How winners win at Cannes Lions: Making an impact

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the advertising industry’s most glamorous event. Held each year on the sun-drenched French Riviera, the festival draws 15,000 creative professionals from around the world.

Among the glittering parties and powerhouse presentations, 32 lucky attendees will take home “Lions” for some of the most creative advertising and communications campaigns in the world. 

"Cannes Lions marks a gathering of the most innovative and imaginative individuals who set the tone for the year ahead."

- Ad Age

The Cannes Lions are the industry’s equivalent of an Oscar. Hopeful winners include some of the legendary names in advertising and each submission represents an innovative idea. 

So, what exactly makes a Cannes Lion-worthy campaign? Let’s review the award tracks and dig into the ideas, craft and strategy that make them roar from industry insiders. 

Advertising has never been more diverse, which is why Cannes has so many tracks to their awards. From traditional mediums like radio and billboards to today’s most innovative and interactive digital marketing trends, the awards also embrace ideas like cultural good and social justice.

There are nine tracks with multiple subcategories,reflecting creativity in its various forms. From a beautifully executed print ad to a boundary-pushing digital experience, it’s all here. The nine award tracks offer a full spectrum view of modern advertising. 

Here’s an overview of each:  

1. Classic 

• Audio & Radio 

• Print & Publishing

• Film

• Outdoor (billboards and transportation)

2. Craft

• Design

• Industry Craft

• Digital Craft 

• Film Craft

3. Engagement 

• Creative B2B 

• Creative Data

• Direct 

• Media 

• PR 

• Social & Creator 

4. Entertainment 

• Entertainment 

• Entertainment Lions for Gaming 

• Entertainment Lions for Music 

• Entertainment Lions for Sport 

5. Experience 

• Brand experience & activation 

• Creative business transformation

• Creative commerce 

• Innovation 

• Luxury 

6. Good 

• Glass: The Lion for change

• Sustainable development goals 

7. Health 

• Health & wellness 

• Pharma 

8. Strategy 

• Creative effectiveness 

• Creative strategy 

9. Titanium 

Reserved for provocative work setting new industry standards. 

At Cannes Lions, the world’s biggest brands set new benchmarks for creativity. Yet, behind every celebrated campaign, patterns emerge. These winning themes share clues for what resonates most with audiences and judges. 

Let’s explore what it takes to rise above the competition and take home a Lion. 

1. Classic 

Rooted in storytelling, this track rewards big creative ideas told through traditional advertising mediums such as: 

• Audio & Radio 

• Print & Publishing

• Film

• Outdoor (billboards and transportation)

Winning themes:

Strong storytelling evokes emotions and wins awards. Take Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” — the ad uses clever editing to splice fifty unrelated athletes into one movement to show enthusiasm and encouragement. It won a 2021 Lion.

Adam&Eve/DDB's chief creative officer, Richard Brim, chaired the jury committee. Brim said in a jury debrief session that for Nike, “everybody remembered how they felt when they saw it. It’s an excellent piece of work by any year’s standard.”

The Outdoor winner went to Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” which inspired people to “think different” about photography and film-making. By capturing stunning visuals recorded on an iPhone, it reminded viewers they have a powerful storytelling tool in their pockets.

Repeat winners: 

Agencies like Wieden + Kennedy are regulars on the Lion Awards circuit. Some recent winners include Nike and Apple TBWA. 

While storytelling is always powerful, it requires skillful execution to make an idea sing. Now let’s get into the Craft track, which rewards such skill and attention to detail. 

2. Craft 

The Craft track turns the spotlight on the meticulous artistry behind a great narrative because it takes exceptional execution to bring great ideas to life. 

Winning themes: 

Attention to detail and artistic collaboration are vital to winning a Lion in the Craft track. 

German home store Hornbach’s “The Square Meter” claimed a 2024 Lion for its quirky ad showing a man living his life in a series of tiny spaces. 

A beloved example of high-craft storytelling comes from the U.K. retail giant John Lewis. Each year, the famed department store releases a Christmas ad that feels more like a short film than a commercial. Take the 2023 holiday spot, “Snapper: The Perfect Tree.”

Created by adam&eveDDB, the film tells the story of a young boy who plants a mysterious seed that grows into a carnivorous Christmas tree that just wants to be part of the family. The production brought together acclaimed directors and a bespoke soundtrack to create something magical. 

The result? A Craft Lion for artistic collaboration. And what’s more, these annual campaigns have become a cultural tradition in the U.K. 

Repeat winners: 

Droga5 for The New York Times, “The Truth is Worth It,” and the above mentioned adam&eveDDB John Lewis Christmas ads are known for their repeat wins at Cannes. 

The next prize celebrates interaction. 

3. Engagement 

In a world of the endless scroll, grabbing attention and sparking interaction is where the magic happens. These are the campaigns that invite participation. 

Latin America’s popular e-commerce platform Mercado Libre’s “Handshake Hunt,” integrated QR codes into live TV to engage viewers in an innovative way on Black Friday. The campaign is a play on the brand’s handshake logo, and instead of interrupting viewers with a commercial, every time people on the screen shake hands, a QR code appears with a related discount.

Jury president Prerna Mehrotra, chief client officer and CEO Media, Dentsu APAC said, ‘It was a very disruptive idea, because Black Friday is a very, very cluttered environment. So we thought it was a very smart use of insight, technology and a great way to drive participation, but most importantly, also deliver business results.’

Repeat winners: 

Agencies like the McCann Worldgroup and FCB offer creative and innovative ways to engage consumers, creating interactive campaigns. 

The next track layers emotion for entertainment and social impact. 

4. Entertainment 

Winning themes include cultural relevance and social impact wrapped in story. 

2024’s winner was WhatsApp's “We are Ayenda” documenting the Afghan women’s football team’s escape. 

Jury judge Geoffrey Edwards, managing director and creative at GALE, says “All good stories have conflict. All great stories have characters that rise above that conflict to do amazing things.” Geoffrey called the decision to award the Grand Prix to WhatsApp’s ‘We Are Ayenda’ “absolutely unanimous” pointing to the tenacity, trust and resilience at the work’s heart. He continues, “The connection of entertainment to a brand was clear. You couldn’t tell the story without the brand.”

The Entertainment track also has a prize for Gaming. 

Xbox’s “The Everyday Tactician” offers gamers the chance to step into real-world football coaching roles and gamers love the immersive experience. 

Jury judge, Lydia Winters Chief Storyteller at Mojang Studios, shares, ‘The Everyday Tactician’ consistently stood apart through its unique point of view, community engagement, engaging storyline, and stellar business results, creating a multifaceted campaign that perfectly demonstrates a truth we already know in gaming – it can change lives, create confidence, and build transferable real-world skills. It not only disrupted a 130-year-old football club but also the way society thinks about what gaming truly brings to the world.”

Repeat winners: 

Creative X (WhatsApp) and McCann London are regular Lions winners due to their skillful brand narrative. 

5. Experience 

These campaigns immerse the viewer in the story. For example, Pop-Tarts’ “The First Edible Mascot” delivered a memorable Bowl Game moment, blending spectacle with tasty snacks for an experience viewers wouldn’t soon forget. 

The goal? Shift the idea of “Pop-Tarts” from breakfast food to snack. The brand turned to the snack-heavy college football game market and needed a way to stand out. Thus “amascot to die for sponsorship sins” was born. It attracted 4.3 million viewers.

Brand Experience & Activation jury president, Anselmo Ramos, founder and creative chairman at GUT, Global, said: “Bizarre. Weird. Genius. Uncomfortable. Those were just some of the words we heard in the jury room while discussing this idea. At the core, it’s a live sampling idea that made PR headlines and brought great results. It’s just impossible to ignore or unsee. It’s 'meme-ready'. We had never seen this before. It’s also a brand not taking itself too seriously. It’s time for advertising to have fun again.”

 Repeat winners: 

These include Publicis Conseil, Weber Shandwick and VMLY&R often win by creatively enhancing consumer interactions and experiences.

Of course, creativity isn’t just about clever ideas — it’s also about making a difference. Some of the most powerful campaigns at Cannes Lions tackle real-world problems with heart.

6. Good

In 2024, more than eighty countries held elections. With the rise of authoritarianism around the world, democracy had to make a stand. 

Reporters Without Borders Germany showed the difference between words and actions with The First Speech Russia. Using clips from Vladimir Putin’s first speech in 2000, interspersed with images of people listening, the piece advocates for a free press. 

Unilever won Glass: The Lion for Change award with their “Transition Body Lotion.” The category addresses gender inequality and the empowerment of marginalized communities. This campaign, developed by Ogilvy Singapore, focuses on a specially formulated lotion to address skin issues faced by transgender women.

Jury president Cindy Gallop, founder of Make Love Not Porn, said the collective decision to award the Grand Prix to Ogilvy Singapore and Unilever was a relatively straightforward one, stating: "The fact that this product was not only efficacious in solving a very real problem, but also made the community feel seen, heard and included are why the Glass Lion jury had no hesitation in unanimously awarding Transition Body Lotion the Grand Prix." 

Repeat winners: 

These include Ogilvy, Grey and Leo Burnett, who have secured repeat awards by addressing meaningful societal issues authentically and effectively.

The next track tackles our most intimate spaces — our physical and mental health. The best spots make intimidating topics feel understandable and give hope. 

7. Health

An MRI machine makes scary noises if you’re not expecting them, but Siemens built the sounds into audiobooks for children and provided them headphones to wear while undergoing their MRI.

“The Pharma Lions Grand Prix turned the intimidating sounds of MRI machines into engaging children’s audiobooks to reduce anxiety. “This transformed a frightening medical procedure into an engaging and immersive experience. It’s storytelling at its best,” said Jury President Collette Douaihy, Global Chief Creative Officer of health at Dentsu.”

Repeat winners 

These include Area 23, FCB Health and Klick Health, who repeatedly win for their innovative and empathetic health communications. 

Every award-winning campaign has a sharp strategy and strategy is the focus of the next award.

8. Strategy 

Strategic planning and effectiveness can redefine brands, influence consumers and drive business. In 2024, a Creative Effectiveness Lion went to “Ketchup AI" for Heinz by Rethink, Toronto. This campaign used artificial intelligence to go “behind the scenes” and uncover “ketchup fraud” - restaurants refilling Heinz bottles with a generic imposter. 

It reinforces Heinz's iconic status in the ketchup market.

While all Lions winners represent bold creativity, some campaigns set new standards for the industry. Those awards are the Titanium winners. 

9. Titanium 

"DoorDash-All-The-Ads" for DoorDash by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, and Superette, San Francisco received the coveted award for this work. 

Everyone knows DoorDash will bring you food, but did you know it could bring you a car? The premise behind this interactive Super Bowl ad was that DoorDash would bring one lucky winner everything advertised during the game. That’s right, everything from Doritos to a Toyota. Viewers had to go to doordash-all-the-ads.com and enter a promo code. 

The brand spurred furious competition and far surpassed their projections. 

Repeat winners: 

Weiden+Kennedy, McCann and Area 23 are some of the regular winners. Besides the traditional advertising landscape, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity nods to the growing creator economy. In 2025, they’ve added five creator-led subcategories for 2025.

These include Creator Collaborations, Content Strategy, Community Building, Cross-Platform Storytelling and Excellence in Craft.

“The new categories will recognize creator-led work shaping brand narratives in meaningful ways.”

- Marian Brannelly, Global Director of Awards at LIONS

At Cannes Lions, the creative bar is not only high but constantly evolving. Each year, advertising explores new boundaries and seeks ways to deepen its impact across society. 

Across award categories, a pattern emerges: campaigns that win don’t just entertain or inform. They connect deeply and with their audience, reflecting cultural truths, sparking conversations and driving results.