The TikTok Ad Awards celebrate innovation and creativity, rewarding brands that push creative boundaries by using the platform's capabilities to entertain and engage audiences. It's not all about creativity, though — winning campaigns were high performers that achieved results, says VML South Africa.

VML South Africa says that it has won two Gold Awards and a Bronze Award.

The agency says that its TikTok Ad Awards wins are:

  • Gold in the Community Core category for Vodacom 'Hearing Challenge'
  • Gold in the Sound On Please! category for Vodacom 'Hearing Challenge', and
  • Bronze in the It's the Creative for Me category for 'The Lunch Bar Man'.

Vodacom's 'Hearing Challenge' aimed to raise awareness about hearing loss in South Africa's youth by turning a hearing test into a TikTok challenge. They partnered with popular local artist, Lady Du, and embedded the test into an Amapiano song. Those who scored low on the challenge were directed to the HearZA app. The challenge went viral, sparking conversations and awareness about hearing loss in young people.

'The Lunch Bar Man' leveraged TikTok influencers to share "leaked footage" of Bra Lucas Baloyi, a conspiracy theorist and self-professed "Lunch Bar Man" who believes aliens are coming to Earth to steal Cadbury Lunch Bars. The TikTok campaign, which laid the groundwork for a larger omnichannel campaign, accumulated over 60 million views and increased engagement on Lunch Bar's TikTok by over 207%.

"TikTok was the fastest growing social media platform in 2024, and it was rated the coolest social media app by South African youth in the Sunday Times Gen Next Awards, released the other day. So, it's a powerful tool for brands," says Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer of VML South Africa.

"It's a fun platform to create for because there's so much you can do with it and the audience is so engaged," Luckin says. 

"But it's also tricky because the audience is so engaged — you really have to make work that feels right for the platform. You can't just take what you've used elsewhere and slap it on there because you're not going to get results. Our teams put a lot of painstaking craft into these campaigns, and it was exciting to see how well they came to life and how audiences responded. The fact that they've now also won these awards shows that we're getting it right in a very future-focused environment and it's great to get that affirmation that we're on the right track," Luckin adds.

"We are thrilled to witness the first-ever TikTok Ad Awards in the region evolve into a remarkable celebration of creativity and bespoke storytelling, and the impactful campaigns that have set new benchmarks," says Shadi Kandil, General Manager, Global Business Solutions, TikTok, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Central and South Asia.

"We received entries from a diverse range of brands and agencies, with content that created connections, tapped into wider trends and truly brought brands to life, while driving significant impact. Our heartfelt congratulations to the winners and medallists — we are excited to see the next wave of innovation and excellence from all of you," concludes Kandil.

The full list of winners can be viewed here.

For more information, visit www.vml.com. You can also follow VML on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, or on TikTok. 

*Image courtesy of contributor