# 2025 Adfocus Awards Winners ## Winners of the 2025 FM AdFocus Awards announced **Here’s which outstanding agencies and individuals took home top honours this year** After fierce deliberation among an esteemed jury of industry heavyweights chaired by Ogilvy MD Vicki Buys, the winners of the 2025 Financial Mail AdFocus Awards were announced at a gala dinner in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Launched in 1990, these prestigious annual awards have become a landmark event in the local marketing and communications landscape, celebrating agencies and individuals for their creativity, marketing skills and all-round business acumen. This year’s theme, “Creative Capital: Building Agency Value in a Complex World”, reflects the evolution of agencies from “just” creative shops to businesses that build value through strategic and impact creativity. Here’s who took home top honours: **AdFocus Small Agency of the Year** * Winner: Retroviral * Finalists: Boundless, Halo **AdFocus Medium Agency of the Year** * Winner: The Odd Number * Finalists: Clockwork, McCann Jhb **AdFocus Large Agency of the Year** * Winner: Joe Public * Finalists: M&C Saatchi Abel, Ogilvy **AdFocus PR Agency of the Year** * Winner: Ogilvy PR * Finalists: Magna Carta, Razor PR **AdFocus Specialised Agency of the Year** * Winner: Ogilvy One * Finalists: Design Bridge and Partners, Mscsports **AdFocus Media Agency of the Year** * Winner: Carat * Finalists: Connect, Juno **AdFocus Partnership of the Year** This category is sponsored by IAS — Independent Agency Search and Selection Company. * Winner: Ogilvy SA and Volkswagen * Finalists: The MediaShop and Shoprite Checkers, 99c and Checkers **AdFocus African Impact Award** * Winner: Dentsu * Finalists: M&C Saatchi — Up&Up Group, TBWA **AdFocus Transformation Award** * Winner: Park Advertising * Finalists: Lobengula, Ogilvy **AdFocus Group of the Year** * Winner: Ogilvy * Finalists: Dentsu, M&C Saatchi — Up&Up Group **AdFocus Student of the Year** * Winner: Abigael Cassell — Cape Town Creative Academy * Finalists: Alice Bosch — Cape Town Creative Academy, Danica Viljoen — IIE Vega Cape Town **AdFocus Agency of the Year** * Winner: Ogilvy **Lifetime Achiever** * Winner: Mike Abel, executive chairman and founder of The Up&Up Group **Industry Leader of the Year** * Winner: Dawn Rowlands, CEO of Dentsu Sub-Saharan Africa **Shapeshifter Award** * Winner: Melusi Mhlungu, founder and CCO of We Are Bizarre **FM Creative Challenge** * Winner: Joe Public for Chicken Licken’s “Tell us you’re South African without telling us you’re South African” campaign