Cannes Lions: Day three winners, media network of the year

By AdNews | 19 June 2025
 

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on day three revealed the winners in Creative Data Lions, Direct Lions, Media Lions, PR Lions and Social & Creator Lions.

The Media Network of the Year 2025 award went to OMD Worldwide. In second place was Mindshare, followed by PHD Worldwide.

“Huge congratulations to all our Lion winners, whose ground breaking work demonstrates how powerful creativity can be to transform data into insights, communications into movements, and ideas into cultural impact,” said Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS.

Creative B2B Lions

A total of 417 entries have been judged, and 13 Lions were awarded: two Gold, four Silver, six Bronze. 

The Grand Prix went to ‘B2B: Act Like You Know’ for GoDaddy Airo by GoDaddy, Tempe, AZ, United States.

The internet domain registry GoDaddy partnered with actor Walton Goggins to launch a believable eyewear business to introduce its AI-powered tool to illustrate how small businesses can establish and grow their online presence with ease.

“This year’s Grand Prix stood out for its boldness, confident execution, and pure B2B creativity,” said jury president Wendy Walker, VP marketing ASEAN, Salesforce.

“Built on a universal human insight, it demonstrated the product by bringing humour and entertainment into a B2B context and delivered real business impact. 

“From timely influencer use to measurable impact across multiple channels, it delivered on every level, proving that B2B can be bold, entertaining, and brilliantly effective.”

GoDaddy, based in Tempe, AZ, won its first Cannes Lion award, marking its debut entry.

Creative Data Lions

Of the 597 entries received, 18 Lions were awarded: three Gold, seven Silver, and seven Bronze Lions .

The Grand Prix was won by ‘Efficient Way To Pay’ for Consul Appliances by DM9, São Paulo.

The campaign launched a new business model for the brand where low-income Brazilian families trial energy-efficient appliances and pay for them using the money saved on their utility bills.

“This year’s Creative Data Grand Prix winner, ‘More Efficient Way to Pay’, set a new benchmark for how data can drive both innovation and meaningful impact,” said Tina Allan, global chief data and intelligence officer, FCB, and jury president.

“By making data visible, actionable, and human-centered, this work showed what’s possible when data serves real people. 

“It redefined how we think about financing and proved that creative data can help brands become true partners in solving real-world challenges – for communities, businesses, and beyond.”

Entries into the Creative Data Lions grew 63.1%, attracting an additional 231 entries.

Direct Lions

From 2038 entries received, 60 Lions were awarded: ten Gold, 20 Silver, 29 Bronze.

The Grand Prix was won by ‘AXA - Three Words’ for AXA by Publicis Conseil, Paris.

The campaign saw the three words “and domestic violence” added to the most common insurance contract in France, to give women a way out of abusive relationships.

“We have awarded the three little words that are undoubtedly the most powerful,” said jury president Gaëtan du Peloux, president and chief creative officer, Marcel.

“This ground breaking idea sets a new standard and will have a lasting impact on consumers, the brand, and the entire category. It’s the kind of idea that, even 10 years from now, everyone will still remember.”

France won its first Direct Lions Grand Prix with ‘AXA - Three Words’ by Publicis Conseil for AXA.

Media Lions

From 2058 entries received, 66 Lions were awarded: 12 Gold, 22 Silver, 31 Bronze.

The Grand Prix went to ‘Dove Real Beauty Redefined for the AI Era’ for Dove by Mindshare, New York.

Dove sought to counter the unrealistic beauty standards being perpetuated by AI by partnering with Pinterest to transform its algorithm, ensuring AI technology showcased a wider spectrum of beauty.

"Dove has embraced the very technology that is distorting the notion of real beauty in today’s media ecosystem and partnered with a platform to not only generate and showcase content for women that elevates a more authentic version of real beauty but also serves as a source of highly impactful media for the brand across multiple channels and in commerce,” said Dan Clays, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, EMEA, and jury president.

“In keeping with the brand story, Dove doesn't over-claim to have solved the problem across platforms. 

“But in 2025, the Jury felt the work reflected real optimism for how brands can embrace the future of media creativity."

Media Lions entries continue to grow for the fourth consecutive year, up 9% year(170 entries), driven largely by the FMCG sector which is up 20% (126 entries).

PR Lions

From 1537 entries received, 44 Lions were awarded: eight Gold, 14 Silver, 21 Bronze. 

The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Lucky Yatra’ for Indian Railways by FCB India, Mumbai.

To take the frustration out of ticket purchasing, the campaign saw every Indian Railways ticket turn into a lottery ticket, giving passengers a new reason to pay, while tapping into India’s deep cultural belief in luck.

"The biggest theme this year was services,” said Jury President Tom Beckman, global chief creative officer, Weber Shandwick.

“A majority of the standout work was from service companies like banks and financial institutions, but also product brands adding newsworthy services to their products.

“The Grand Prix winner is a reflection of this main theme – twisting the design of their service to address a major business problem. It had engagement, likeability, talkability and integration. Selecting the Grand Prix didn't take long."

India won its first Grand Prix in the PR Lions in 2025 with a campaign from FCB India for Indian Railways.

Social & Creator Lions

From 1673 entries received, 50 Lions were awarded: seven Gold, 16 Silver, 26 Bronze.

The Grand Prix that went to ‘Vaseline Verified’ for Unilever by Ogilvy, Singapore.

To counter the misuse of the petroleum jelly shown in ‘hacks’ on social media, ‘Vaseline Verified’ did not just correct misinformation, it redefined how a heritage brand shows up in a creator-led world.

“Vaseline Verified is a singular creative brand platform founded in the feed.The work embraced the duality of the social landscape – rooted in the truth of UCG’s ability to both help and harm – and tackled this challenge directly by bringing brand, community and creators together in one inevitable idea,” said Beth Keamy, chief digital officer, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, and jury president.

“The combination of joy, clarity and deeply native social behaviors allows Vaseline to authentically meet, and help, its audience exactly where they are.”

Belgium and Puerto Rico won their first trophies in the Social & Creator Lions, each receiving a Bronze Lion.

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