# The Financial Mail Adfocus Awards 2025 shortlist is out ## The Financial Mail AdFocus Awards 2025 shortlist is out. This follows a record number of entries this year - double that of 2024. “The sheer volume and exceptional quality of submissions presented our jury with an incredibly challenging, yet ultimately rewarding, task says Vicki Buys, managing director, Ogilvy, and this year’s FM AdFocus Awards chairperson. 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. “This robust engagement from the industry is a powerful testament to the awards' stature and the compelling resonance of our 2025 theme, which champions agencies that don’t just create, but truly perform,” says Buys. She adds, “It's evident that the industry is mastering the power of Creative Capital, demonstrating how financial performance, talent acquisition, culture, and resilience drive both agency value and deliver tangible client ROI through strategic creativity and business acumen. She highlights, “What's particularly exciting is the emergence of many new agency names among the entries, signalling a vibrant and evolving landscape of talent and innovation.” Unique in the creative industry awards space, the AdFocus Awards reward agencies and how they are run, from their people to their systems and clients. **The FM AdFocus 2025 Shortlist (in alphabetical order)** **AdFocus Small Agency of the Year** * Boundless * Halo * Retroviral **AdFocus Medium Agency of the Year** * Clockwork * McCann Jhb * The Odd Number **AdFocus Large Agency of the Year** * Joe Public * M&C Saatchi Abel * Ogilvy **AdFocus PR Agency of the Year** * Magna Carta * Ogilvy PR * Razor PR **AdFocus Specialised Agency of the Year** * Design Bridge and Partner * MscSports * Ogilvy One **AdFocus Media Agency of the Year** * Carat * Connect * Juno **AdFocus Partnership of the Year** (Sponsored by IAS - Independent Agency Search and Selection Company) * 99c and Checkers * The MediaShop and Shoprite Checkers * Ogilvy SA and Volkswagen **AdFocus African Impact Award** * Dentsu * M&C Saatchi – Up&Up Group * TBWA **AdFocus Transformation Award** * Lobengula * Ogilvy * Park SA **AdFocus Group of the Year** * Dentsu * M&C Saatchi – Up&Up Group * Ogilvy **AdFocus Student of the Year** * Abigael Cassell - Cape Town Creative Academy * Alice Bosch - Cape Town Creative Academy * Danica Viljoen - Vega Cape Town The AdFocus Awards 2025 Agency of the Year, Lifetime Achiever, Industry of the Year and Shapeshifter will be announced at the awards event on 26 November. Tickets to the event will go on sale shortly. Please check the ADFocus Awards website: https://www.adfocus.co.za/