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    Nike claims title of SA's coolest brand among youth at Sunday Times GenNext Awards

    The coolest brand in South Africa according to the youth is Nike.
    Nike walked away with the number one spot. Source: Supplied.
    Nike walked away with the number one spot. Source: Supplied.

    This was announced at the 19th annual Sunday Times GenNext Awards, held in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on Thursday. Apple and Samsung placed second and third overall, respectively.

    Brand decisions

    The Sunday Times GenNext 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.

    “With some 200 million people aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. 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 2023 GenNext Survey conducted by our partner Yellowwood clearly identifies what brands are sought after in keeping with youth trends of Now, Next and New – where businesses can actually be proactive rather than simply reactive, when it comes to dealing with the challenge of relevance.”

    The Awards also celebrate personal brands, and in the celebrity categories MacG (Coolest Local Online Influencer), Siya Kolisi (Coolest Local Sportsperson), Thando Thabethe (Coolest Local Radio Personality), and Trevor Noah (Coolest Local Celebrity) were awarded.

    The complete list of winning brands will be published in the Sunday Times GenNext Supplement on 24 September 2023.

    Herewith the 2023 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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