Cannes Lions 2025 Grand Prix Winners in Entertainment, Gaming, Music, Sport, Design, Digital Craft, Film Craft and Industry Craft
With day two of Cannes Lions’ 2025 festivities comes the Grand Prix winner announcements for the categories of Entertainment Lions, Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Entertainment Lions for Music, Entertainment Lions for Sport, Design Lions, Digital Craft Lions, Film Craft Lions, and Industry Craft Lions.
Taking the grand prize today are seven different campaigns – one of which has actually won twice – hailing from South Korea, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the US, and Australia. Ranging from a film shot entirely using the cameras on the Hyundai IONIQ, to the launch of Bad Bunny’s ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ album, to an initiative which improved the closed caption system for the first time since 1971, there’s not a campaign on this list that isn’t worth checking out.
See the full list of Tuesday’s Grand Prix winners below:
Entertainment Lions
Hyundai Motor Company - Night Fishing
While thinking outside the box has always been a staple of great creative, sometimes, even when doing so, one doesn’t have to look much further than what’s already in front of them. Case in point, when tasked with advertising Hyundai’s IONIQ, creative agency INNOCEAN realised that the car’s seven cameras could be used for film production… which is exactly what they did.
Running at 13 minutes long, the result was ‘Night Fishing’, an original film that screened in theatres across South Korea, bypassing the need for a mass media budget. Not only was it innovative in approach, but the craft itself was strong to boot; the work received such critical acclaim that it was invited to four international film festivals, ultimately driving fandom for Hyundai that led to spikes in awareness, brand sentiments, dealership visits, test drives, and more. Original, simple and effective.
Commenting on the Grand Prix, jury president David Rolfe, global head of production, WPP/Hogarth, said, “'Night Fishing’ is a somehow deeply humanistic, riveting and even bizarre action sci-fi piece, in the form of the highest order of branded entertainment. We were genuinely as awestruck by the craft and narrative as we were in admiration of its rootedness in IONIQ’s unique product attributes and brand identity.”
Entertainment Lions for Gaming
Mercado Livre - Call of Discounts
Within the world of gaming, ‘Prop Hunt’ is a long-time favourite for people seeking hours of raucous laughter, chaos, and pure fun. Multiple titles have had variants of the mode over the years, and the core concept has always remained constant: several players disguise themselves as inanimate objects on a given map, while a select few are tasked with hunting them down. Basically, it’s hide and seek, but taken to the next level.
Of course, as an e-commerce retailer that actually offers a wide array of goods, this seemed like the perfect entry point for Mercado Livre to showcase its catalogue to a younger demographic, which, in partnership with GUT Sao Paulo, is just what happened. Mapping 420 props across ‘Call of Duty’, the two proceeded to invite Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. to play as these items while streaming on Twitch, placing a bounty on his head for the community – alongside top streamers – to chase. The faster they found him? The greater the discounts.
All in all, it went on to become the most-watched live stream on Twitch Brazil that year, pushing sales and youth engagement just as the brand and agency had originally hoped.
Jury president Sue Anderson, VP creative, Roblox, commented, “As a jury, we consistently went back to the definition of this Gaming Lion. We asked ourselves, 'Did the idea tap into the community, add real value to the gaming experience, and deliver results?'. This Grand Prix was the whole package. It merged gameplay true to 'Call of Duty' with ridiculously fun gamified commerce – and sold a bunch of household items in the process.”
Entertainment Lions for Music
Rimas Entertainment - Tracking Bad Bunny
American “comedian” Tony Hinchcliffe – unfortunately – is not the first person to make inappropriate remarks about Puerto Rico. However, given the size of the audience he had when calling it “a floating island of garbage” at a Trump Rally last year, it was certainly enough to catch the attention of globally recognised artist Bad Bunny, who decided a response was necessary.
The launch of the subsequently lauded album, ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’, was a powerful tribute to his country of birth. And while this in its own right was effective, the marketing campaign surrounding it, created in partnership with DDB Latina Puerto Rico, was even better. By posting coordinates instead of songs on Spotify, and partnering up with Google Maps to place the new titles in Street View images, this endeavour saw 182 million fans from 61 countries venture to the island, turning what could have been a basic album launch into a full-fledged tourism campaign. Bad Bunny one, Tony Hinchcliffe zero.
Jury president Seiya Matsumiya, CEO and co-founder of Black Cat White Cat Music, said, “We chose our Grand Prix not only for its originality, cultural impact, and bold creative execution, but because it stood as a defiant and dignified response to a discriminatory remark made by a prominent organisation. The artist utilised the partner corporations’ platforms to mobilise his huge fanbase and reclaim the image of his homeland. A Grand Prix should not only represent creative excellence, but it should also carry a message.”
Entertainment Lions for Sport
Supercell - Payback Time
Manchester City and Norway’s Erling Haaland is probably one of the most revered names in world football right now. Put simply, across three Premier League seasons alone, he has scored 85 times – a 0.88 goals per match ratio – which has earned him his fair share of haters in the process.
Incidentally, according to Supercell, the developer of popular mobile title ‘Clash of Clans’, Haaland is also a menace at the video game as well, having played since he was 10 years old. So, not only did the publisher, in partnership with DAVID New York, turn the striker into the first-ever real-life person featured in-game, but they made raiding his base into an official challenge for the community to partake in. Leading to an 150% gain in new players, this campaign ultimately proved that when it comes to sports marketing, tapping into both the fans and the haters is the ultimate strategy for success.
Jimmy Smith, chairman, CEO and chief creative officer, Amusement Park Entertainment, and president of the jury, commented, “The makers of 'Clash of Clans' were rewarded for their bravery by partnering with Erling Haaland. The fan engagement had to have made its competitors cry, as the number of downloads was well into the double-digit millions. ‘Payback Time’ effortlessly pulled all of the right levers of gaming, sport, celebrity and entertainment. So effortlessly, in fact, there was no 'Clash of Jurors'. The jury chose Clash of Clans’s ‘Payback Time’ for the Cannes Lions Grand Prix on the very first vote!”
Design Lions
Chicago Hearing Society - Caption with Intention
When you’re an able-bodied person who can hear everything unfolding on screen, it’s easy to overlook the shortcomings of closed captions. Yet, traditionally, they’ve never been aligned with what’s actually being spoken, they don’t convey tone or emotion, and they don’t even do simple things like identifying who is speaking… despite the fact that around the world, over 430 million people are reliant on this system.
With that in mind, FCB Chicago, in partnership with the Chicago Hearing Society and Rakish, decided to change things up for the first time since 1971, creating a new and improved captioning system capable of remedying these issues. From dynamic timing used to sync up audio and speech, to using text animation to give viewers a better understanding of how things are being said, the work created a new inclusion standard, was embraced by major studios, and won an Academy Award of Merit. A true game changer, through and through.
Commenting on the Grand Prix winner, jury president Jessica Walsh, founder and creative director, &Walsh, said, “This Grand Prix winner excelled as it masterfully married strong design with a greater idea and purpose. For over 50 years, captions for film and TV have been largely unchanged, designed to be solely functional. ‘Caption with Intention’ is a design system that brings emotion and depth and context into the caption experience. Designed alongside the deaf and hard of hearing community to make films more accessible, it will transform the viewing experience for anyone using captions.”
Read more about it here.
Digital Craft Lions
Chicago Hearing Society - Caption with Intention
You’re reading this correctly. ‘Caption with Intention’ has indeed won two Grand Prix on the same day – an exceptional feat within the history of the Cannes Lions competition.
Jury president Naoki Tanaka, chief creative officer, Dentsu Lab, said, “The Grand Prix-winning idea offered a brilliantly simple solution to a long-overlooked problem: making cinema truly accessible. By dynamically adapting captions to voice characteristics, the work balanced functionality and design with exceptional craft. A small innovation with enormous human impact.”
Film Craft Lions
Telstra - Better on a Better Network
As Australia’s largest mobile network, Telstra, alongside agencies Bear Meets Eagle On Fire and +61, had a tough decision on their hands ahead of creating ads for the 2024 Olympic Games. Should they bring to life one giant, glossy film to demonstrate the brand’s scale? Or, would it be better to take a different approach?
As it turns out, the latter option was a winner. Launching 26 short films depicting lesser-known rural towns – places where reliable networks are imperative – the teams created fun, miniature micro-narratives, exquisitely shot around stop-motion animated puppets. Voiced by local talent, the resulting work made a huge splash in-market, proving that heavy investment into craft still continues to pay dividends.
President of the jury Ali Ali, co-founder and film director, Good People Films, commented, “Before we could vote, the Grand Prix revealed itself slowly – like great work often does. In a year dominated by AI and digital gloss, Telstra’s ‘Better on a Better Network’ felt like a breath of fresh air. Tactile, intimate, and deeply human, it reminded us why we fell in love with this industry. Fifty-six unique puppets animating 42 voices from regional Australians, across 26 stop-motion gems. All simple, all funny, all full of soul. Measured writing, inspired characters – and yes, a bird flying backwards. In a fast-content era, ‘Better on a Better Network’ felt like a warm, slow-cooked meal.”
Read more about it here.
Industry Craft Lions
Idomed - Nigrum Corpus
“If racism is the disease, education is the cure.”
This sentiment is what drove Idomed, in partnership with creative agency Artplan, to try a new approach in addressing Brazil’s issue with racism in healthcare. Keenly aware that it’s six times more likely for Black patients to suffer medical errors in the country, despite the fact that 55% of the population falls under this demographic, the two worked to launch a beautifully-crafted book, the titular ‘Nigrum Corpus’. Depicting Black bodies and explaining the various ‘diseases’ that can lead to racist behaviour from industry professionals, the work integrated special pages and art to send a visually-striking message, which has since been adopted by 17 different institutions, and has made its way into the hands of the country’s minister of health.
Matthias Spaetgens, chief creative officer, Scholz & Friends, and jury president, said, “The Grand Prix in Industry Craft awarded to the project 'Nigrum Corpus' is a remarkable testament to creative excellence across multiple facets. At its core, it is driven by a powerful idea that is brought vividly to life through exceptional book design, typography, copywriting, illustration, and craftsmanship in every detail. Holding the book in our hands, we could feel the passion of the creatives behind this outstanding work.”
