After this year, I'm coming to the conclusion that it's awards season perpetually in South Africa - if it's not the local award shows for the marketing, advertising and media industries, it's all the international ones. So, last week, Ogilvy Cape Town Ogilvy Johannesburg scooped South Africa's first and one of only two Grand LIAs at the London International Awards for its Selinah TV ad for The Topsy Foundation and the finalists for the Bookmarks (digital marketing and media) were also released. Then there were the Assegai Awards (direct marketing) on Wednesday, 10 November 2010; the MPASA PICA Awards (magazines), preceded by the inaugural MPASA Media Summit (more magazine than newspaper) on Thursday 11 November; and the overall Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards (newspaper, online, TV and radio but not magazine) on Friday 12 November. But that's not all: still to be held are the SAB Environmental Journalists of the Year Awards this Wednesday 17 November, the Bookmarks on Thursday 18 November, the 2010 AdFocus Awards (advertising) on Wednesday 24 November and the Webber Wentzel Legal Journalist of the Year Awards on Tuesday 30 November. Feel free to email me if I've left any out... Anyway, apart from all these endless awards, the SABC soapie continues. Ad nauseum. One day things are looking up with the new communications minister, Roy Padayachie; the next day, not. More changes in ad agency management structures have been announced (Y&R Brands South Africa, The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town,Universal McCann). And the fight for our media freedom in South Africa still continues. What a year! Congrats to the deserving! Simone Puterman (@SimoneBiz) Managing editor Corrected at 10.15am on 16 November 2010: Ogilvy Johannesburg created Selinah, not Ogilvy Cape Town. Bizcommunity.com apologises for the error.
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