Ogilvy South Africa and Volkswagen took home four Black Onyx Awards, the highest honours presented at the 2026 WesBank New Generation Awards. The awards recognise excellence in social-first marketing, digital innovation, AI and creative technology.
Ogilvy was awarded Large Agency of the Year, while Volkswagen's Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf campaign received Black Onyx for awards for Social & Digital Corporate of the Year, Digital Brand of the Year and Online Strategy of the Year.
Beyond the Black Onyx awards, the team also walked away with seven golds, four silver awards and four bronze awards for work across Volkswagen, Dove, Vaseline, Vodacom and Cadbury Dairy Milk. The recognition spanned a broad range of disciplines, including social media innovation, best use of social media to research, community engagement, content marketing, mobile marketing, integrated marketing, technical innovation, influencer marketing and social strategy.
Commenting with excitement on the wins, Pete Case, CEO and creative chairman of Ogilvy South Africa, said: "What makes these awards particularly meaningful is that they celebrate work that people don't just consume, but choose to engage with and be part of. The winning work reflects a shared north star across our clients: creating ideas rooted in culture that help brands earn attention, inspire participation and create value for the communities they serve. Whether through strategy, content, community-building or technology, each campaign approached that challenge differently."
Among the agency's standout campaigns was Volkswagen’s Forever Golf: #NameThisGolf. Built on the insight that the Golf holds a unique place in South African culture, the campaign handed the public the keys to the launch of the next-generation model. By turning a 47-year tradition of nicknaming Golfs into a national conversation, the work celebrated a cultural ritual unique to South African Golf fans and demonstrated the power of participation-led creativity. The campaign earned five gold awards, a silver and a bronze, in addition to the prestigious Black Onyx recognition.
Bridget Harpur, head of marketing: Volkswagen Group Africa, said: "The success of Forever Golf came from understanding that the Golf already belongs to generations of South Africans. Instead of telling people what the brand means, the campaign gave them the opportunity to define its next chapter. Ogilvy helped us translate that insight into a digital strategy that drove participation at scale, strengthened the brand's cultural relevance and sparked meaningful engagement around the launch. We're thrilled to see that work recognised by the New Generation Awards."
In addition to Volkswagen's success, Ogilvy's work for Cadbury Dairy Milk, Vodacom, Dove, Amarok and Vaseline was recognised across multiple categories. The wins across multiple clients demonstrate the range of challenges brands are bringing to the agency and the diverse ways creative, strategic and technology-led thinking can help solve them.
