AAA cleans up at the 2020 Pendoring Awards!

The 25th Pendoring Awards announced its 2020 winners via a Facebook Live Broadcast on Friday, 13 November. This year’s awards paid tribute to and celebrated South Africa’s 10 indigenous national languages and has seen the highest number of Zulu language entries since its inception.

“As we deal with Covid-19 and we have seen the importance of language and communication become critical and life-saving, it is a watershed year for advertising and languages, inclusivity and diversity,” said Eben Kuhn, general manager of Pendoring.

The Pendoring entries were judged by people who speak the language of the entries, who understand the nuances and who wouldn’t need concepts or lines explained to them by others.

AAA students entered the awards in their masses and AAA secured the highest number of finalists all round! Three of its students won silver for their creations “Jol Magazine” by Suna Liebenberg, “Poetry and all that Jazz” by Khanyisa Rosemary Mabasa and the very charming “Vandag se jongmense is opgef*k – Big Blue” also by Suna Liebenberg. Sune also won the D&AD Pencil award earlier this year – one of the top creative awards any student in South Africa can win!

“We are extremely proud of the three Silver Pendoring awards our students received. They join a long line of previous award winners, confirming excellent creative education offered at AAA. We are looking forward to this years’ Loeries awards, soon to be announced,” says Dr Ludi Koekemoer, the former CEO of AAA.

Top advertising school

AAA School of Advertising was ranked number one by the 2020 Pendoring Awards – a whopping 12 points ahead of the next school! AAA is no stranger to the golden seat, having occupied the top spot many times in the past as well as runner up in 2019.

Since 2000, AAA students have won five Gold and 17 Silver/Bronze international advertising awards – including CLIO and D&AD awards. In 2010, 10 L’Oreal Brandstorm awards were awarded to marketing students who represented South Africa at the L’Óreal world competition in Paris, France. Two AAA student teams won both the first and second prize in the finals of the national L’Óreal Brandstorm competition – indeed a fantastic achievement! This year, four out of the eight teams invited to compete in the annual award were from AAA, with the national winning team (from AAA, of course) being placed at number nine internationally!

As for South African Industry Awards, AAA students to date have won:

• 31 Gold and 57 Silver and 63 Bronze Loerie awards
  
• 12 Gold and 7 Silver Pendoring awards
  
• Three Gold Assegai awards
  
• Four Gold Design Indaba, Goldpack and OHMSA awards
  
• In 2019, AAA had 46 finalists at the Loeries and Pendorings, winning two Golds, three Silvers and five Bronze awards.

More 2020 awards

AAA has received word that it has an incredible 26 finalists nominated for the Loerie Awards, which is taking place over 16–20 November 2020. We are incredibly proud of two of our students who won awards – Nicola Carter who won a Bronze Loerie and Sohyeon (Kelly) Bang who won a Silver Loerie.

As an institution, AAA has been at the front of the pack for decades – in 2007, AAA was rated as number one in the Lürzer’s Archive International ranking of creative schools and institutions in the world out of 142 competitors. To date, AAA School of Advertising is the only institution in Africa to be accredited by the IAA (International Advertising Association) – and it's not hard to see why!

For more information contact the AAA School of Advertising on az.oc.loohcsaaa@ofni or visit www.aaaschool.ac.za