Nestlé’s “Maggi Mami”, Unilever’s “Vaseline & the Real Nigerian Prince” and Lux’s “Lux My Algorithm” have emerged among the Loeries 2026 finalists, as Dentsu Africa and Publicis Groupe Africa lead the agency representation ahead of the awards in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Nigerian-linked campaigns are competing across different categories at the continental creative festival.
Also read: AFRIMA 2027 entries open for landmark 10th edition
“Maggi Mami”, created for Nestlé’s Maggi, is shortlisted in the Audio Experiences/Activations category, while “Vaseline & the Real Nigerian Prince”, created for Vaseline Body Oil by Unilever, is a finalist in Audience Insights Innovation.
“Lux My Algorithm” is also competing in the Audience Insights Innovation category.
The strong showing comes as Loeries Creative Week enters its final stages, bringing together advertising professionals, marketers, creatives and agencies from across Africa and the Middle East for judging, masterclasses, industry conversations and networking.
Dentsu Africa has recorded the largest number of finalists among the agencies listed, with 86 shortlisted entries spanning its creative and media operations.
Publicis Groupe Africa follows with 65 finalists across six agencies, with its shortlisted work covering disciplines including film, radio, print craft, live experiences, artificial intelligence and the newly introduced Creative Strategy category.
The Groupe’s performance also extends to emerging talent, with three of the nine Young Creatives shortlisted for this year’s competition coming from Publicis Groupe Africa.
LePub Johannesburg and Machine are the strongest representatives within the Groupe, with 22 finalists each. Their shortlisted work includes campaigns for brands such as Heineken, Mondelez and RocoMamas.
VML South Africa has secured 31 finalist positions, with campaigns for brands including Vaseline and Standard Bank among its shortlisted work.
The Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography has also recorded 31 finalists, underscoring the breadth of creative talent represented in this year’s competition.
The scale of the shortlist comes against a backdrop of an increasingly technology-driven advertising industry, with artificial intelligence, audience insight and creative strategy featuring prominently among the disciplines being recognised at this year’s festival.
The Loeries Creative Week began on Sunday, October 4, with judging and industry activities preceding the two awards nights scheduled for October 8 and 9 in Cape Town.
Speaking during the second day of judging on Wednesday, October 7, Loeries Chief Executive Officer Preetesh Sewraj said the judging process goes beyond simply selecting award winners, describing it as a research-driven assessment of creative work.
“The Loeries is a phenomenal award. We use the word award, but this is proper research. We are actually doing proper research in terms of what is the best work,” Sewraj said.
He explained that judges examine entries against several measures, including innovation, quality, relevance to the brand, relevance to the target audience and the suitability of the medium used.
“We are checking, first of all, innovation. Innovation in research, innovation in work. We test quality, relevance to the brands, relevance to the target audience and the chosen medium,” Sewraj added.
His comments highlight the competitive nature of a festival where agencies are not judged simply on the visibility of their campaigns, but on the quality of the underlying creative thinking and the effectiveness of the execution.
Beyond the awards, Loeries Creative Week has included a broad programme designed to give marketing and communications professionals opportunities to exchange ideas and examine emerging trends.
The programme features a Unilever masterclass titled “From Cultural Truth and Relevance to Collective Impact”, while Pinterest is scheduled to host “Designing Taste: How Pinterest Powers Discovery”.
Creative Circle will also present “Talking In Creative Circles Live: United In Texture”, while Spotify will explore marketing and music strategy through “The Soundtrack to Your Strategy”.
Dentsu X is scheduled to examine the changing role of creativity in its session, “The Future Creative: Human Ingenuity in the Age of AI”.
The Loeries Marketing Leadership Forum has also brought senior marketing executives into the conversation, with a virtual keynote from the LIONS CMO Forum and a panel discussion featuring Khensani Nobanda.
A Bloomberg Media lunch is also part of the week’s programme.
The activities are expected to culminate in the Loeries Awards Nights on October 8 and 9, when winners across the various categories will be announced.
The festival positions Creative Week as a major regional platform for celebrating creative excellence across Africa and the Middle East, while providing opportunities for professionals to learn, build relationships and engage with developments shaping the communications industry.
For Nigerian advertising and marketing professionals, the presence of campaigns such as “Maggi Mami” and “Vaseline & the Real Nigerian Prince” among the finalists provides another opportunity for work connected to the Nigerian market to compete on a major regional stage.
Also read: AFRIMA 2027 entries open for landmark 10th edition
Attention now turns to the final judging sessions and the two awards nights, where the shortlisted campaigns will learn whether their creative ideas have translated into trophies at the 2026 Loeries.
