Finding and studying award-winning creative work should not feel like its own case study in frustration. That is the thinking behind Brain Cannesdy, a new free visual archive launched by GSD&M creative duo Brandon Curl and Dale Austin.
Built by creatives for creatives, the platform is designed to make Cannes Lions-winning work easier to discover, browse, and learn from without navigating paywalls, scattered links, or endless searches.
The origin story is simple. Curl and Austin were frustrated by how difficult it was to find award-winning campaigns in one place. Existing resources can be useful, but often require time-consuming digging. So they built their own site.
Brain Cannesdy brings together Cannes-winning work in a searchable, visual format organized around how creatives typically look for inspiration. Users can scroll through digital presentation images, search by agency, brand, or category, and watch case study videos.
“Cannes is where so many creatives look for great work, but actually finding and accessing that work can be surprisingly difficult and expensive,” said Austin, creative director at GSD&M. “We built Brain Cannesdy to make award-winning ideas free, visual, and easy to explore, whether you want to dive deeper or just get a quick sugar rush of inspiration.”
The archive currently features 2025 Cannes Lions winners, with plans to add 2026 work once this year’s results are released.
The team has also introduced a like feature, allowing users to see which pieces of work are resonating with the creative community throughout the festival. Additional insight features are also in development.
Brain Cannesdy is the latest project from Curl and Austin, who are also behind Fantasy Brands, a weekly social podcast tracking the collision of brands, sports, and pop culture. Each year, the duo also runs Fantasy Brands as a “fantasy football for Super Bowl ads” game and website.
The launch arrives as the industry turns its attention back to Cannes and the annual ritual of studying what wins, what travels and what ideas define the year. For younger creatives, students, freelancers and agency teams alike, access to award-winning work can shape how people learn the language of modern advertising.
Brain Cannesdy is trying to make that process faster, more visual, and more open.
In other words, less scavenger hunt, more inspiration hit. Check out Brain Cannesday here.
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