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Dealers News South Africa

Mercedes-Benz SA voted coolest car brand at Sunday Times GenNext Awards

Mercedes-Benz South Africa has won the category of Coolest Motor Vehicle Brand in the 2023 Sunday Times GenNext awards. Friend of the brand, Siya Kolisi was awarded Coolest Local Sportsperson.
Image supplied
Image supplied

The coolest brands, according to South Africa’s youth, were announced at this year’s annual Sunday Times GenNext Awards, held in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on 20 September 2023.

The survey is a barometer of what South Africa’s youth find on-trend and inspirational and delivers insights that are valued by brand management, advertising, and marketing professionals.

“Clearly, understanding the brand decisions of the youth will be critical to future business success,” says Pule Molebeledi, acting CEO at Arena Holdings, which owns and manages the Sunday Times GenNext brand.

The results

Coolest Brand Overall
1Nike
2Apple
3Samsung
4Adidas
5BMW
6Louis Vuitton
7Coca-Cola
8Gucci
9Puma
10Vans
Coolest Advertising Medium
1Google Ads
2TikTok
3Instagram
4YouTube
5Twitter
6Posters / Flyers / Pamphlets / Brochure
7Magazines
8Newsletter
9Facebook
10Email Advertising/ Email Marketing
Coolest Alcohol Brands
1Jägermeister
2Savanna
3Brutal Fruit Spritzer
4Hennessy Cognac
5Heineken
6Smirnoff
7Tanqueray Gin
8Cruz Vodka
94th Street Wines
10Belgravia London Dry Gin
Coolest Banks
1Capitec Bank
2FNB/ First National Bank
3TymeBank
4Standard Bank
5Nedbank
6ABSA
7Discovery Bank
8Old Mutual
9African Bank
10Investec Bank
Coolest Brand That Cares About my Community
1Vodacom
2Sasko
3Gift of the Givers
4Adidas
5Unilever
6Pick n Pay
7Impala Community Development Trust
8Spar
9Blue Ribbon
10Woolworths
Coolest Breakfast Cereals
1Nestlé Cheerios
2FUTURELIFE Cereal
3Bokomo Corn Flakes
4Nestlé Milo Cereal
5ProNutro
6Kellogg’s Coco Pops
7Kellogg’s All Bran
8Morvite
9Kellogg’s Froot Loops
10Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth
1KFC’s Add Hope
2Adidas Impossible is Nothing
3R350 Sassa SRD Grant
4Vodacom NXT LVL Get A Gig
5HYDC Harambee Youth Development
6LoveLife
7Mr Price Foundation
8MTN Pulse/ #OnThePulse
9Global Citizen
10Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day
Coolest Cartoon Shows
1Mr. Bean: The Animated Series
2Tom & Jerry
3Regular Show
4Dragon Ball Z (DBZ)
5Supa Strikas
6SpongeBob SquarePants
7Teen Titans Go!
8Mickey Mouse
9Sofia The First
10Cocomelon
Coolest Cellphones Brands
1Samsung
2iPhone
3Huawei
4Xiaomi
5Nokia
6Oppo
7Hisense
8LG
9Itel
10Mobicel
Coolest Cold Beverage
1Coca-Cola
2Appletiser
3Cappy
4Sprite
5Liqui Fruit
6Stoney
7Pepsi
8Tropika
9Jive Cooldrinks
10Lipton Iced Tea
Coolest Fitness Apps
1Virgin Active
2Google Fit
330 Day Fitness Challenge
4Samsung Health
5Nike Training Club
6SweatCoin Fitness App
7Apple Fitness
8Huawei Fitness / Huawei Health
9Daily Yoga
10Planet Fitness live
Coolest Food Delivery Apps
1Uber Eats
2Mr D
3Checkers Sixty60
4Debonairs Pizza
5KFC
6McDelivery
7Nando’s
8Pick n Pay ASAP!
F9Takealot Food Delivery Service
10Bolt Foods
Coolest Gaming Consoles
1Playstation 5 / PS5
2Playstation 4 / PS4
3Xbox Series X and Series S
4Xbox One
5Xbox 360
6PSP / Sony PSP
7Playstation 3 / PS3
8Playstation 2 / PS2
9Nintendo Switch
10Steam Deck
Coolest Grocery Stores
1Woolworths
2Food Lovers Market
3Game Stores
4Boxer Super Stores
5Checkers
6Usave
7Makro
8Pick n Pay
9Shoprite
10OK / OK Foods
Coolest Haircare Products
1Dark and Lovely
2TRESemmé
3Sofn’free
4Aunt Jackie’s
5Dove
6Organics Hair Care
7Native Child
8Revlon
9Black Chic
10L’Oréal
Coolest Specialist Health & Beauty Store
1Clicks
2Dis-Chem
3Woolworths
4Edgars
5Sorbet
6Foschini
7The Body Shop
8Signature
9M.A.C Cosmetics
10Miladys
Coolest Hot Beverage
1Nestlé Milo
2Mugg & Bean Coffee
3Nestlé Hot Chocolate
4Nescafé
5Cadbury Hot Chocolate
6Jacobs Krönung Coffee
7Nespresso
8Hug in a Mug
9Freshpak Rooibos Tea
10Starbucks Coffee
Coolest Hotel Brands
1Protea Hotels by Marriot
2City Lodge
3Sun International
4Southern Sun
5Manhattan Hotel
6Hilton Hotel
7Radisson Blu Hotel
8Marriott
9Garden Court
10Hotel 224
Coolest Ice Cream
1Magnum
2Woolworths Tin Roof
3Milky Lane Ice Cream
4Oreo
5Woolworths Blueberry
6Ola
7Cornetto
8Farmhouse
9Dairy Milk
10Country Fresh
Coolest Insurance Brands
1Old Mutual
2AVBOB
3Discovery
4OUTsurance
51st For Women
6Assupol
7Clientéle
81Life Insurance
9Sanlam Insurance
10MiWay Insurance
Coolest Kids TV Channels
1Cartoon Network (301)
2Disney Jnr (309)
3Disney Channel (303)
4NickToons (308)
5Boomerang (302)
6Disney XD (304)
7Nickelodeon (305)
8eToonz (311)
9Jim Jam (310)
10SABC 1 (191)
1Cape Town
2Durban
3Maldives
4Dubai
5New York
6Mpumalanga
7Mauritius
8Zanzibar
9Paris
10Johannesburg
Coolest Local Online Influencers
1MacG
2Nomzamo Mbatha
3Connie Ferguson
4Zozibini Tunzi
5Boity Thulo
6Neevan Ferris
7Cassper Nyovest
8Somizi Mhlongo
9Mihlali Ndamase
10Seemah
Coolest Online Stores
1SHEIN
2Takealot
3Superbalist
4Mr Price/MRP
5Amazon
6Sportscene
7Zando
8The FIX
9ZARA
10Woolworths
Coolest Petrol Stations
1Engen
2Sasol
3BP
4Shell
5Caltex
6TotalEnergies
7Puma
8Astron Petrol
9Viva Garage
10Elegant Petrol Station
Coolest Public Transport Brands
1Uber
2Gautrain
3Bolt
4Greyhound
5City to City
6InDriver
7INTERCAPE
8MyCiti
9Translux
10Metrobus
Coolest Shopping Malls
1Mall of Africa
2Sandton City
3V&A Waterfront
4Menlyn
5Canal Walk
6Gateway
7Pavillion
8Maponya
9Eastgate Shopping Centre
10Mall of the North
Coolest Shower Gel
1Nivea
2Oh So Heavenly
3Dove
4Avon
5Radox
6Protex
7Lux
8Vaseline
9Sanex
10Satiskin
Coolest Skincare Products
1Nivea
2Vaseline
3Dove
4Avon
5Neutrogena
6Gentle Magic
7Dawn
8Portia M
9L’Oréal
10Eucerin
Coolest Snack Brands
1Simba
2Go-Slo’s
3Oreos
4Pringles
5Doritos
6Cadbury Dairy Milk
7Maynards
8#Hello!
9Fritos
10BB Snacks
Coolest Soap Bars
1Protex
2Dove
3Dettol
4Palmolive
5Sunlight Bar Soap
6Nivea
7Johnson & Johnson Soap
8Sunlight Green Bar
9Lifebuoy
10Lux
Coolest Social Media Apps
1WhatsApp
2TikTok
3META (Facebook)
4Instagram
5YouTube
6X (formerly known as Twitter)
7LinkedIn
8Snapchat
9MoyaApp
10Telegram
Coolest Spreads
1Rama
2Nutella
3Melrose
4Black Cat Peanut Butter
5Stork
6Yum Yum Peanut Butter
7Flora Margarine Spread
8Sunshine D
9Blossom
10Chocnut Spread
Coolest Stationery Store
1CNA
2PNA
3Shoprite
4Makro
5Typo
6PEP Stores
7Game Stores
8The Crazy Store
9Van Schaik Bookstore
10Checkers
Coolest Sweets
1Maynards
2Cadbury Eclairs
3Yogueta
4Pin Pop
5M&M’s
6Beacon Sweets
7Manhattan Marshmallows
8Skittles
9Amajoya
10Stumbo
Coolest Tinned Food
1KOO
2Lucky Star
3Woolworths
4All Gold
5Rhodes
6Bull Brand
7Pot O’ Gold
8Glenryck
9Heinz
10Saldanha
Coolest Energy Drinks
1Switch Energy Drink
2Energade
3Score Energy Drink
4Predator
5Red Bull
6Lucozade
7Dragon
8Mofaya
9Prime
10Reboost
Coolest Fast-Food Places
1McDonald's
2KFC
3Burger King
4Debonairs Pizza
5Spur Steak Ranches
6RocoMamas
7Nando's
8Chicken Licken
9Steers
10Hungry Lion
Coolest Female Deodorants
1Nivea
2Oh So Heavenly
3Dove
4PlayGirl
5Avon
6Mitchum
7Elizabeth Arden Red Door
8Yardley
9Revlon
10Sanex
Coolest Feminine Hygiene Products
1Kotex
2Always
3Lil-Lets
4GynaGuard
5Stayfree
6Nivea Intimo
7Avon Feminine Wash
8Femagene Intimate Wash
9Libresse
10
Coolest Chocolates
1KitKat
2Ferrero Rocher
3BAR ONE
4Lindt Lindor
5Cadbury Dairy Milk
6Dairy Milk Bubbly
7Cadbury Lunch Bar
8Nestlé Aero
9Cadbury Top Deck
10Cadbury P.S.
Coolest Clothing Brands
1Nike
2Adidas
3ZARA
4Lacoste
5Mr Price
6Redbat
7Louis Vuitton
8Fabiani
9Puma
10Chanel
Coolest Clothing Stores
1Mr Price / MRP
2Nike
3Sportscene
4H&M
5ZARA
6Markham
7Cotton On
8Woolworths
9Studio 88
10The Fix
Coolest Colleges
1Tshwane North TVET College
2IIE Rosebank College
3Boston City Campus
4City Varsity College
5Damelin College
6Harvard Business School Online
7Capricorn College / Capricorn TVET College
8Richfield College
9SWGC – South West Gauteng College
10Stanford College Online
Coolest Company to Work For
1Google
2Mercedes-Benz
3Apple
4Transnet
5Coca-Cola
6Anglo American Platinum
7SABC
8Sasol
9Microsoft
10Nike
Coolest Console Games
1FIFA
2Grand Theft Auto / GTA
3Call of Duty
4WWE
5Subway Surfer
6Need for Speed
7NBA
8Dragon Ball Games
9Street Fighter 6
10Ludo
Coolest Daily Newspapers
1Daily Sun
2Sowetan
3The Citizen
4Daily News
5The Star
6Isolezwe
7Daily Dispatch
8Cape Times
9Cape Argus
10Die Son
Digital Learning Platforms
1YouTube
2K53
3Mindset Learn 319
4LinkedIn Learning
5Google Play Books
6Vodacom e-School
7Moodle
8Google Classroom
9Skillshare
10Coursera
Coolest Local Celebrities
1Trevor Noah
2AKA
3DJ Zinhle
4Makhadzi
5DJ Kabza De Small
6Nomzamo Mbatha
7Connie Ferguson
8Bonang Matheba
9Black Coffee
10Somizi Mhlongo
Coolest Local Entertainment Destination
1Gold Reef City
2Sun City
3Kruger National Park
4uShaka Marine World
5Konka
6Table Mountain
7Robben Island
8The Sudwala Caves
9V&A Waterfront
10Montecasino
Coolest Local Radio Personalities
1Thando Thabethe
2Dineo Ranaka
3DJ MoFlava
4Somizi Mhlongo
5Skhumbuzo Hlophe (Skhumba)
6Thuso Motaung
7Anele Mdoda
8DJ Fresh
9Lerato Kganyago / LKG
10Selbeyonce
Coolest Local TV Programmes/Series
1Skeem Saam
2The River
3The Wife
4Uyajola 9/9
5Blood & Water
6The Queen
7Uzalo
8House Of Zwide
9Imbewu: The Seed
10Durban Gen
Coolest Local Sportspeople
1Siya Kolisi
2Percy Tau
3Caster Semenya
4Thembinkosi Lorch
5Benni McCarthy
6Itumeleng Khune
7Themba Zwane
8Wayde van Niekerk
9Bryan Habana
10AB De Villiers
Coolest Loyalty Programme
1Shoprite Xtra Savings
2Pick n Pay Smart Shopper
3Checkers Xtra Savings
4Clicks ClubCard
5Capitec Live Better
6FNB eBucks
7VodaBucks
8Spar Rewards
9The North Face XPLR Pass Loyalty Programme
10Woolworths Wrewards
Coolest Make-Up Brands
1L’Oréal
2Maybelline
3Avon
4Clinique
5Revlon
6Estée Lauder
7Signature Cosmetics & Fragrance
8M.A.C Cosmetics
9Yardley London
10Fenty Beauty by Rihanna
Coolest Male Deodorants
1Nivea Men
2Hugo Boss
3Diesel
4Yardley English Blazer
5Solo
6Brut
7Playboy
8Old Spice
9Sanex
10Shield for Men
Coolest Motor Vehicles Brands
1Mercedes-Benz
2BMW
3Audi
4Range Rover
5VW
6Lamborghini
7Toyota
8Porsche
9Rolls-Royce
10Jeep
Coolest Music Store/Website/Streaming
1iTunes
2MP3 Juices
3Spotify
4JOOX
5Fakaza
6Deezer
7Google Play Music
8SoundCloud
9YouTube Music
10Amazon Music
Coolest Online Accommodations Booking Sites
1Booking.com
2airbnb
3Trivago
4Sho’t Left
5Safari.com
6Computicket
7Tripadvisor
8Travelstart
9KAYAK
10Travel.com
Coolest Radio Stations
15FM
2Thobela FM
3Radio 2000 FM 97.5
4Motsweding FM
5Good Hope FM 94.7
6Heart 104.9 FM
7Lesedi FM 88.4
8METRO FM 96.4
9KFM 94.5
10Gagasi FM 99.5FM
Coolest Sit-Down Restaurants
1Spur Steak Ranches
2Mugg & Bean
3McDonald’s
4RocoMamas
5Ocean Basket (OB)
6Nando’s
7KFC
8Wimpy
9Debonairs Pizza
10Panarottis
Coolest Sauces Brands
1Nando’s
2All Gold
3Steers
4Spur Sauce
5Mrs Ball’s
6Wellington’s
7BBQ Six Gun Grill
8Maggi
9Crosse & Blackwell
10Knorr
Coolest Savings & Investment Platforms
1Capitec
2EasyEquities
3TymeBank
4FNB Investor Platform
5Old Mutual Invest
6African Bank
7Standard Bank
8Nedbank
9JSE / Johannesburg Stock Exchange
10Sanlam
Coolest Shoe/Footwear Brands
1Nike
2Adidas
3Puma
4Air Jordan
5Vans
6Converse
7Gucci
8Timberland
9Bathu
10Drip Footwear
Coolest TV/ Streaming/Content Platforms
1Netflix
2Showmax
3TikTok
4YouTube
5DStv Now
6META (Facebook)
7Spotify
8Instagram
9Disney Plus / Disney +
10X (formerly known as Twitter)
Coolest Universities
1University of Venda / UNIVEN
2Yale University
3Stanford University
4University of Oxford
5University of Fort Hare / UFH
6UNISA / University of South Africa
7North West University / NWU / PUKKE
8Mangosuthu University of Technology / MUT
9Sol Plaatje University
10Central University of Technology / CUT University
Coolest Weekly Newspapers
1Sunday Times
2City Press
3Sunday World
4Mail & Guardian
5Rapport
6Rising Sun
7TygerBurger Newspaper
Coolest Technology Brands
1Apple
2Samsung
3Huawei
4Google
5TikTok
6META (Facebook)
7LG
8Hisense
9Tesla
10Sony
Coolest Telecomms Providers
1Vodacom
2MTN
3Telkom
4Rain
5Cell C
6VOX Telecom
7China Mobile
8Mweb
9Green Telecoms
10Vuma
Coolest Toy Stores
1Toys R Us
2The Crazy Store
3Makro
4Takealot
5Game
6Toy Kingdom
7ToyZone
8Babies R Us
9Shoprite
10Baby City
Coolest TV Channels
1Mzansi Magic
2Moja Love
3MTV Base
4Disney Channel
5Studio Universal
6Cartoon Network / CN
7Channel O
8M-Net
9TLC Entertainment
10BET
Coolest Accessory & Jewellery Store
1American Swiss
2Claire’s
3Déonne le Roux Jewellers
4Gold Star
5MJ Fashion
6Lady7
72days Fashion
8Be Style

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