The Pitcher Awards celebrate African creativity with inaugural success for Mozambique

The Pitcher Awards 2026 winners have been announced, with agencies from Kenya and Mozambique winning Grands Prix (Image source: © The Nation Online The Nation Online

Kenya’s The Bar Africa won a Grand Prix for NuVita Biscuits for its Novita campaign for Culture - Corporate Image & Reputation Management. Mozambique’s Create Mozambique won a Grand Prix for the campaign, MozaMbique has 2M for its client 2M Beer for Heritage - Outdoor Ambient & Installations.

This was the first year that Mozambique had put forward entries into the Awards. The agency also won three gold awards and was named the Advertising Agency of the Year. 2M Beer Mozambique was named the Brand of the Year (National).

Evolution of African creativity

The US also entered for the first time, underscoring its expanding global reach and its commitment to celebrating creativity without borders.

The awards are the pan-African benchmark for creative excellence across the continent and beyond.

Reflecting on this year’s achievements, Dr Nnamdi Ndu, chairman of the Pitcher Festival, says the Awards showcase the extraordinary evolution of African creativity.

“This year’s winners demonstrate a boldness, cultural depth, and technical mastery that continue to elevate our region on the global stage.

“Welcoming new countries into the competition—and seeing them excel—reinforces our belief that creativity truly has no borders.

“We celebrate every winner and look forward to an unforgettable 10th edition in 2027.”

Nigeria dominates Pitcher Awards 2026 shortlist, Dentsu Creative SA recognised

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Gold winners

• Care - Public Health & Safety — La caravane d'excision – The FGM Caravan by L’Agence X for Mouvement femmes et paroles, Côte d’Ivoire
  
• Channel - Use of Media — MozaMbique Has 2M by Create Mozambique for 2M Beer, Mozambique
  
• Culture - Corporate Image & Reputation Management — Portrait of a Nation by Create Mozambique for Millennium Bim, Mozambique<
  
• Culture - Use of Cultural Insights — Maggi Tales of Ramadan by All Seasons Zenith for Maggi, Nestlé Nigeria
  
• Culture - Use of Cultural Insights — NoVita by The Bar Africa for NuVita Biscuits, Kenya
  
• Culture - Use of Cultural Insights — MozaMbique Has 2M by Create Mozambique for 2M Beer, Mozambique
  
• Entertainment - Entertainment Film — First Beach by Dentsu Creative for Corona Africa, South Africa
  
• Effectiveness - Business Impact — 2M SAMMA FRESH by Create Mozambique for 2M Beer, Mozambique
  
• Heritage - Film — The Origin of Wonder by Dentsu Creative Kenya for Magical Kenya, Kenya Tourism Board
  
• Heritage - Outdoor Activations — BUSiness UNUSUAL by The Quollective for Kiira Motors Corporation, Uganda
  
• Heritage - Outdoor Ambient & Installations — Martell on the Move by PHD Nigeria for Pernod Ricard, Nigeria
  
• Heritage - Print — The Sun Powered Print Ad by Dentsu Creative South Africa for Corona Africa

Special Awards — 2026

• Digital Agency of the Year: digitXplus, Nigeria
  
• Media Agency of the Year: PHD Nigeria
  
• Advertising Agency of the Year: Create Mozambique
  
• Media Network of the Year: OMD
  
• Advertising Agency Network of the Year: Dentsu Africa
  
• Independent Network of the Year: The Quollective Africa
• Regional Holding Company of the Year: Omnicom Media Group
  
• Brand of the Year (Multinational): Martell
  
• Marketing Company of the Year (National): Kiira Motors Corporation, Uganda
  
• Marketing Company of the Year (Multinational): AB InBev

International jury

The Pitcher Festival international jury was comprised of industry leaders from across Africa and beyond, who judged, curated, and benchmarked the 2026 entries. Their expertise and dedication ensured that this year’s awards upheld the highest standards of creative excellence.

The category juries were led by the following jury presidents:

• Care — Kerstin Trikalitis, CEO & co-founder, Out There Media
  
• Channel — Dozie Okafor, MD/CEO, PHD Nigeria & President, MIPAN
  
• Craft — Yash Deb, co-founder & creative partner, The Bar Africa, Kenya
  
• Culture — Anand Badami, SVP & growth lead, Emerging Markets & Innovation, Publicis West Africa
  
• Digital — Karim Yermeche, CEO, Lotus Conseil, Algeria
  
• Good & Effectiveness — Dawn Rowlands, CEO, Dentsu Africa
  
• Entertainment — Steve Babaeko, CEO/CCO, X3M Ideas & Vice President, Area Director for Africa, IAA
  
• Heritage — Maxwell Ngari, chief creative officer, Dentsu Creative East Africa