The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announced the winners from its penultimate day, honoring work across Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury, Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce and Innovation.
Day Four included a historic first for Greece, which won its first-ever Cannes Lions Grand Prix in Creative Business Transformation. Canada also secured its second Grand Prix of the week with a win in Innovation.
“Our Jurors have awarded work that clearly demonstrates the effectiveness and transformative power of creativity in business,” said Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS. “Congratulations to Greece for winning its first Grand Prix, an incredible achievement that sets the benchmark for global creative excellence.”
Creative Business Transformation Lions
The Creative Business Transformation Lions received 152 entries, with seven Lions awarded: one Gold, two Silver, and three Bronze, in addition to the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix went to “The Wedding Rice” for Wikifarmer by McCann Athens. The campaign created a sustainable business solution that allowed farmers to sell inedible rice directly to wedding planners, opening a new revenue stream while encouraging behavioral change.
“The Wedding Rice demonstrated how cultural insights can be the spark of both creativity and business transformation,” said Gugu Mthembu, Chief Marketing Officer of Telkom South Africa and Creative Business Transformation Lions Jury President. “The creativity lay in the strategy’s disarming simplicity – no new infrastructure, no complex strategy or significant go-to-market investment. The transformation came through repurposing a discarded product for new use and in turn unlocking a new revenue stream for their farming partners, ensuring their sustainability through a model that can be replicated and scaled beyond one market.”
Creative Effectiveness Lions
The Creative Effectiveness Lions received 200 entries and awarded 14 Lions: two Gold, four Silver and seven Bronze, plus the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix was awarded to “Three Words” for AXA France by Publicis Conseil, Paris. The work added a three-word clause to home insurance contracts designed to help domestic abuse survivors, generating both social and business impact.
“A Grand Prix should always feel personal,” said Bertille Toledano, CEO of BETC and Havas Creative Middle East and President of the Havas Creative Network. “And this one resonates deeply with all of us. It is socially, culturally, and personally relevant.”
Creative Strategy Lions
The Creative Strategy Lions received 744 entries and awarded 22 Lions: four Gold, seven Silver and 10 Bronze, along with the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix went to “The Pub that Refused to Die” for Heineken by LePub Milan and Publicis Dublin. The campaign transformed a real community story into a model for helping local residents collectively take ownership of struggling pubs.
“In Ireland, Guinness Country, the beating heart of small communities is the pub,” said Sarah Lemarié, Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis and Creative Strategy Lions Jury President. “‘The Pub that Refused to Die’ is a social solution to a social problem that builds on Heineken’s expertise to arm communities to take over pubs collectively. It’s a brilliant cultural engagement strategy that captured the national attention and enabled Heineken to find its way into Irish people’s hearts and pints.”
Luxury Lions
The Luxury Lions received 130 entries and awarded five Lions: one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze, plus the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix went to “Warmer Together” for Moncler by Wesayhi, Sliema. The campaign used cinematic photography and short films featuring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to connect the brand’s idea of warmth with friendship and human connection.
“‘Warmer Together’ earned the Grand Prix because it stripped luxury storytelling down to its most powerful truth: human connection,” said Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Design Army. “Warmth was never about the outside. It was always about what was happening on the inside. Two chairs, two lifelong friends, and the bond between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro felt cinematic, honest, and emotionally unforgettable. It proved that simplicity, when deeply human, is the ultimate expression of luxury.”
Brand Experience & Activation Lions
The Brand Experience & Activation Lions received 1,561 entries and awarded 47 Lions: eight Gold, 14 Silver and 24 Bronze, plus the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix was awarded to “Expedition Impossible” for Columbia Sportswear by adam&eve\TBWA, London. The campaign offered to give away the company to anyone who could prove the Earth was flat, turning a provocative challenge into a brand experience built around exploration and facts.
“The work managed to simultaneously return to the Award’s roots, while being firmly grounded in the present day,” said Rafael Pitanguy, Deputy Global Chief Creative Officer at VML and Brand Experience & Activation Lions Jury President. “At its heart, this is a promotion. A brilliant promotion. The kind of work this category was originally built to celebrate. Yet it speaks directly to the world we live in today.”
Pitanguy also praised the campaign’s craft and timeliness. “The copywriting is flawless, every word carefully chosen, every comma exactly where it should be,” he said. “More than any other piece of work this year, this project proves that the best way to become timeless is by being timely. What looked like an ‘Expedition Impossible’ became a powerful reminder that facts still matter.”
Creative Commerce Lions
The Creative Commerce Lions received 393 entries and awarded 14 Lions: one Gold, five Silver and seven Bronze, along with the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix went to “Lucky Fan Index” for Wisła Kraków Football Club by VML Warsaw. The AI-powered tool combined data with sports fandom to strengthen the club’s relationship with supporters and drive commercial results.
“The best Creative Commerce work doesn’t just deliver value – it completely reimagines what value can even mean,” said Phil Camarota, Chief Creative Officer at Flywheel and Creative Commerce Lions Jury President. “In the face of serious business challenges, this year’s Grand Prix innovatively used creativity and technology to engage their audience, inspiring purchase and loyalty in ways we’ve never seen.”
Innovation Lions
The Innovation Lions received 162 entries and awarded five Lions: one Gold, one Silver, and two Bronze, plus the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix went to “Supernova Adaptive” for adidas by TBWA\Canada. The performance running shoe was developed with and inspired by members of the Down syndrome community to make running more accessible.
“We awarded the Grand Prix to ‘Supernova Adaptive’ not because adidas simply built a shoe, but because it expanded the possibility of running for people with Down syndrome and moved society forward,” said Kazuhiro Shimura, Executive Creative Director at Dentsu Inc. Japan and Innovation Lions Jury President. “In the age of AI, creating is easier than ever, but creating change is not. Our Jury judged by one perspective: Innovation is a shift from Proof of Concept to Proof of Change.”
Special Awards
Cannes Lions also announced its Regional Networks of the Year.
Asia: Ogilvy
Europe: TBWA Worldwide
MENA: McCann
Latin America: Ogilvy
North America: Ogilvy
Pacific: Leo
Sub-Saharan Africa: Leo
All Cannes Lions shortlists and winners can be found here.
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