The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is reviewing one of its 2025 Grand Prix winners after allegations surfaced that a case study video submitted as part of the entry may have been doctored.
At the center of the investigation is São Paulo-based agency DM9, part of the DDB network under Omnicom Group. The campaign in question, “Efficient Way to Pay” for Consul Appliances, was awarded the Creative Data Grand Prix on Wednesday and also received a Bronze Lion for Creative Commerce. The story was originally reported by Brian Bonilla for Ad Age.
The campaign aimed to show how outdated appliances burden Brazilian households with higher energy costs. Consul upgraded these homes with energy-efficient machines, allowing low-income customers to pay for the new appliances using the money saved on electricity bills.
However, an anonymous source sent Ad Age a video alleging that DM9 altered key parts of the campaign’s case study, including a customer testimonial, a TED Talk by North Carolina State Senator DeAndrea Salvador, and a report from CNN Brasil.
A Cannes Lions spokesperson confirmed to Ad Age, “We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously. We will fully investigate the claims and provide an update on the outcome.”
While it’s unclear if the investigation focuses solely on the case study or the campaign itself, CNN Brasil has reportedly filed a formal complaint with both DM9 and client Whirlpool, objecting to the manipulated use of its content. The journalist shown in the video reportedly left CNN Brasil in December 2022.
Icaro Doria, Chief Creative Officer of DM9, acknowledged the investigation in a statement to Ad Age, clarifying that the inquiry pertains to the case study entry and stating, “The work is very legit.” DDB declined to comment.
Despite the scrutiny, DM9 had a dominant showing at the Festival, collecting 21 Lions overall, including five Gold, seven Silver, and eight Bronze, in addition to the Grand Prix.
On Friday, DDB was named Network of the Year.
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