Cannes Lions honours data, media and PR campaigns

The winning campaigns ranged from a banking tool that helps victims of phone theft to a social campaign encouraging people to reconnect offline

Cannes Lions has revealed the winners of the Creative Data, Media, Direct, PR and Social & Creator Lions during the Festival's third Awards Show in Cannes. The winning work highlighted how creativity can address business challenges, encourage audience participation and tackle social issues across multiple disciplines.

A total of five Grand Prix awards were presented alongside dozens of Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions. The winning campaigns ranged from a banking tool that helps victims of phone theft to a social campaign encouraging people to reconnect offline.

Creative Data Grand Prix goes to BCP

The Creative Data Lions received 391 entries, with 13 Lions awarded, including two Gold, four Silver and six Bronze. The Grand Prix went to SOS POS, created by Circus Grey, Lima, for BCP.

The campaign transformed payment terminals into locations where victims of mobile phone theft could immediately block their bank accounts. The initiative reached more than 34 million people in Peru.

Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Groupe South Asia: "Our Grand Prix work stood apart for the beautiful simplicity of its idea and the imaginative use of data – data used to protect data. It turned an everyday payment terminal into a lifeline at a moment of real vulnerability. It solved a human problem, strengthened trust in a difficult-to-differentiate banking category, and showed how Creative Data can drive business impact while scaling protection for people and society in a way that can transcend boundaries."

Media award recognises Uber Eats campaign

The Media Lions attracted 1,432 entries and awarded 45 Lions, including seven Gold, 16 Silver and 21 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to Build Your Own Super Bowl, created by Special, Los Angeles, for Uber Eats.

The campaign enabled users to create personalised Super Bowl commercials within the app, combining media, commerce and technology to drive audience engagement and sales.

Sindhuja Rai, Chief Client Officer, WPP Media APMEA: "This is modern marketing at its most transformative. Rather than using communications to drive consumers to the product, it turned the product itself into the communications platform – seamlessly uniting creativity, media, technology, talent, commerce, and personalization into a single connected experience, effectively collapsing the traditional funnel. The result was a campaign that didn’t just capture attention; it converted participation and engagement directly into business growth."

Direct Lions reward real-time marketing

The Direct Lions received 1,325 entries and presented 42 Lions, including seven Gold, 13 Silver and 21 Bronze. The Grand Prix was awarded to Uva Uva Bombón, developed by de la Cruz Ogilvy, San Juan, for the UVA App.

The campaign capitalised on the attention surrounding Bad Bunny's Super Bowl appearance, helping the delivery platform generate consumer engagement during a major cultural event.

Joaquín Cubría, Chief Creative Officer, GUT Argentina: "In an industry obsessed with control, this work proved that courage is still our most valuable currency. A challenger brand chose the most expensive advertising day of the year not to outspend the competition, but to outsmart it. A bold, simple idea that turned uncertainty into disproportionate impact."

PR Grand Prix celebrates crisis response

The PR Lions attracted 1,156 entries, with 37 Lions awarded, including seven Gold, 12 Silver and 17 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to The KitKat Heist, created by Burson, London, for KitKat.

The campaign turned the theft of a KitKat advertisement into a public campaign that strengthened brand perception through creative crisis communications.

Dana Tahir, CEO, HAVAS Red Middle East and Egypt: "Crisis communications has long been the discipline of caution, protecting reputation, minimizing damage, staying safe. But this year's work rewrote those rules entirely. KitKat didn't just manage a crisis, they transformed it into a cultural moment, proving that creative bravery and crisis counsel can coexist. This work didn’t eliminate risk, it choreographed it. Every pun, every quote was calibrated to keep the brand on the right side of the line. And in doing so, it set a new standard for what’s possible when brands trust their instincts and lean into the unexpected. We hope this work serves as a reminder that the greatest opportunities often hide inside the biggest challenges, and that crisis, handled with creativity and courage, can become a brand's finest moment."

Heineken campaign wins Social & Creator Grand Prix

The Social & Creator Lions received 1,413 entries and awarded 44 Lions, including eight Gold, 14 Silver and 21 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to Could Have Been a Heineken, created by LePub, Milan, for Heineken.

The campaign encouraged people to replace lengthy WhatsApp voice notes with face-to-face conversations over a beer.

Mihnea Gheorghiu, Global Chief Creative Officer, LePub: "Voice notes make connection easier, faster. But for a new social behaviour – do they really make us more social? Heineken makes a beautifully crafted argument that a long voice note is best delivered in person. Whether you love voice notes or hate them, you can’t really argue with that. The Jury decided to award the Grand Prix for its social-first simplicity and iconicity, and for converting a new social behaviour into the oldest social behaviour."

Special Awards announced

Cannes Lions also presented its Special Awards during the ceremony.

The Media Network of the Year rankings were:

Carat
OMD Worldwide
PHD Worldwide

The PR Agency of the Year rankings were:

Burson, London, United Kingdom
Golin Ketchum, London, United Kingdom
Ninch Company, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS: "Wednesday's Lion-winning work demonstrates the power of creativity to drive growth for business, people and society at large. Thanks, once again, to our exceptional Juries for setting the global creative benchmark for the industry."

www.canneslions.com

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