The Pitcher Festival, a must-attend event for African creativity in the fields of marketing, advertising, media, digital, and entertainment, held its 2025 edition from May 15 to 17 in Lagos.
This year, the festival highlighted the theme "Prosperity fueled by culture and innovation," emphasizing the convergence of African traditions and contemporary innovations for sustainable growth on the continent.
The jury, composed of leading figures in the sector such as Obi Asika (entertainment), Mike Miller (crafts), Yash Deb, Dawn Rowlands, Nthabiseng Lekoaletsoe, and Zelalem Woldemariam (Ethiopia), demonstrated an ever-increasing openness to the continent's creative diversity.
The winners were announced at the closing ceremony on May 17, 2025, after three days of conferences, workshops, and professional meetings.
Dentsu Creative KENYA is the big winner of the 2025 edition, with three Grand Prix Pitcher Awards 2025 for three different advertisers.
The rest of the list is mainly made up of English-speaking agencies from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa.
Nevertheless, several French-speaking agencies stood out, confirming the vitality of creativity in West Africa, particularly in Senegal.
The Senegalese agency Caractère won four bronze awards in four different categories for SOBOA, as did McCann Dakar, which was recognized in several categories for the YAS campaign, and J'ai une amie (1 Gold, 3 Silver, and 1 Bronze) for the Bennett Africa agency (Senegal) for its campaign for Wave (Bronze), and for Voice Africa, which was recognized for its DJAMO campaign (Silver).
In Benin, the Wallace agency was recognized for its campaign for MTN Benin (1 Silver and 1 Bronze).
The AG Partners agency received two Bronze awards for its campaign for the European Union, which we discussed a few months ago, and for its campaign for Airtel Gabon.
It should also be noted that AG Partners Mali collaborated with Publicis West Africa in the production of the film "Mansa Moussa MAGGI," which won three awards: one silver and two bronze.
CANAL+ also received awards for several campaigns in multiple categories: three silver and two bronze for its end-of-year promotion, "Every day is a celebration," the launch of Secret Story, and the influencer campaign for the new season of the series CACAO.
These awards, which are increasing in number every year, reflect the growing influence of French-speaking agencies on the pan-African scene, alongside their English-speaking counterparts.
In addition, the award-winning campaigns will be presented in the Pitcher Showcase at the Cannes Lions Festival from June 16 to 20, 2025, providing an international showcase for African talent.