South Africa Betway SA20 x Season 3 2025 The Hidden Gem View
THE GRAND PRIX
Winner Absa Group Limited Until Until Agency & Events, Starcomm, Flume, On Point PR   I Grew It: Finance 101 Banking View



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