Two Gold and two Silver awards celebrate the power of strategic PR, brave creativity and a winning collaboration between sister agencies SLAPS Influence and Boundless – The Unlimited Agency.
South African public relations agency SLAPS Influence emerged as a standout winner at the 2026 PRISM Awards, held on Saturday, 24 October, securing four prestigious accolades for its work on the National Council of SPCAs’ (NSPCA) groundbreaking Rein in the Pain campaign.
The agency took home Gold in Corporate Communications and Gold in Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle, alongside Silver in PR on a Shoe-String Budget and Silver in Visual Communication, recognising a campaign that transformed one of South Africa’s most glamorous sporting occasions into a powerful platform for animal welfare advocacy.
Led by CEO and Founder Carla van Pletzen, SLAPS Influence spearheaded the campaign’s public relations strategy alongside sister agency and creative partner Boundless. – The Unlimited Agency, headed by CEO Paul Jackson.
Together, the agencies combined bold creative thinking, strategic media relations, influencer advocacy and culturally relevant storytelling to turn the 2025 Durban July into a national conversation about the treatment of racehorses.
“Winning four PRISM Awards, including two Golds, is an incredibly proud moment for SLAPS Influence. What makes these awards particularly meaningful is that they recognise work that goes beyond generating headlines. We wanted to challenge perceptions, start conversations that mattered and use the power of public relations to give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves,” says Carla van Pletzen, CEO and Founder of SLAPS Influence.
“Great PR is about understanding culture, recognising the right moment and creating a message that people cannot ignore. With Rein in the Pain, we took an important cause and placed it at the centre of one of South Africa’s biggest cultural conversations.”
Boundless conceptualised and creatively developed the campaign, which challenged the glamour of the Durban July by exposing animal welfare concerns within the horse racing industry.
At its centre was actress and activist Nirvana Nokwe, who made a dramatic appearance at the event wearing a striking protest gown designed by designer Carlo Gibson. The white dress, with its haunting blood-red detailing, turned a red-carpet fashion moment into a powerful statement about the suffering racehorses endure.
The campaign extended beyond fashion through provocative outdoor advertising, national radio messaging and alternative race commentary, confronting audiences with issues including whipping, harmful equipment and the premature racing of young horses.
While Boundless developed the creative platform and executions, SLAPS Influence drove the communications strategy, leveraging media relationships, influencer engagement and storytelling to extend the campaign into mainstream news, lifestyle, fashion and entertainment conversations.
“The creative idea was incredibly powerful, but what made this campaign successful was how we brought the different disciplines together,” explains van Pletzen. “Boundless created something visually arresting and emotionally compelling, while our role was to ensure the message travelled beyond the Durban July, reached the right audiences and generated meaningful conversations. When creativity and PR work together from the beginning, the impact can be extraordinary.”
For Boundless CCO Roanna Williams, the recognition reflects the agency’s philosophy of heartfelt creativity and its ambition to create The World’s Most-Loved Ideas™.
“At Boundless, we believe the most powerful ideas are those that don’t just get noticed but make people feel something. Rein in the Pain represents exactly that philosophy. We took an occasion associated with celebration, glamour and entertainment and challenged people to look beyond the spectacle,” says Williams.
“This wasn’t about creating controversy for its own sake. It was about using creativity to confront an uncomfortable truth and inspire meaningful conversations. The NSPCA trusted us to be brave, and SLAPS Influence brought the communications expertise needed to ensure the idea reached audiences far beyond the event itself.”
As sister agencies, SLAPS Influence and Boundless demonstrate the strength of bringing specialist expertise together. Boundless’ creative and strategic thinking complements SLAPS Influence’s experience in public relations, media engagement, influencer marketing and reputation management, creating an integrated approach that connects ideas with audiences.
For van Pletzen, whose career spans more than 21 years and includes award-winning work for brands such as Savanna Cider, Burger King and Revlon, the four PRISM Awards reinforce the value independent agencies bring to the industry.
“The size of an agency doesn’t determine the impact of its work. What matters is the quality of thinking, the passion of the team and the ability to execute ideas that genuinely resonate,” she says.“I’m incredibly proud of the SLAPS team and grateful to Boundless for the exceptional creative partnership. Most importantly, we thank the NSPCA for trusting us with a cause that deserves continued attention. These awards belong to everyone who contributed to bringing this campaign to life.”
Williams echoes the sentiment, highlighting the importance of collaboration in creating impactful work.
“Great work happens when clients and agencies share the courage to do something different. The NSPCA gave us that opportunity, and the teams at Boundless and SLAPS embraced it. These awards are wonderful recognition, but the bigger purpose has always been to create awareness and support meaningful change.”
As SLAPS Influence celebrates its four PRISM Awards alongside Boundless, the achievement demonstrates how powerful communications can go beyond publicity to challenge perceptions, influence behaviour and inspire positive change.
“Ultimately, Rein in the Pain reminds us why we do what we do,” concludes van Pletzen. “PR has the power to influence how people think, feel and act. When we use that influence responsibly, supported by brave creative thinking, we can create work that makes a real difference.”
