On the penultimate day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the winners of the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury, Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce and Innovation Lions were announced. The highlights included Greece winning its first-ever Grand Prix (Creative Business Transformation Lions) while Canada took home its second Grand Prix of the week (today’s honor coming in the Innovation Lions competition).
Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said, “Our jurors have awarded work that clearly demonstrates the effectiveness and transformative power of creativity in business. Congratulations to Greece for winning its first Grand Prix, an incredible achievement that sets the benchmark for global creative excellence.”
In the Creative Business Transformation Lions, celebrating the creativity that drives businesses forward, 152 entries were received and 7 Lions awarded: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze, and the Grand Prix was awarded by the jury to “The Wedding Rice,” for Wikifarmer, by McCann Athens. Wikifarmer created a sustainable business solution enabling farmers to sell inedible rice directly to wedding planners that delivered demonstratable commercial results and drove behavioral change.
Creative Business Transformation Lions Jury president Gugu Mthembu, chief marketing officer, Telkom, South Africa, said, “‘The Wedding Rice’ demonstrated how cultural insights can be the spark of both creativity and business transformation. 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.”
From 200 entries in the Creative Effectiveness Lions, honoring the measurable impact of creative work, 14 Lions were awarded: 2 Gold, 4 Silver, 7 Bronze, and the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix went to “Three Words,” for AXA France, by Publicis Conseil, Paris. By including a life-saving three-word clause for domestic abuse sufferers into home insurance contracts, AXA boosted short and long-term business impact.
Creative Effectiveness Lions Jury president Bertille Toledano, CEO, BETC and Havas Creative Middle East; president, Havas Creative Network, commented: “A Grand Prix should always feel personal. And this one resonates deeply with all of us. It is socially, culturally and personally relevant.”
The Creative Strategy Lions, celebrating the idea behind the idea, received 744 entries and 22 Lions were awarded: 4 Gold, 7 Silver, 10 Bronze, and the Grand Prix was presented to “The Pub that Refused to Die,” for Heineken, by LePub, Milan / Publicis Dublin. Heineken transformed a real community story into a living blueprint for change, continuing its mission to keep pubs alive by helping communities take ownership.
Creative Strategy Lions Jury president Sarah Lemarié, chief strategy officer, Publicis, said, “In Ireland, Guinness Country, the beating heart of small communities is the pub. ‘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.”
From 130 entries in the Luxury Lions, 5 Lions were awarded: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze, and the Grand Prix that went to “Warmer Together,” for Moncler, by Wesayhi, Sliema. The work created a deep consumer connection through cinematic photography and short films, anchored in the brand’s purpose of sharing love and warmth.
Luxury Lions Jury president Pum Lefebure, co-Founder and chief creative officer, Design Army, said, “’Warmer Together’ earned the Grand Prix because it stripped luxury storytelling down to its most powerful truth: human connection. 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.”
In the Brand Experience & Activation Lions, from 1,561 entries received, 47 Lions were awarded: 8 Gold, 14 Silver, 24 Bronze. The Grand Prix was awarded to “Expedition Impossible,” for Columbia Sportswear, by adam&Eve\TBWA, London. Columbia offered to give the company to anyone who could prove the Earth was flat, making exploration an open challenge and generating widespread attention.
Brand Experience & Activation Lions Jury president Rafael Pitanguy, deputy global chief creative officer, VML, commented, “The work managed to simultaneously return to the award’s roots, while being firmly grounded in the present day. 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. It isn’t afraid to step into controversy and challenge irrationality. Most importantly, the audience wasn’t just watching the idea. They were helping bring it to life. This project is also impeccable in its craft, in a category where craft is often overlooked. The copywriting is flawless, every word carefully chosen, every comma exactly where it should be. Everything is delivered with clarity, simplicity and a relentless focus on the brand, which is essential in the only category at Cannes that begins with the word ‘Brand.’ 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.”
The Creative Commerce Lions received 393 entries and 14 Lions were awarded: 1 Gold, 5 Silver, 7 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to “Lucky Fan Index,” for Wisła Kraków Football Club, by VML, Warsaw. An AI-driven tool, merging data with the deep emotion of sports fandom, the work strengthened the Club’s relationship with supporters and driving commercial success.
Creative Commerce Lions Jury president Phil Camarota, chief creative officer, Flywheel, said, “The best Creative Commerce work doesn’t just deliver value–it completely reimagines what value can even mean. 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. The commercial and creative success of this idea was unmatched in our category–which is why it now deservedly stands alone.”
From 162 entries received in the Innovation Lions, 5 Lions were awarded: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronze, and the Grand Prix was presented to “Supernova Adaptive,” for adidas, by TBWA\Canada, the first performance running shoe inspired by and designed with the Down syndrome community.
Innovation Lions Jury president Kazuhiro Shimura, executive creative director, Dentsu Inc., Japan, said, “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. 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
– Regional Network of the Year — Asia: Ogilvy
– Regional Network of the Year — Europe: TBWA Worldwide
– Regional Network of the Year — MENA: McCann
– Regional Network of the Year — Latin America: Ogilvy
– Regional Network of the Year — North America: Ogilvy
– Regional Network of the Year — Pacific: Leo
– Regional Network of the Year — Sub-Saharan Africa: Leo
All shortlists and winners are available to view here.
