Local Mzansi stories earn global recognition at the Webby Awards

Accenture Song South Africa has earned three nominations and four honourees at the 2026 Webby Awards, prestigious international awards that honour excellence on the Internet. The nominees and honourees demonstrate how Song, part of the world’s largest tech-powered creative group, helps brands grow and stay relevant by blending technology, data and creativity.

This year’s competition attracted more than 13 000 entries from over 70 countries, with nominees including global names like Bad Bunny, OpenAI, Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Swift, Netflix, Lady Gaga and more.

Song’s documentary film Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix (pictured) – the story of a one-of-a-kind-race in a small town the world forgot – is nominated for Branded Entertainment: Documentary, and Performance and Craft: Best Documentary Storytelling in Video and Film. The Most Dirt Wins campaign for Peugeot Landtrek for Branded Content: Auto and Auto Services category for Advertising, Media & PR.

The agency’s four 2026 Webby honourees included two for the Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix (Technical Achievement: Performance and Craft in Video and Film; and Social Impact and Public Service in General Games); along with one each for NikNaks’ Naks Level (honoured for Branded Content: Food and Beverage) and Sanlam’s The F-Show (Branded Content: Individual) in Advertising, Media and PR.

“All four campaigns – Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix, Most Dirt Wins, Naks Level and The F-Show – tell uniquely South African stories,” says Tseliso Rangaka, chief creative officer at Accenture Song South Africa. “As a creative agency, we are proud of the work and delighted to be recognised on a global stage by the Webby Awards.”

Local stories on the global stage

The emotional core of the Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix campaign is a feature documentary (now streaming on Prime Video), which follows young racers who build intricate draadkarre (wire cars) from scrap wire and bottle caps to compete in the town’s annual race. This multi-platform brand storytelling campaign includes the WGP Mobile Game, a free-to-play mobile racing title featuring a digital twin of the real Philipstown, created using assets from film production, drone footage and real-time GPS race data.

“This project represents the sweet spot of what Accenture Song offers, where deep human insight meets cutting-edge technology,” says Rangaka. “We didn’t just want to tell the Philipstown story; we wanted to build a platform that allows the world to participate in it. By digitising the town’s culture, we’ve created a campaign that lives beyond a 30-second spot, offering immersive entertainment that drives tangible value.”

Most Dirt Wins is a Peugeot South Africa content series featuring the Peugeot Landtrek bakkie, showcasing the vehicle’s endurance and off-road capability. Shot over four days across some of South Africa’s toughest terrain, this unscripted adventure challenge pitted actor Sobantu Nqayi and adventure guide Joe Fleming against radio presenter Jacob Mashoka and banker-turned-farmer Kgomotso Ramatlo. In a race with a twist, the winner is not the team who finishes first, but rather the team who accumulates the most kilometres of dirt roads along the way.

Naks Level saw iconic South African snack brand NikNaks breaking new ground with the country’s first AI-powered WhatsApp-based mentorship platform. WhatsApp users can interact directly with Vusi “Bob The Stylist” Ndima, founder of Boys of Soweto, through a three-part voice note masterclass and creative challenges – all while enabling users to ask questions about his lived experience.

In The F-Show, Accenture Song South Africa worked with South African financial services provider Sanlam to disguise financial literacy within a hilarious standup comedy show, streamed on Showmax. The show, featuring comedian of the year Mpho “Popps” Modikoane, was a secret project to get South Africans talking about the one thing they really don’t want to: their finances.

The 2026 Webby Awards winners will be announced on 11 May 2026.