The Sunday Times in partnership with TNS South Africa have finally announced the finalists for the 17th edition of the Sunday Times Top Brands Awards. The Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place in Sandton, Johannesburg on the 25th of August 2015.
The categories for the ceremony include 39 consumer and 15 business categories. Detailed list of finalists for each category is published below:
Consumer Categories:
| Alcoholic Coolers | Alcoholic Spirits | Beauty & Cosmetics | Beers | Cars |
| Brutal Fruit | Amarula | Avon | Carling Black Label | Audi |
| Red Square | Cape Velvet | Garnier | Castle Lager/Draught | BMW |
| Sminorff Spin/Storm/Ice | Jack Daniels | Revlon | Castle Lite | Mercedes-Benz |
| – | Jameson | Woolworths | Hansa | Toyota |
| – | Johnnie Walker | Yardley | Heineken | Volkswagen |
| Cellphones | Ciders | Daily Newspaper | Domestic Airlines | Electronic Goods |
| Apple iPhone | Hunter’s Dry/Gold/Extreme | Isolezwe | British Airways | LG |
| Blackberry | Redd’s Dry/Original | Citizen | Kulula.com | Panasonic |
| Nokia | Savanna Dry/Light | Daily Sun | Mango | Sansui |
| Samsung | – | Sowetan | South African Airways | Samsung |
| Sony Ericsson | – | The Star | – | Sony |
| Essential Foods | Fast-food Restaurant | Frozen Chicken | Frozen Sausages | Fruit Juices |
| Albany | Debonair’s Pizza | Country Fair | Eskort | Clover Krush |
| Fatti’s & Moni’s | KFC | Goldi | Frys | Halls |
| Sasko | McDonalds/McCafe | I&J | Rainbow | Liqui-Fruit |
| Tastic | Nando’s | Rainbow | Weigh-less | Oros |
| White Star | Steers | Supreme | – | Tropika |
| Grocery Stores | Hot beverages | Large Kitchen Appliances | Laundry Care | Long-term insurance |
| Checkers/Checkers Hyper | Five Roses | Defy | Ariel | AVBOB |
| Pick n Pay | Freshpack | Kelvinator | Omo | Clientelle |
| Shoprite | Joko | LG | Sta-soft | Metropolitan Life |
| Spar/KwikSpar/SuperSpar | Nescafe | Samsung | Sunlight | Old Mutual |
| Woolworths | Ricoffy | Whirlpool | Surf | Sanlam |
| Loyalty Programmes | Micro-lenders | Milk | Personal Care | Petrol Stations |
| Clicks Club | African Bank | Bonnita | Dawn | BP |
| FNB Fuel Rewards | Capitec | Clover | Ingrams | Engen |
| Pick n Pay Smart Shopper | Wonga.co.za | Dairybelle | Nivea | Sasol |
| Thank U! | – | Parmalat | Protex | Shell |
| Vodacom Rewards | – | Ultra Mel | Vaseline | Total |
| Retail Banks | Chocolates | Sit-down Restaurants | Social Networks | Soft-drinks |
| ABSA | Cadbury Slabs | Mugg & Bean | Appletiser | |
| Capitec | Ferrero Rocher | News Cafe | Google Plus+ | Coca-Cola |
| FNB | Kit-Kat | Ocean Basket | Fanta | |
| Nedbank | Lindt – Lindor | Spur | Sprite | |
| Standard Bank | Lunch Bar | Wimpy | YouTube | Stoney Ginger Beer |
| Sports Clothing Brands | Telecommunications Provider | Tinned Foods | TV Service Provider | Weekly Newspapers |
| Adidas | Cell C | All Gold | DStv – Compact | City Press |
| Billabong | MTN | Bull Brand | DStv – Premium | Soccer Laduma |
| Nike | Telkom | Enterprise | eTV | Sunday Sun |
| Puma | Telkom Mobile/ 8ta | Koo | SABC 1 | Sunday Times |
| Reebok | Vodacom | Lucky Star | SABC 2 | Sunday World |
| Short-term Insurance |
| Auto & General |
| Discovery Insure |
| OUTsurance |
| Sanlam |
| Santam |
Business Categories:
| Business Newspapers | Car Hire | Cell Phones | Corporate Banks | Domestic Airlines |
| Business Day | Avis | Apple iPhone | ABSA | British Airways |
| Business Report | Budget | Blackberry | FNB | Kulula.com |
| Mail & Guardian Business | Europcar/Imperial | Nokia | Nedbank | Mango |
| Sake 24 | Hertz | Samsung | Standard Bank | SA Airlink |
| Sunday Times – Business Times | Tempest | – | – | South African Airways |
| Investment Companies | Long-term Insurance | Medical Aid Companies | Short-term Insurance | Tablets and e-Readers |
| Allan Gray | Discovery Life | Bonitas | Hollard | Acer |
| Coronation | Liberty | Discovery Health | Mutual & Federal | Apple iPad |
| Investec | Momentum Life | Momentum | Outsurance | Lenovo |
| Liberty | Old Mutual | – | Santam | Samsung |
| Old Mutual | Sanlam | – | Zurich | – |
| Cars | Telecommunications Provider |
| Audi | MTN |
| BMW | Telkom |
| Mercedes-Benz | Telkom Business |
| Toyota | Telkom Business Mobile |
| Volkswagen | Vodacom |
“Commissioning the survey for Top Brands and hosting the awards gives us an opportunity to both recognise and reward brands that South Africans love and aspire to. We at Times Media value the contribution that brands make to the media industry through advertising. The calibre of finalists that have made it to the shortlist is a clear indication that brand showcasing correlates with brand appreciation in South Africa,” says Trevor Ormerod, General Manager: Group Sales & Marketing at Times Media Limited.
