Accenture Song SA team with their Cannes Lions award
Accenture Song South Africa, the world’s largest tech-powered creative group, has been recognised across the world’s biggest creative awards this season, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, The Webby Awards, Tribeca X, Clio and other major creative platforms, with The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix and Allan Gray’s A Seat at the Table leading the way.
At Cannes Lions 2026, The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix, created for the Philipstown WireCar Foundation, earned a Silver Lion under Innovation in Branded Content in Entertainment and a Bronze Lion in Creative Data for Purpose-Driven Data Solutions. It was also shortlisted for Titanium, placing a story born in a small Karoo town alongside some of the most progressive work in global creativity.
The Cannes recognition follows a broader international run for the campaign, including three Gold Pencils at The One Show 2026, two Silver Pencils, two Bronze Pencils and several Merit Awards. The One Club’s 2026 agency listing highlights 13 awards for Accenture Song South Africa, with The Philipstown WireCar Grand Prix recognised across:
- Gaming for Good
- Branded Entertainment for Good
- Integrated/Omnichannel Campaigns
- Data for Good
- And several technology-led categories
The campaign also won:
- Best Documentary Storytelling at The Webby Awards
- The Tribeca X Feature (Branded) award
- A Clio Bronze in Culture & Influence: Cultural Communities
- And Official Selection and Impact Award recognitions at Brand Storytelling, a sanctioned event of the Sundance Film Festival.
A South African story the world showed up for.
Accenture Song helped the Philipstown WireCar Foundation evolve a local tradition into a multi-channel experience spanning a feature documentary, a mobile game and an e-commerce platform. The documentary follows young racers as they build handmade wire cars and prepare for race day, while the game recreates Philipstown as a digital twin, using 360-degree footage of the town and GPS race data enabling the race to travel far beyond its streets. The official e-commerce channel offers handcrafted wire cars and merchandise, with proceeds supporting youth initiatives, including a community hub and e-learning centre.
Leandi van den Berg, Business Unit Director at Accenture Song South Africa, says the campaign represents the sweet spot between deep human insight and technology-led creative execution by translating a small community tradition into a platform people can watch, play, buy into, and support.
“The opportunity to work on a project like this is rare. We may not have walked away with Titanium, but in many ways, we walked away with more. The work has opened doors for the foundation, created new awareness for Philipstown, and shown what is possible when creativity is used to build something that can keep living after the campaign moment has passed.”
Van den Berg, who presented the work at Cannes with Gregory Booysen, Creative Director at Accenture Song South Africa, says the Titanium presentation forced the team to articulate the work beyond a traditional case study. They walked onto the Cannes stage with a real wire car from Philipstown, using it to draw a line between the town’s handmade racing culture and the Monaco Grand Prix only a short distance away.
The campaign has already helped convert awareness into tangible support, with more than $600 000 pledged to the Philipstown WireCar Foundation, paving the way for the foundation’s longer-term community and youth-development initiatives.
A D&AD Pencil and a season that kept giving
The creative group’s growing list of accolades includes a D&AD Wood Pencil in Spatial Design for Allan Gray’s A Seat at the Table, the only South African work to receive a Pencil at the 2026 D&AD Awards. Initiated by Allan Gray and brought to life in close partnership with Accenture Song South Africa and specialist collaborators, the interactive Women’s Day experience celebrated pioneering South African women and founders, drawing inspiration from the historic women’s march of 1956. Through the seats they once occupied, guests were invited into these women’s stories using spatial design, research, perspective-led writing, photography, binaural audio and a commemorative book, giving the stories a life beyond the room.
Beyond Philipstown and Allan Gray, the agency’s recognition includes Webby honours and nominations for NikNaks, and Peugeot’s Most Dirt Wins, as well as Smarties wins for Cheetos and NikNaks.
Devin Kennedy, Executive Creative Director at Accenture Song South Africa, says, “Our strongest work starts in our communities, taps into our history and reflects our nation’s relentless optimism. When that local truth is paired with world-class craft, technology and execution, it travels the world. The recognition we’ve received this season is wonderful, but the bigger win is seeing South African stories hold their own on the most respected global stages.”
