Sunday Times Gen Next Awards announces 2020 category finalists

Image source: 123RF.com.

The Sunday Times Gen Next survey is considered the leading barometer of what South Africa’s youth find on-trend and aspirational and delivers insights that are valued by brand management, advertising, and marketing professionals.

The survey conducted by HDI Youth Consultancy (now incorporated into Yellowwood) has previously been limited to South African youths between the ages of 8 and 23, but for the first time also includes a sample population of Young Professionals, aged 25 to 30 years. More than six thousand youth and young professionals across the country were polled during the 2020 survey period which concluded ahead of the national Covid-19 lockdown.

However, the Gen Next survey has not been insulated from the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions and lockdown, says Bonolo Molale of HDI:

The greatest impact has been in our inability to reach the full desired sample of 12,000 youth and young professionals. Despite the challenges faced, we have reached 6000 youth and young professionals which is a significant sample size and represents a large and relevant population from which to draw insights on youth.

"The 2020 survey results will serve as the most accurate ‘before’ snapshot of youth brand perception from a pre-lockdown, pre-Covid-19 period. It gives marketers a unique benchmark for measuring attitude shifts that may happen because of the hardships many will face, and how these will shape their spending priorities in a post-lockdown economic recovery period."

The survey also recognises youth perception of personal brands of sports and entertainment celebrities. “High profile individuals like sports stars, musicians, and actors play a huge role in youth culture, and it will be very interesting to see which of those celebrated in the 2020 survey results will maintain their good favour and continue to serve as responsible role models during this crucial time for our country,” says Gewers.

The finalists in the 2020 celebrity, sport and entertainment categories (in alphabetical order) are:

Coolest TV Soaps

7de Laan
Empire
IsiBaya
The Queen
Uzalo

Coolest Radio Stations

947
Jozi FM
Lesedi FM
Metro FM
Ukhozi FM

Coolest Local Sportsperson

AB de Villiers
Percy Tau
Siphiwe Tshabalala
Siya Kolisi
Thembinkosi Lorch

Coolest Local DJ (radio or club)

Black Coffee
DJ Maphorisa
DJ Tira
DJ Zinhle
Kabza de Small

Coolest Local Male Celebrities

Cassper Nyovest
Kaza de Small
Kwesta
Nasty C,
Trevor Noah

Coolest Local Female Celebrities

Boity Thulo
DJ Zinhle
Lady Zamar
Minnie Dlamini
Sho Madjozi

Coolest Online Influencers

Bonang Matheba
Kim Kardashian
Lasizwe
Mihlali Ndamase
Somizi

Below are all category finalists in the 2020 Sunday Times Gen Next survey (in random order). Only those categories marked with an * will be announced during the online awards event, however, all category winners will be published in the Sunday Times:

*Coolest Banks 2020

Absa
Capitec Bank
FNB
Nedbank
Standard Bank

*Coolest Cellphones 2020

Apple iPhone
Hisense
Huawei
Samsung
Sony

*Coolest Clothing Stores 2020

Markham
Mr Price
Sportscene
Totalsports
Woolworths

*Coolest Clothing Brands 2020

adidas
Fila
Gucci
Nike
Redbat

*Coolest Dairy Drinks 2020

Nestlé Hot Chocolate
Milo
Tropika
UltraMel Custard
Yogi Sip

*Coolest Hotel Groups 2020

City Lodge / Town Lodge / Road Lodge
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Protea Hotels
Sun International
Tsogo Sun

*Coolest Shopping Malls 2020

Canal Walk
Gateway Theatre of Shopping
Mall of Africa
Mall of the South
Sandton City

*Coolest Online Fashion store/app 2020

H & M
Mr Price
Superbalist
Takealot
Zara

*Coolest Companies to work for 2020

Apple
BMW
Mercedez-Benz
Nike
Samsung

*Coolest Telecomms Providers 2020

Cell C
MTN
Rain
Telkom/Telkom Mobile
Vodacom

*Coolest Tinned Food 2020

Koo
All Gold
Bull Brand
Lucky Star
Rhodes

*Coolest Motor Vehicles 2020

BMW
Ferrari
Lamborghini
Mercedes-Benz
Range Rover

*Coolest Stationery Store 2020

Checkers
CNA
Game
Pick n Pay
Shoprite

*Coolest Petrol Stations 2020

Caltex
Engen
Sasol
Shell
Total

*Coolest Local Entertainment Places 2020

Gold Reef City
Nu Metro
Sun City
The National Zoo
uShaka Marine World

*Coolest Console/Computer Games 2020

Fifa
Candy Crush Saga
Grand Theft Auto (GTA)
Need for Speed
Subway Surfers

*Coolest Grocery Stores 2020

Checkers
Food Lovers Market
Pick n Pay
Spar
Woolworths Food

*Coolest Fast Food Places 2020

Burger King
Debonairs
KFC
McDonald's
Nando's

*Coolest Eat Out Places 2020

Mugg & Bean
Nando's
RocoMamas
Spur
Wimpy

*Coolest Energy Products 2020

Dragon Energy Drink
Energade
Monster Energy Drink
Powerade
Red Bull Energy Drink

*Coolest Snacks 2020

Doritos
Lay's
Oreo
Pringles
Simba Chips

*Coolest Cold Drinks 2020

Appletiser
Coca-Cola
Fanta
Sparletta Creme Soda
Sprite

*Coolest Sweets 2020

Jelly Tots
Mentos
Pin Pop
Smarties
Smoothies

*Coolest Chocolates 2020

Bar.One
Cadbury Dairy Milk
Ferrero Rocher
KitKat
Lunch Bar

*Coolest TV/streaming/content channels/platforms 2020

DStv
GooglePlay
Netflix
Showmax
YouTube

*Coolest Online Influencer 2020

Bonang Matheba
Kim Kardashian
Lasizwe
Mihlali Ndamase
Somizi

Coolest Feminine Hygiene Products 2020

Always
Kotex
Libresse
Lil-Lets
Stayfree

Coolest Soap Bars 2020

Dettol
Dove
Lux
Nivea
Protex

Coolest Cartoon Shows 2020

Family Guy
Mr. Bean
Teen Titans
The Regular Show
Tom & Jerry

Coolest Kids TV Channels 2020

Boomerang (DStv 302)
Cartoon Network (DStv 301)
Disney Channel (DStv 303)
Disney XD (DStv 304)
Nickelodeon (DStv 305)

Coolest Music Store/website/streaming 2020

Google Play Store
iTunes/Apple Music
Joox
MP3 Juices
YouTube

Coolest Brand Slogans 2020

All In (adidas)
I'm Lovin' It (McDonald's)
Just Do It (Nike)
Off the Wall (Vans)
So Good (KFC)

Coolest Ice Cream 2020

Magnum
Nestlé Bar.One
Oreo
Polar Icecream
Woolworths Tin Roof

Coolest Birthday Wishlist 2020

Cake
Car
Laptop
Money
Smartphone

Coolest Spread/Sauce 2020

All Gold Tomato Sauce
Melrose Cheese Spread
Nando's Sauces
Nutella
Rama

*Coolest Computer Brands 2020

Apple Mac
Hisense
LG
Microsoft
Samsung

*Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth 2020

LoveLife
Save the Rhino
Soul Buddyz
Soul City
Speak Out

*Coolest TV Channels 2020

Cartoon Network (DStv 301)
Disney Channel (DStv 303)
M-Net Movies All Stars (DStv 111)
Mzansi Magic (DStv 161)
Trace Urban (DStv 325)

*Coolest TV Music Channels 2020

Channel O (DStv 320)
MTV (DStv 130)
MTV Base (DStv 322)
Trace Africa (DStv 326)
Trace Urban (DStv 325)

*Coolest TV Soaps 2020

7de Laan
Empire
IsiBaya
The Queen
Uzalo

*Coolest Radio Stations 2020

947 (Highveld)
Jozi FM
Lesedi FM
Metro FM
Ukhozi FM

*Coolest Breakfast Cereals 2020

Futurelife
Jungle Oats
Kellogg's Coco Pops
Kellogg's Corn Flakes
Nestlé Milo

*Coolest Specialist Health, Beauty, & Accessory Stores 2020

Avon
Clicks
Dis-Chem
Edgars
Woolworths

*Coolest Make-Up Brands 2020

Avon
L'Oréal
Mac
Pond's
Revlon

*Coolest Social Media Platforms 2020

Facebook
Instagram
Tik Tok
WhatsApp
YouTube

*Coolest Haircare Products 2020

Avon
Dark & Lovely
Dove
Easy Waves
Sofn'free

*Coolest Local Sportsperson 2020

AB de Villiers
Percy Tau
Simphiwe Tshabalala
Siya Kolisi
Thembinkosi Lorch

*Coolest Local DJ (radio or club) 2020

Black Coffee
DJ Maphorisa
DJ Tira
DJ Zinhle
Kabza De Small

*Coolest Local Male Celebrities 2020

Cassper Nyovest
Kabza De Small
Kwesta
Nasty C
Trevor Noah

*Coolest Local Female Celebrities 2020

Boity Thulo
DJ Zinhle
Lady Zamar
Minnie Dlamini
Sho Madjozi

*Coolest Shoe/Footwear Brands 2020

adidas
Gucci
Jordan
Nike
Vans

*Coolest Colleges 2020

College of Cape Town
Damelin College
Rosebank College
South West Gauteng College
Varsity College

*Coolest Yoghurt 2020

Clover Classic
Danone NutriDay
Parmalat
Woolworths Brand
Yogi-Sip

*Coolest Toy Store 2020

Game
The Crazy Store
Toy Kingdom
Toys R Us
ToyZone

*Coolest Food Delivery App 2020

Eat 24
Mr D Food
OrderIn
Uber Eats

*Coolest Universities 2020

Unisa
University of Cape Town (UCT)
University of Johannesburg (UJ)
University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN)
University of Witwatersrand (WITS)

*Coolest Advertising Medium 2020

Facebook
Instagram
Television
Twitter
YouTube

*Coolest Male Deodorants 2020

adidas
AXE
English Blazer
Nivea Men
Playboy

*Coolest Female Deodorants 2020

adidas
Avon
Dove
Nivea
Playgirl

*Coolest Gaming Console 2020

Nintendo 3DS XL
PlayStation 4 Pro
PSP
Xbox 360 E
Xbox One X

Coolest Skincare Products 2020

Nivea
Avon
Dove
Pond's
Vaseline

Coolest Toothpaste 2020

Aquafresh
Close-Up
Colgate
Oral-B
Sensodyne

Coolest Entertainment Channel 2020

Cartoon Network (DStv 301)
Disney Channel (Dstv 303)
MTV Base (DStv 322)
Mzansi Magic (Dstv 161)
WWE Channel (DStv 128)

Coolest Mobile Game 2020

Candy Crush Saga
FIFA Mobile
Fortnite
Minecraft
Subway Surfers

Coolest TV Programmes/Series 2020

Black-ish
Kulfi The Singing Star
Lockdown
Ridiculousness
The Big Bang Theory

Coolest Chewing Gum 2020

Chappies
Infinity (Stimorol)
Mentos
Orbit
Stimorol

Coolest Community Programmes 2020

Add Hope (KFC)
ChildLine
Khumbul'ekhaya
Save the Rhino
SpeakOut

I cannot live without…2020

Family
God
Money
Music
Parents

Coolest Job 2020

Actor/Actress
Doctor
Engineer
Lawyer
Soccer Player

Sunday Times Gen Next is presented in association with HDI Youth Consultancy.

Register to watch the Sunday Times Gen Next Awards online, by clicking here.

For information on sponsorship and activation opportunities at the 2020 Sunday Times Gen Next Awards contact Hoyland.