GABRONE—Ogilvy took home top honors, the Platinum SABRE Award for the best African public relations campaign of the year, at the second annual African SABRE Awards ceremony, held in the Botswanan capital Gaborone last night in partnership with the African Public Relations Association.

The Platinum award, presented to the “Life Uncensored” campaign for pharmaceutical company Pfizer, capped an exceptional night for Ogilvy, which also took home four Diamond and Gold SABREs—more than any other agency.

Competition for the top prize was fierce, with a record number of entries from a record number of countries across the continent—including Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. Ogilvy and Pfizer beat out 32 other trophy winners, including four Platinum SABRE finalists:

  • Innovation Prize for Africa 2017—African Innovation Foundation with Djembe Communications 
  • Jameson Connects—Jameson Irish Whiskey with Brands we Love Agency
  • Rouge New Era Sessions—Rouge with Instinctif Partners
  • Siemens AirDrop—Siemens South Africa Atmosphere Communications together with the King James Group Companies

“This year saw not only a significant increase in the number of entries, but a real improvement in quality too,” said Paul Holmes, who chaired the SABRE judges. “Across Africa, public relations people are producing creative, innovative, and socially-beneficial PR campaigns, engaging consumers and other stakeholders, and driving meaningful results. The best work in Africa is also among the best work in the world.”

Other agencies with multiple trophies on the night include Instinctif Partners (four); Edelman (three); Burson-Marsteller branded agencies, FleishmanHillard, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Nigeria’s Image Merchants Promotion and Red Media, and Reputation Matters of South Africa (two each).

A full list of winners and certificate of excellence recipients can be found here.