Announced by the One Club for Creativity, all finalists will win either a Gold, Silver or Bronze Pencil or Merit, to be announced on 19 May during Creative Week 2022.

Joe Public United Johannesburg leads the way with nine One Show 2022 finalists, including three each for Chicken Licken ‘Soulfuel Safe Lamp’ and Converse ‘Unity Laces’. The agency has one each for Castle Milk Stout ‘Clan Beat’, South African National Blood Service (SANBS) ‘Blood Saves Lives’, and Chicken Licken ‘Nuggets of Wisdom’.

"As an independent agency that believes in the growth of our people, our clients and our country, we are delighted with the number of finalists we’ve received at this year’s One Show Awards. We see this as a testament to the strong relationships and the trust we enjoy with our clients, and it’s proof that South African creativity can compete and make an impact on the largest international stages," said Xolisa Dyeshana, chief creative officer at Joe Public.

Romance Films Cape Town has two finalists for ‘Feel the Fire’ on behalf of Chicken Licken.

With one One Show 2022 finalist each are Grey Advertising Africa Johannesburg for Savanna ‘Take a Savatical’, HelloFCB Cape Town for NetFlorist ‘Sneaky Stings’, Ogilvy South Africa Cape Town for ‘Rape Crisis’, and TBWA Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg for MTN South Africa ‘Feet’.

Global One show 2022 finalists

Globally, Area 23 New York has the most One Show 2022 finalists entries with 48, followed by Leo Burnett Chicago with 44 and Ogilvy UK London is third with 36 finalists, including 11 for Dove ‘Reverse Selfie’.

A total of 1,591 entries from 44 counties are finalists this year. The top five countries are the US with 656, Canada with 119, UK with 116, France with 106, and Germany with 103.

All of this year’s special awards, including Best of Show, Best of Disciplines, Fusion Pencil, Green Pencil, Sustainable Development Goals Pencil, Penta Pencil, Cultural Driver Pencil, CMO Pencil and top rankings, will be unveiled at The One Show 2022 in-person awards ceremony at the conclusion of Creative Week 2022 on 20 May at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.

This year’s One Show ceremony will be a grand coming together for the creative community, as it represents the first of the large global awards shows to gather in person and celebrate the best work from around the world with industry colleagues.

The complete finalists' list for The One Show 2022 is available here.