73rd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announces first winners

Audio & Radio, Creative Brand, Creative B2B, Health & Wellness, Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good, Outdoor, Pharma, Print & Publishing Lions awarded

AB InBev, the Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year 2026, is awarded the inaugural Creative Brand Lion Grand Prix

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the first Lion winners of the Festival today, across the Audio & Radio, Creative Brand, Creative B2B, Health & Wellness, Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good, Outdoor, Pharma and Print & Publishing Lions.

Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said: “The body of winning work selected by our Jurors clearly demonstrates creativity as a growth driver for people, business and society, setting the global creative benchmark. Thank you to all our Jurors for your commitment, generosity of time, and depth of expertise in establishing the work that is raising the creative bar.”

In the Audio & Radio Lions, celebrating creativity that is wired for sound, 513 entries were received and 15 Lions awarded: 2 Gold, 5 Silver, 7 Bronze. The Jury awarded the Grand Prix to ‘Coquí Alarmed’, for Hyundai Puerto Rico, by BBDO Puerto Rico, Guaynabo. Hyundai strengthened its role as a cultural ally by replacing the standard factory lock sound in partner rental cars with the call of the coquí frog, a symbol of Puerto Rican culture, shifting behaviour and perceptions as a result.

Audio & Radio Jury President, Oriel Davis-Lyons, Chief Creative Officer, Mother New York, said: “‘Coquí Alarmed’ stood apart because it made the Jury think about our own category in a new way. Though it was rooted in a hyper-local insight, its execution and impact were universally admired. It shows that even in a “Classic” category like Audio & Radio, it’s still possible to push the definition to exciting new limits whilst delivering serious business impact.”

A new Award for 2026, the Creative Brand Lions recognise the visionary brands that are building the systems, cultures and capabilities that make world-class creative marketing inevitable and repeatable. In all, 73 entries were received and 2 Lions awarded: 1 Creative Brand Lion and the Grand Prix, presented to ‘AB InBev: Creativity at Scale’, for AB InBev, by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Leuven. The work highlights how creativity can be embedded into organisational culture and used as a structured growth capability across a global business.

Creative Brand Lions Jury President, Marcel Marcondes, Global Chief Marketing Officer, AB InBev, said: “This Lion is unique because it evaluates the inputs – the capabilities and processes – behind the creative work that drives results. Not just across one campaign or quarter, but across years, brands, and geographies. With no Gold, Silver or Bronze awarded, we treated those shortlisted as if they were winners, and the Grand Prix selected by the Jury best delivered on the category definition.”

From 355 entries received in the Creative B2B Lions, 11 Lions were awarded: 2 Gold, 4 Silver, 4 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘The Faroe Islands Space Program’, for SKF, by NORD Stockholm, which turned B2B communications into a global sustainability conversation.

Creative B2B Lions Jury President, Ty Heath, Global Director, Thought Leadership, GTM Strategy, said: “SKF, a global leader in industrial bearings and friction reduction, rejected the rational specs playbook entirely. Instead, they did something awe-inspiring: an actual space program, built to bring their belief in frictionless work to life. Unmissable, unforgettable, and very distinctive. This is creative bravery in B2B. SKF proved that creative bravery in a commodity category delivers real business results.”

The Health & Wellness Lions, celebrating creativity for personal wellbeing, received 889 entries, and 31 Lions were awarded: 5 Gold, 10 Silver, 15 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘The Periodic Fable’, for The Ordinary, by SMUGGLER, London / Uncommon Creative Studio, London. The work reframed beauty advertising by identifying unregulated marketing terms and reclassifying them within a reimagined periodic table.

Health & Wellness Jury President, Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, India, said: “It’s an outstanding commentary on how the obsession with skin trends is getting more out of control every day. When health, creativity, craft and culture intersect in the best way possible, work like this is born. This piece was more than deserving. It was undeniable.”

The Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good Award went to ‘Vehicle of Hope’ for Caritas by Differ Stockholm.

From 1410 entries received in the Outdoor Lions, honouring creativity experienced out of home, 40 Lions were awarded: 7 Gold, 13 Silver, 19 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to ‘Field Barcode’, for Mercado Livre, by GUT São Paulo. The work turned Brazil’s Pacaembu stadium pitch into a 104-metre-wide barcode, so people could discover, scan and interact with Mercado Livre in real time.

Outdoor Jury President, Aaron Starkman, Global Chief Creative Officer, Rethink, Global, said: “Awarding ‘Field Barcode’ the Grand Prix was pure joy. Before the Jury even met in Cannes, I saw a soccer pitch reimagined as a giant barcode and fell in love with it. That same reaction was what I hoped the Jury would share. Outdoor is about being seen in the real world, not online. It’s a physical experience that stops you in your tracks, proving the world’s oldest medium is still our most surprising way to connect.”

In the Pharma Lions, which celebrate creative communications for pharmaceutical clients and services with work that brings science and innovation to life, 236 entries were received and 7 Lions awarded: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze. The Grand Prix was presented to ‘Relax Your Tight End’, for Novartis, by Fallon, Minneapolis. The work leveraged a private health taboo – prostate cancer screening – and transformed it into a powerful public entertainment Super Bowl spot.

Pharma Lions Jury President, Tracey Brader, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Omnicom Health, said: “What makes work Grand Prix? When the whole is more than the sum of great individual parts. And this work ticked all the boxes. Based on a relatable human truth. Appropriate to the audience. Deploying celebrity authentically. Integrated from the Super Bowl to Social to PR. Bold. Humorous. All while addressing a genuine issue.”

The Print & Publishing Lions, which honour creativity in circulation, received 418 entries, and 13 Lions were awarded: 2 Gold, 4 Silver, 6 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘Look Familiar?’, for Heinz Ketchup, by Rethink, Toronto. Heinz turned a simple hidden design truth into a global campaign that translated into measurable commercial growth for the brand.

Print & Publishing Jury President, Jessica Apellaniz, Chief Creative Officer, Wieden+Kennedy, Mexico, added: “The Grand Prix had to be Heinz. What we rewarded wasn't the absence of the product. We rewarded the presence of the brand. The campaign trusted the audience, trusted years of consistency, and trusted that a brand built over time could do the work. Its simplicity wasn't an executional choice – it was proof of extraordinary confidence. In a year obsessed with adding more, the best work had the confidence to remove.”

Special Awards were also awarded:

Healthcare Network of the Year:

1. Klick Health
2. Ogilvy Health
3. Real Chemistry

Healthcare Agency of the Year:

1. Klick Health, Toronto, Canada
2. Ogilvy Health, New York, United States
3. 21GRAMS, New York, United States

The Entertainment Person of the Year 2026 Award was also presented to Eddy Cue, SVP of Services and Health at Apple, live on stage.

All shortlists and winners are available to view on The Work. Further information on Cannes Lions can be found at canneslions.com.