Cannes Lions rewards business-focused creativity

Greece Wins First-Ever Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Wikifarmer Campaign

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the winners of the Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Luxury, Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce and Innovation Lions, recognising campaigns that delivered measurable business results and creative impact.

The awards were presented on the penultimate day of the festival, with Greece receiving its first-ever Cannes Lions Grand Prix through McCann Athens' work for Wikifarmer.

Greece earns first Creative Business Transformation Grand Prix

The Creative Business Transformation Lions received 152 entries, with seven awards presented, including one Gold, two Silver, three Bronze and the Grand Prix.

McCann Athens won the top honour for The Wedding Rice, created for Wikifarmer. The campaign enabled farmers to sell inedible rice to wedding planners instead of discarding it, creating an additional revenue stream through an existing cultural tradition.

Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS: "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."

Gugu Mthembu, Chief Marketing Officer, Telkom, South Africa: "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."

Creative Effectiveness recognises AXA France campaign

The Creative Effectiveness Lions attracted 200 entries and awarded 14 Lions, including two Gold awards and the Grand Prix.

Publicis Conseil, Paris received the Grand Prix for Three Words, developed for AXA France. The campaign added a three-word clause to home insurance contracts to provide support for domestic abuse survivors while also generating measurable business results.

Bertille Toledano, CEO, BETC and Havas Creative Middle East; President, Havas Creative Network: "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 received 744 entries, with the Grand Prix awarded to The Pub that Refused to Die, created for Heineken by LePub, Milan and Publicis Dublin. The initiative helped communities acquire local pubs collectively to preserve them as community spaces.

Sarah Lemarié, Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis: "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."

Luxury and brand experience winners announced

The Luxury Lions Grand Prix went to Warmer Together, created for Moncler by Wesayhi, Sliema. The campaign centred on cinematic photography and films featuring actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Design Army: "’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 Brand Experience & Activation, the Grand Prix was awarded to Expedition Impossible for Columbia Sportswear by Adam&Eve\TBWA, London. The campaign invited anyone who could prove the Earth is flat to claim ownership of the company, encouraging public participation while promoting exploration.

Rafael Pitanguy, Deputy Global Chief Creative Officer, VML: "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."

Innovation and commerce campaigns recognised

The Creative Commerce Grand Prix went to Lucky Fan Index for Wisła Kraków Football Club by VML, Warsaw. The AI-powered platform combined fan engagement with commercial opportunities, strengthening supporter loyalty while generating business value.

Phil Camarota, Chief Creative Officer, Flywheel: "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 Innovation Lions Grand Prix was awarded to Supernova Adaptive for adidas by TBWA\Canada. The running shoe was designed with members of the Down syndrome community to improve accessibility in performance footwear.

Kazuhiro Shimura, Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Inc., Japan: "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."

The festival also presented its Regional Network of the Year awards. Ogilvy received honours in Asia, Latin America and North America, while TBWA Worldwide won Europe, McCann took the MENA award, and Leo was recognised in both the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa.

www.canneslions.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn