Cannes Lions 2025 Grand Prix Winners in Brand Experience & Activation, Business Transformation, Commerce, Effectiveness, Strategy, Innovation, and Luxury
Day four has wrapped at Cannes Lions 2025, which means we’ve got more winners to announce. Today seven new category champions have been crowned in: Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Business Transformation, Creative Commerce, Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy, Innovation, and Luxury & Lifestyle.
As part of this, seven more campaigns have received their flowers, two of which are repeat winners, and one of which has now one three Grand Prix this year. Hailing from the US, France, the UK, and Denmark, the list of winning countries might be small, but the diversity of the work is immense. Ranging from Ziploc’s endeavour to improve coupon viability, to LVMH’s clever ‘hack’ to bypass Olympic advertising policies, to the entirety of Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ platform, each selection is truly unique in the best way possible, and deserves your attention.
See the full list of Thursday’s Grand Prix winners below:
Brand Experience & Activation Lions
Chicago Hearing Society - Caption with Intention
Winning its third Grand Prix of the festival, FCB Chicago, Rakish and Chicago Hearing Society’s endeavour to improve the closed captioning system for the first time since 1971 has demonstrated its quality once again. While you can learn more about it in Tuesday's roundup, alongside the factors which allowed it to also triumph in the Digital Craft and Design categories, one way or another, it’s safe to say that the scale, nature and intention of the work speaks for itself.
Jury president Tara Ford, chief creative officer, Droga5 London, part of Accenture Song, said, “‘Caption with Intention’ is an idea that will transform the experience of film and video in all its forms. Not only does it make this medium more accessible and immersive for the deaf and hearing-impaired community, but it has the potential to be applied beyond film to all types of communication and entertainment with other applications in the future. It is a great example of how creativity can be applied beyond communications to solve real-world problems in a compelling way.”
Read more about it here.
Creative Business Transformation Lions
AXA - Three Words
Another repeat winner makes an appearance early on today’s list! In this case, Publicis Conseil and French insurance corporation AXA’s decision to add domestic violence coverage to the brand’s policies, alongside emergency relocation, free psychological, legal and financial support, is proving to be a game changer, bringing home its second Grand Prix. Check out why the Direct Lions jury also awarded it yesterday, and to get more information about this insightful initiative.
Jury president Jane Lin-Baden, CEO APAC, member of the global management committee, Publicis Groupe, said, “AXA has created a systematic commercial solution for a systemic problem. This purposeful idea resets the category by turning a centuries-old, commoditised product into a driver of brand preference and growth, redefining the category of ‘home insurance’. This is what Creative Business Transformation is all about: a simple, powerful idea with maximum transformative power for business and people.”
Read more about it here.
Creative Commerce Lions
Ziploc - Preserved Promos
Around the world, rising inflation levels are eating away at grocery budgets, but in the US, it’s especially bad. With food prices increasing by about 20% over the past four years, consumers are having to get even savvier about what they purchase, which, for many, has led to the resurgence of the coupon.
Of course, while coupons are fantastic ways to save, the downside to this method is that ultimately, like many of the foods they offer discounts on, they expire. So, to reaffirm its ability to preserve product quality, Ziploc teamed up with VML New York for a new marketing initiative. Creating a system that allowed users to upload expired promo code images, the app would then extend their duration, provided the user was also buying Ziploc at the same time. The result? A 49% redemption rate, a 5% sales lift for the brand, and a 14% increase in new buyers. A strong reminder that campaigns which meet consumers where they’re at can meaningfully build brand affinity for the future.
Gabriel Schmitt, global chief creative officer, Grey, and jury president, commented, “It was a unanimous decision, which speaks to how well-rounded the idea is. Bold, scaled, ownable. It made us jealous. It made us proud to be part of an industry that puts ideas like this into the world.”
Creative Effectiveness Lions
Apple - Shot on iPhone
While the work featured above, ‘The Invincibles’, is awesome in its own right, it's actually just one part of this year’s winning Creative Effectiveness initiative (also featuring the likes of the standout ‘Fuzzy Feelings’). In fact, a mix of eight different films and case studies have come together here to speak to the stature that Apple and TBWA\Media Arts Lab’s ‘Shot on iPhone’ platform has gained in the 10 years since it launched. From demonstrating the iPhone 14’s LiDAR Scanner, to the strength of the camera on the later models, each and every one of the works selected for the Grand Prix brings something unique and clever to the table, proving the breadth of this global campaign, and the power that comes with great craft, even when shooting through non-traditional means.
Commenting on the Grand Prix, Andrea Diquez, global CEO, GUT, and jury president, said, “‘Shot on iPhone’ was awarded the Grand Prix for its groundbreaking ability to democratise creativity, transforming everyday moments into art. The campaign stood out as a masterclass in elevating user-generated content to build a long-term platform with stunning execution. When a client commits to a long-term platform built around highly creative work that resonates globally and locally, it's magic – it's this unique combination that makes it truly deserving of the industry's top honour.”
Creative Strategy Lions
Dove - Real Beauty: How a Soap Brand Created a Global Self Esteem Movement
When it comes to demonstrating creative strategy, campaigns which have proven themselves across the typical few-year span are pretty standard within the shortlists of advertising award shows around the world. However, this year, Dove has made a statement by reflecting on the history of its ‘Real Beauty’ initiative. Originally created in 2004 to fight back against toxic beauty standards in an era when only 2% of women saw themselves as beautiful, it ultimately led to the creation of the brand’s ‘Self-Esteem Project’, and has since spurred it to fight for change in legislation, combat filters, create mass movements to retrain AI, and much, much more.
The thing is, if you work in this industry, you already know just how much Dove and Ogilvy have accomplished together since they set out on this journey. ‘Real Beauty’ is internationally iconic. But, to put it into perspective, since starting, what was once a simple soap bar retailer has transformed into a $7.5 billion brand platform, is now one of the top 10 most powerful brands globally, and, crucially, has made a real difference for many around the world.
Jury president Pats McDonald, global chief strategy officer, Dentsu Creative, said, “In a world where millions of young women struggle with anxiety, Dove’s 20-year commitment to self-esteem has never been more urgent. From a simple but devastating insight (just 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful) and a humble bar of soap, it accelerated across categories and continents. Dove embraces culture, collaboration and community while maintaining absolute consistency at its core – demonstrating the extraordinary commercial impact of true brand purpose allied to lasting business commitment.”
Innovation Lions
Museum for the United Nations – UN Live - Sounds Right
At a time when biodiversity and the state of the environment as a whole could be much better, any initiative to further such causes in genuinely meaningful fashion is going to be well received. However, the decision from AKQA Copenhagen, alongside the Museum for the United Nations, to start paying ‘NATURE’ royalties for its involvement in music truly does meet the definition of ‘innovation’.
In short, the two teamed up with artists around the world (such as UMI, V of BTS, Ellie Goulding, Brian Eno, and even the late David Bowie) to re-release/release new tracks featuring the sounds of the planet. For every song like this, a credit would be given to NATURE, with it also getting a share of the royalties, intended for funding conservation efforts. Requiring nothing more than people to do what they already enjoy doing – listening – this pursuit has already raised $500,00 in the 2025 donation cycle, made NATURE a top 1% artist on Spotify, and proves that sometimes, a real difference can be made without even asking consumers to do anything new.
Commenting, jury president Courtney Brown Warren, chief marketing officer, Kickstarter, said, “The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Sounds Right’ because it tackles nature conservation with creativity and a simple, yet innovative approach to shifting a cultural mindset. It’s an initiative with global scale, long-term impact, and one the jury ultimately felt they’d be proud to have created themselves – the kind of breakthrough approach that reminds us why we do this work.”
Luxury Lions
LVMH - The Partnership That Changed Everything
If the Olympic Games doesn’t allow advertising in the competition areas, making sponsor brands invisible on broadcast, how does one ‘hack’ the system to ensure they still get all the recognition afforded by such a globally-watched event? According to Havas Play and LVMH, thoughtfully and meticulously.
Specifically, heading into the Paris 2024 games, LVMH, as a partner of the event, was facing this precise question. So, to increase brand consideration, it ensured that its wares became a significant part of every facet of the competition. At the ceremonies, all the performing artists were dressed in Dior. Every French athlete was outfitted in suits made by Berluti. All the medals were crafted by Chaumet, with a piece of the Eiffel tower in the centre. And, each of these was then delivered on Louis Vuitton’s signature trays. A move that was more than product placement, yet ensured LVMH spotted was everywhere, this decision multiplied brand consideration by 12, and proved that with creativity, there’s always a way to bend traditional rulings.
Mathilde Delhoume Debreu, global brand officer, LVMH, and president of the jury, commented, “The 2025 Luxury Grand Prix redefined sports sponsorship into a creative partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, embodying LVMH group’s mission 'The Art of Crafting Dreams' into the idea 'Artisans of all victories'. Dior dressed the artists with haute couture creations, Berluti outfitted French athletes with tailor-made suits, Chaumet designed medals incorporating Eiffel Tower fragments, and Louis Vuitton delivered them in an iconic trunk and on signature trays. LVMH crafted the Games into a stage for performance, creativity and elegance, changing sports sponsorship forever.”
