Brands and celebrities were once again awarded at the 2019 Sunday Times Next Generations held on Thursday in Sandton.
Trevor Noah (Coolest Local Male Celebrity) and DJ Black Coffee (Coolest Local DJ) remain perennial favourites. However, fresh celebrity winners in 2019 include Thuso Phala (Coolest Local Sportsperson), and Lady Zamar (Coolest Local Female Celebrity). The Queen was awarded as the Coolest Local TV Soap.
Nike was once again awarded as the Uber Cool Overall winner at the 15th Sunday Times Gen Next Awards.
Fourteen new categories were introduced this year, including Coolest Online Fashion Store (Superbalist), Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth (LoveLife), Coolest Food Delivery App (Mr D Food), Coolest Entertainment Channel (Cartoon Network Dstv 301), Coolest Gaming Console (PlayStation 4 Pro), along with two personal brand categories: Coolest Politician (Nelson Mandela – current president Cyril Ramaphosa placed second), and Coolest Online Influencer (Bonang Matheba).
Brands that successfully maintained their number one position in 2019 are:
- FNB
- Samsung
- Mr Price
- South African Airways
- Colgate
- Protea Hotels
- Mall of Africa
- Vodacom
- KOO
- Mercedes-Benz
- CNA
- Engen
- Sun City
- FIFA
- Magnum
- Trace Urban (Dstv 325)
- Cartoon Network (Dstv 301)
- YouTube
- MetroFM
- Top Gear
- McDonald’s
- Spur
- Doritos
- Coca-Cola
- University of Cape Town (UCT)
- Pin Pop
- Stimorol
- Playgirl
- Always
- Dis-Chem
- Avon
- Dove
- Dark & Lovely
- Nutella
- Nivea
- Rosebank College
- Parmalat
- Toys R Us
- Sunday Times
Fifteen of the 76 categories saw new winners since 2018.
