This was announced at the 19th annual Sunday Times GenNext Awards, held in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on Thursday. Apple and Samsung placed second and third overall, respectively.
The Sunday Times GenNext survey is a barometer of what South Africa’s youth find on-trend and inspirational and delivers insights that are valued by brand management, advertising, and marketing professionals.
“With some 200 million people aged between 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. Clearly, understanding the brand decisions of the youth will be critical to future business success,” says Pule Molebeledi, acting CEO at Arena Holdings, which owns and manages the Sunday Times GenNext brand.
“The 2023 GenNext Survey conducted by our partner Yellowwood clearly identifies what brands are sought after in keeping with youth trends of Now, Next and New – where businesses can actually be proactive rather than simply reactive, when it comes to dealing with the challenge of relevance.”
The Awards also celebrate personal brands, and in the celebrity categories MacG (Coolest Local Online Influencer), Siya Kolisi (Coolest Local Sportsperson), Thando Thabethe (Coolest Local Radio Personality), and Trevor Noah (Coolest Local Celebrity) were awarded.
The complete list of winning brands will be published in the Sunday Times GenNext Supplement on 24 September 2023.
| Coolest Brand Overall | |
| 1 | Nike |
| 2 | Apple |
| 3 | Samsung |
| 4 | Adidas |
| 5 | BMW |
| 6 | Louis Vuitton |
| 7 | Coca-Cola |
| 8 | Gucci |
| 9 | Puma |
| 10 | Vans |
| Coolest Advertising Medium | |
| 1 | Google Ads |
| 2 | TikTok |
| 3 | |
| 4 | YouTube |
| 5 | |
| 6 | Posters / Flyers / Pamphlets / Brochure |
| 7 | Magazines |
| 8 | Newsletter |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Email Advertising/ Email Marketing |
| Coolest Alcohol Brands | |
| 1 | Jägermeister |
| 2 | Savanna |
| 3 | Brutal Fruit Spritzer |
| 4 | Hennessy Cognac |
| 5 | Heineken |
| 6 | Smirnoff |
| 7 | Tanqueray Gin |
| 8 | Cruz Vodka |
| 9 | 4th Street Wines |
| 10 | Belgravia London Dry Gin |
| Coolest Banks | |
| 1 | Capitec Bank |
| 2 | FNB/ First National Bank |
| 3 | TymeBank |
| 4 | Standard Bank |
| 5 | Nedbank |
| 6 | ABSA |
| 7 | Discovery Bank |
| 8 | Old Mutual |
| 9 | African Bank |
| 10 | Investec Bank |
| Coolest Brand That Cares About my Community | |
| 1 | Vodacom |
| 2 | Sasko |
| 3 | Gift of the Givers |
| 4 | Adidas |
| 5 | Unilever |
| 6 | Pick n Pay |
| 7 | Impala Community Development Trust |
| 8 | Spar |
| 9 | Blue Ribbon |
| 10 | Woolworths |
| Coolest Breakfast Cereals | |
| 1 | Nestlé Cheerios |
| 2 | FUTURELIFE Cereal |
| 3 | Bokomo Corn Flakes |
| 4 | Nestlé Milo Cereal |
| 5 | ProNutro |
| 6 | Kellogg’s Coco Pops |
| 7 | Kellogg’s All Bran |
| 8 | Morvite |
| 9 | Kellogg’s Froot Loops |
| 10 | Kellogg’s Rice Krispies |
| Coolest Campaign Targeted at Youth | |
| 1 | KFC’s Add Hope |
| 2 | Adidas Impossible is Nothing |
| 3 | R350 Sassa SRD Grant |
| 4 | Vodacom NXT LVL Get A Gig |
| 5 | HYDC Harambee Youth Development |
| 6 | LoveLife |
| 7 | Mr Price Foundation |
| 8 | MTN Pulse/ #OnThePulse |
| 9 | Global Citizen |
| 10 | Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work Day |
| Coolest Cartoon Shows | |
| 1 | Mr. Bean: The Animated Series |
| 2 | Tom & Jerry |
| 3 | Regular Show |
| 4 | Dragon Ball Z (DBZ) |
| 5 | Supa Strikas |
| 6 | SpongeBob SquarePants |
| 7 | Teen Titans Go! |
| 8 | Mickey Mouse |
| 9 | Sofia The First |
| 10 | Cocomelon |
| Coolest Cellphones Brands | |
| 1 | Samsung |
| 2 | iPhone |
| 3 | Huawei |
| 4 | Xiaomi |
| 5 | Nokia |
| 6 | Oppo |
| 7 | Hisense |
| 8 | LG |
| 9 | Itel |
| 10 | Mobicel |
| Coolest Cold Beverage | |
| 1 | Coca-Cola |
| 2 | Appletiser |
| 3 | Cappy |
| 4 | Sprite |
| 5 | Liqui Fruit |
| 6 | Stoney |
| 7 | Pepsi |
| 8 | Tropika |
| 9 | Jive Cooldrinks |
| 10 | Lipton Iced Tea |
| Coolest Fitness Apps | |
| 1 | Virgin Active |
| 2 | Google Fit |
| 3 | 30 Day Fitness Challenge |
| 4 | Samsung Health |
| 5 | Nike Training Club |
| 6 | SweatCoin Fitness App |
| 7 | Apple Fitness |
| 8 | Huawei Fitness / Huawei Health |
| 9 | Daily Yoga |
| 10 | Planet Fitness live |
| Coolest Food Delivery Apps | |
| 1 | Uber Eats |
| 2 | Mr D |
| 3 | Checkers Sixty60 |
| 4 | Debonairs Pizza |
| 5 | KFC |
| 6 | McDelivery |
| 7 | Nando’s |
| 8 | Pick n Pay ASAP! |
| F9 | Takealot Food Delivery Service |
| 10 | Bolt Foods |
| Coolest Gaming Consoles | |
| 1 | Playstation 5 / PS5 |
| 2 | Playstation 4 / PS4 |
| 3 | Xbox Series X and Series S |
| 4 | Xbox One |
| 5 | Xbox 360 |
| 6 | PSP / Sony PSP |
| 7 | Playstation 3 / PS3 |
| 8 | Playstation 2 / PS2 |
| 9 | Nintendo Switch |
| 10 | Steam Deck |
| Coolest Grocery Stores | |
| 1 | Woolworths |
| 2 | Food Lovers Market |
| 3 | Game Stores |
| 4 | Boxer Super Stores |
| 5 | Checkers |
| 6 | Usave |
| 7 | Makro |
| 8 | Pick n Pay |
| 9 | Shoprite |
| 10 | OK / OK Foods |
| Coolest Haircare Products | |
| 1 | Dark and Lovely |
| 2 | TRESemmé |
| 3 | Sofn’free |
| 4 | Aunt Jackie’s |
| 5 | Dove |
| 6 | Organics Hair Care |
| 7 | Native Child |
| 8 | Revlon |
| 9 | Black Chic |
| 10 | L’Oréal |
| Coolest Specialist Health & Beauty Store | |
| 1 | Clicks |
| 2 | Dis-Chem |
| 3 | Woolworths |
| 4 | Edgars |
| 5 | Sorbet |
| 6 | Foschini |
| 7 | The Body Shop |
| 8 | Signature |
| 9 | M.A.C Cosmetics |
| 10 | Miladys |
| Coolest Hot Beverage | |
| 1 | Nestlé Milo |
| 2 | Mugg & Bean Coffee |
| 3 | Nestlé Hot Chocolate |
| 4 | Nescafé |
| 5 | Cadbury Hot Chocolate |
| 6 | Jacobs Krönung Coffee |
| 7 | Nespresso |
| 8 | Hug in a Mug |
| 9 | Freshpak Rooibos Tea |
| 10 | Starbucks Coffee |
| Coolest Hotel Brands | |
| 1 | Protea Hotels by Marriot |
| 2 | City Lodge |
| 3 | Sun International |
| 4 | Southern Sun |
| 5 | Manhattan Hotel |
| 6 | Hilton Hotel |
| 7 | Radisson Blu Hotel |
| 8 | Marriott |
| 9 | Garden Court |
| 10 | Hotel 224 |
| Coolest Ice Cream | |
| 1 | Magnum |
| 2 | Woolworths Tin Roof |
| 3 | Milky Lane Ice Cream |
| 4 | Oreo |
| 5 | Woolworths Blueberry |
| 6 | Ola |
| 7 | Cornetto |
| 8 | Farmhouse |
| 9 | Dairy Milk |
| 10 | Country Fresh |
| Coolest Insurance Brands | |
| 1 | Old Mutual |
| 2 | AVBOB |
| 3 | Discovery |
| 4 | OUTsurance |
| 5 | 1st For Women |
| 6 | Assupol |
| 7 | Clientéle |
| 8 | 1Life Insurance |
| 9 | Sanlam Insurance |
| 10 | MiWay Insurance |
| Coolest Kids TV Channels | |
| 1 | Cartoon Network (301) |
| 2 | Disney Jnr (309) |
| 3 | Disney Channel (303) |
| 4 | NickToons (308) |
| 5 | Boomerang (302) |
| 6 | Disney XD (304) |
| 7 | Nickelodeon (305) |
| 8 | eToonz (311) |
| 9 | Jim Jam (310) |
| 10 | SABC 1 (191) |
| 1 | Cape Town |
| 2 | Durban |
| 3 | Maldives |
| 4 | Dubai |
| 5 | New York |
| 6 | Mpumalanga |
| 7 | Mauritius |
| 8 | Zanzibar |
| 9 | Paris |
| 10 | Johannesburg |
| Coolest Local Online Influencers | |
| 1 | MacG |
| 2 | Nomzamo Mbatha |
| 3 | Connie Ferguson |
| 4 | Zozibini Tunzi |
| 5 | Boity Thulo |
| 6 | Neevan Ferris |
| 7 | Cassper Nyovest |
| 8 | Somizi Mhlongo |
| 9 | Mihlali Ndamase |
| 10 | Seemah |
| Coolest Online Stores | |
| 1 | SHEIN |
| 2 | Takealot |
| 3 | Superbalist |
| 4 | Mr Price/MRP |
| 5 | Amazon |
| 6 | Sportscene |
| 7 | Zando |
| 8 | The FIX |
| 9 | ZARA |
| 10 | Woolworths |
| Coolest Petrol Stations | |
| 1 | Engen |
| 2 | Sasol |
| 3 | BP |
| 4 | Shell |
| 5 | Caltex |
| 6 | TotalEnergies |
| 7 | Puma |
| 8 | Astron Petrol |
| 9 | Viva Garage |
| 10 | Elegant Petrol Station |
| Coolest Public Transport Brands | |
| 1 | Uber |
| 2 | Gautrain |
| 3 | Bolt |
| 4 | Greyhound |
| 5 | City to City |
| 6 | InDriver |
| 7 | INTERCAPE |
| 8 | MyCiti |
| 9 | Translux |
| 10 | Metrobus |
| Coolest Shopping Malls | |
| 1 | Mall of Africa |
| 2 | Sandton City |
| 3 | V&A Waterfront |
| 4 | Menlyn |
| 5 | Canal Walk |
| 6 | Gateway |
| 7 | Pavillion |
| 8 | Maponya |
| 9 | Eastgate Shopping Centre |
| 10 | Mall of the North |
| Coolest Shower Gel | |
| 1 | Nivea |
| 2 | Oh So Heavenly |
| 3 | Dove |
| 4 | Avon |
| 5 | Radox |
| 6 | Protex |
| 7 | Lux |
| 8 | Vaseline |
| 9 | Sanex |
| 10 | Satiskin |
| Coolest Skincare Products | |
| 1 | Nivea |
| 2 | Vaseline |
| 3 | Dove |
| 4 | Avon |
| 5 | Neutrogena |
| 6 | Gentle Magic |
| 7 | Dawn |
| 8 | Portia M |
| 9 | L’Oréal |
| 10 | Eucerin |
| Coolest Snack Brands | |
| 1 | Simba |
| 2 | Go-Slo’s |
| 3 | Oreos |
| 4 | Pringles |
| 5 | Doritos |
| 6 | Cadbury Dairy Milk |
| 7 | Maynards |
| 8 | #Hello! |
| 9 | Fritos |
| 10 | BB Snacks |
| Coolest Soap Bars | |
| 1 | Protex |
| 2 | Dove |
| 3 | Dettol |
| 4 | Palmolive |
| 5 | Sunlight Bar Soap |
| 6 | Nivea |
| 7 | Johnson & Johnson Soap |
| 8 | Sunlight Green Bar |
| 9 | Lifebuoy |
| 10 | Lux |
| Coolest Social Media Apps | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | TikTok |
| 3 | META (Facebook) |
| 4 | |
| 5 | YouTube |
| 6 | X (formerly known as Twitter) |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Snapchat |
| 9 | MoyaApp |
| 10 | Telegram |
| Coolest Spreads | |
| 1 | Rama |
| 2 | Nutella |
| 3 | Melrose |
| 4 | Black Cat Peanut Butter |
| 5 | Stork |
| 6 | Yum Yum Peanut Butter |
| 7 | Flora Margarine Spread |
| 8 | Sunshine D |
| 9 | Blossom |
| 10 | Chocnut Spread |
| Coolest Stationery Store | |
| 1 | CNA |
| 2 | PNA |
| 3 | Shoprite |
| 4 | Makro |
| 5 | Typo |
| 6 | PEP Stores |
| 7 | Game Stores |
| 8 | The Crazy Store |
| 9 | Van Schaik Bookstore |
| 10 | Checkers |
| Coolest Sweets | |
| 1 | Maynards |
| 2 | Cadbury Eclairs |
| 3 | Yogueta |
| 4 | Pin Pop |
| 5 | M&M’s |
| 6 | Beacon Sweets |
| 7 | Manhattan Marshmallows |
| 8 | Skittles |
| 9 | Amajoya |
| 10 | Stumbo |
| Coolest Tinned Food | |
| 1 | KOO |
| 2 | Lucky Star |
| 3 | Woolworths |
| 4 | All Gold |
| 5 | Rhodes |
| 6 | Bull Brand |
| 7 | Pot O’ Gold |
| 8 | Glenryck |
| 9 | Heinz |
| 10 | Saldanha |
| Coolest Energy Drinks | |
| 1 | Switch Energy Drink |
| 2 | Energade |
| 3 | Score Energy Drink |
| 4 | Predator |
| 5 | Red Bull |
| 6 | Lucozade |
| 7 | Dragon |
| 8 | Mofaya |
| 9 | Prime |
| 10 | Reboost |
| Coolest Fast-Food Places | |
| 1 | McDonald's |
| 2 | KFC |
| 3 | Burger King |
| 4 | Debonairs Pizza |
| 5 | Spur Steak Ranches |
| 6 | RocoMamas |
| 7 | Nando's |
| 8 | Chicken Licken |
| 9 | Steers |
| 10 | Hungry Lion |
| Coolest Female Deodorants | |
| 1 | Nivea |
| 2 | Oh So Heavenly |
| 3 | Dove |
| 4 | PlayGirl |
| 5 | Avon |
| 6 | Mitchum |
| 7 | Elizabeth Arden Red Door |
| 8 | Yardley |
| 9 | Revlon |
| 10 | Sanex |
| Coolest Feminine Hygiene Products | |
| 1 | Kotex |
| 2 | Always |
| 3 | Lil-Lets |
| 4 | GynaGuard |
| 5 | Stayfree |
| 6 | Nivea Intimo |
| 7 | Avon Feminine Wash |
| 8 | Femagene Intimate Wash |
| 9 | Libresse |
| 10 | |
| Coolest Chocolates | |
| 1 | KitKat |
| 2 | Ferrero Rocher |
| 3 | BAR ONE |
| 4 | Lindt Lindor |
| 5 | Cadbury Dairy Milk |
| 6 | Dairy Milk Bubbly |
| 7 | Cadbury Lunch Bar |
| 8 | Nestlé Aero |
| 9 | Cadbury Top Deck |
| 10 | Cadbury P.S. |
| Coolest Clothing Brands | |
| 1 | Nike |
| 2 | Adidas |
| 3 | ZARA |
| 4 | Lacoste |
| 5 | Mr Price |
| 6 | Redbat |
| 7 | Louis Vuitton |
| 8 | Fabiani |
| 9 | Puma |
| 10 | Chanel |
| Coolest Clothing Stores | |
| 1 | Mr Price / MRP |
| 2 | Nike |
| 3 | Sportscene |
| 4 | H&M |
| 5 | ZARA |
| 6 | Markham |
| 7 | Cotton On |
| 8 | Woolworths |
| 9 | Studio 88 |
| 10 | The Fix |
| Coolest Colleges | |
| 1 | Tshwane North TVET College |
| 2 | IIE Rosebank College |
| 3 | Boston City Campus |
| 4 | City Varsity College |
| 5 | Damelin College |
| 6 | Harvard Business School Online |
| 7 | Capricorn College / Capricorn TVET College |
| 8 | Richfield College |
| 9 | SWGC – South West Gauteng College |
| 10 | Stanford College Online |
| Coolest Company to Work For | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz |
| 3 | Apple |
| 4 | Transnet |
| 5 | Coca-Cola |
| 6 | Anglo American Platinum |
| 7 | SABC |
| 8 | Sasol |
| 9 | Microsoft |
| 10 | Nike |
| Coolest Console Games | |
| 1 | FIFA |
| 2 | Grand Theft Auto / GTA |
| 3 | Call of Duty |
| 4 | WWE |
| 5 | Subway Surfer |
| 6 | Need for Speed |
| 7 | NBA |
| 8 | Dragon Ball Games |
| 9 | Street Fighter 6 |
| 10 | Ludo |
| Coolest Daily Newspapers | |
| 1 | Daily Sun |
| 2 | Sowetan |
| 3 | The Citizen |
| 4 | Daily News |
| 5 | The Star |
| 6 | Isolezwe |
| 7 | Daily Dispatch |
| 8 | Cape Times |
| 9 | Cape Argus |
| 10 | Die Son |
| Digital Learning Platforms | |
| 1 | YouTube |
| 2 | K53 |
| 3 | Mindset Learn 319 |
| 4 | LinkedIn Learning |
| 5 | Google Play Books |
| 6 | Vodacom e-School |
| 7 | Moodle |
| 8 | Google Classroom |
| 9 | Skillshare |
| 10 | Coursera |
| Coolest Local Celebrities | |
| 1 | Trevor Noah |
| 2 | AKA |
| 3 | DJ Zinhle |
| 4 | Makhadzi |
| 5 | DJ Kabza De Small |
| 6 | Nomzamo Mbatha |
| 7 | Connie Ferguson |
| 8 | Bonang Matheba |
| 9 | Black Coffee |
| 10 | Somizi Mhlongo |
| Coolest Local Entertainment Destination | |
| 1 | Gold Reef City |
| 2 | Sun City |
| 3 | Kruger National Park |
| 4 | uShaka Marine World |
| 5 | Konka |
| 6 | Table Mountain |
| 7 | Robben Island |
| 8 | The Sudwala Caves |
| 9 | V&A Waterfront |
| 10 | Montecasino |
| Coolest Local Radio Personalities | |
| 1 | Thando Thabethe |
| 2 | Dineo Ranaka |
| 3 | DJ MoFlava |
| 4 | Somizi Mhlongo |
| 5 | Skhumbuzo Hlophe (Skhumba) |
| 6 | Thuso Motaung |
| 7 | Anele Mdoda |
| 8 | DJ Fresh |
| 9 | Lerato Kganyago / LKG |
| 10 | Selbeyonce |
| Coolest Local TV Programmes/Series | |
| 1 | Skeem Saam |
| 2 | The River |
| 3 | The Wife |
| 4 | Uyajola 9/9 |
| 5 | Blood & Water |
| 6 | The Queen |
| 7 | Uzalo |
| 8 | House Of Zwide |
| 9 | Imbewu: The Seed |
| 10 | Durban Gen |
| Coolest Local Sportspeople | |
| 1 | Siya Kolisi |
| 2 | Percy Tau |
| 3 | Caster Semenya |
| 4 | Thembinkosi Lorch |
| 5 | Benni McCarthy |
| 6 | Itumeleng Khune |
| 7 | Themba Zwane |
| 8 | Wayde van Niekerk |
| 9 | Bryan Habana |
| 10 | AB De Villiers |
| Coolest Loyalty Programme | |
| 1 | Shoprite Xtra Savings |
| 2 | Pick n Pay Smart Shopper |
| 3 | Checkers Xtra Savings |
| 4 | Clicks ClubCard |
| 5 | Capitec Live Better |
| 6 | FNB eBucks |
| 7 | VodaBucks |
| 8 | Spar Rewards |
| 9 | The North Face XPLR Pass Loyalty Programme |
| 10 | Woolworths Wrewards |
| Coolest Make-Up Brands | |
| 1 | L’Oréal |
| 2 | Maybelline |
| 3 | Avon |
| 4 | Clinique |
| 5 | Revlon |
| 6 | Estée Lauder |
| 7 | Signature Cosmetics & Fragrance |
| 8 | M.A.C Cosmetics |
| 9 | Yardley London |
| 10 | Fenty Beauty by Rihanna |
| Coolest Male Deodorants | |
| 1 | Nivea Men |
| 2 | Hugo Boss |
| 3 | Diesel |
| 4 | Yardley English Blazer |
| 5 | Solo |
| 6 | Brut |
| 7 | Playboy |
| 8 | Old Spice |
| 9 | Sanex |
| 10 | Shield for Men |
| Coolest Motor Vehicles Brands | |
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2 | BMW |
| 3 | Audi |
| 4 | Range Rover |
| 5 | VW |
| 6 | Lamborghini |
| 7 | Toyota |
| 8 | Porsche |
| 9 | Rolls-Royce |
| 10 | Jeep |
| Coolest Music Store/Website/Streaming | |
| 1 | iTunes |
| 2 | MP3 Juices |
| 3 | Spotify |
| 4 | JOOX |
| 5 | Fakaza |
| 6 | Deezer |
| 7 | Google Play Music |
| 8 | SoundCloud |
| 9 | YouTube Music |
| 10 | Amazon Music |
| Coolest Online Accommodations Booking Sites | |
| 1 | Booking.com |
| 2 | airbnb |
| 3 | Trivago |
| 4 | Sho’t Left |
| 5 | Safari.com |
| 6 | Computicket |
| 7 | Tripadvisor |
| 8 | Travelstart |
| 9 | KAYAK |
| 10 | Travel.com |
| Coolest Radio Stations | |
| 1 | 5FM |
| 2 | Thobela FM |
| 3 | Radio 2000 FM 97.5 |
| 4 | Motsweding FM |
| 5 | Good Hope FM 94.7 |
| 6 | Heart 104.9 FM |
| 7 | Lesedi FM 88.4 |
| 8 | METRO FM 96.4 |
| 9 | KFM 94.5 |
| 10 | Gagasi FM 99.5FM |
| Coolest Sit-Down Restaurants | |
| 1 | Spur Steak Ranches |
| 2 | Mugg & Bean |
| 3 | McDonald’s |
| 4 | RocoMamas |
| 5 | Ocean Basket (OB) |
| 6 | Nando’s |
| 7 | KFC |
| 8 | Wimpy |
| 9 | Debonairs Pizza |
| 10 | Panarottis |
| Coolest Sauces Brands | |
| 1 | Nando’s |
| 2 | All Gold |
| 3 | Steers |
| 4 | Spur Sauce |
| 5 | Mrs Ball’s |
| 6 | Wellington’s |
| 7 | BBQ Six Gun Grill |
| 8 | Maggi |
| 9 | Crosse & Blackwell |
| 10 | Knorr |
| Coolest Savings & Investment Platforms | |
| 1 | Capitec |
| 2 | EasyEquities |
| 3 | TymeBank |
| 4 | FNB Investor Platform |
| 5 | Old Mutual Invest |
| 6 | African Bank |
| 7 | Standard Bank |
| 8 | Nedbank |
| 9 | JSE / Johannesburg Stock Exchange |
| 10 | Sanlam |
| Coolest Shoe/Footwear Brands | |
| 1 | Nike |
| 2 | Adidas |
| 3 | Puma |
| 4 | Air Jordan |
| 5 | Vans |
| 6 | Converse |
| 7 | Gucci |
| 8 | Timberland |
| 9 | Bathu |
| 10 | Drip Footwear |
| Coolest TV/ Streaming/Content Platforms | |
| 1 | Netflix |
| 2 | Showmax |
| 3 | TikTok |
| 4 | YouTube |
| 5 | DStv Now |
| 6 | META (Facebook) |
| 7 | Spotify |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Disney Plus / Disney + |
| 10 | X (formerly known as Twitter) |
| Coolest Universities | |
| 1 | University of Venda / UNIVEN |
| 2 | Yale University |
| 3 | Stanford University |
| 4 | University of Oxford |
| 5 | University of Fort Hare / UFH |
| 6 | UNISA / University of South Africa |
| 7 | North West University / NWU / PUKKE |
| 8 | Mangosuthu University of Technology / MUT |
| 9 | Sol Plaatje University |
| 10 | Central University of Technology / CUT University |
| Coolest Weekly Newspapers | |
| 1 | Sunday Times |
| 2 | City Press |
| 3 | Sunday World |
| 4 | Mail & Guardian |
| 5 | Rapport |
| 6 | Rising Sun |
| 7 | TygerBurger Newspaper |
| Coolest Technology Brands | |
| 1 | Apple |
| 2 | Samsung |
| 3 | Huawei |
| 4 | |
| 5 | TikTok |
| 6 | META (Facebook) |
| 7 | LG |
| 8 | Hisense |
| 9 | Tesla |
| 10 | Sony |
| Coolest Telecomms Providers | |
| 1 | Vodacom |
| 2 | MTN |
| 3 | Telkom |
| 4 | Rain |
| 5 | Cell C |
| 6 | VOX Telecom |
| 7 | China Mobile |
| 8 | Mweb |
| 9 | Green Telecoms |
| 10 | Vuma |
| Coolest Toy Stores | |
| 1 | Toys R Us |
| 2 | The Crazy Store |
| 3 | Makro |
| 4 | Takealot |
| 5 | Game |
| 6 | Toy Kingdom |
| 7 | ToyZone |
| 8 | Babies R Us |
| 9 | Shoprite |
| 10 | Baby City |
| Coolest TV Channels | |
| 1 | Mzansi Magic |
| 2 | Moja Love |
| 3 | MTV Base |
| 4 | Disney Channel |
| 5 | Studio Universal |
| 6 | Cartoon Network / CN |
| 7 | Channel O |
| 8 | M-Net |
| 9 | TLC Entertainment |
| 10 | BET |
| Coolest Accessory & Jewellery Store | |
| 1 | American Swiss |
| 2 | Claire’s |
| 3 | Déonne le Roux Jewellers |
| 4 | Gold Star |
| 5 | MJ Fashion |
| 6 | Lady7 |
| 7 | 2days Fashion |
| 8 | Be Style |
