282 entries from 50 agencies were received in comparison to last year's 260 entries from 26 organisations.
Healthy growth was experienced in the below-the-line categories, especially in design, promotions and campaigns where there are also, for the first time in many years, finalists in the jingle category.
There was a noticeable improvement in the standard of newspaper ads entered after there were no finalists and a Pendoring trophy was not awarded in this category last year.
FCB Cape Town has the most finalists, 23, for campaigns done for three different clients, Klipdrift, Agri24 and BASF, while the AAA School of Advertising (Johannesburg) was responsible for all six finalists in the two student categories.
As is the global trend, simplicity, that was often strengthened by the use of strong visuals, impressed the judging panel.
The winners of the Pendoring Awards will be announced at a gala event on 20 September at VodaWorld in Midrand.
The complete list of finalists can be viewed from Monday, 12 August, at www.pendoring.mweb.co.za.
