Cannes 2026: Creative Commerce; Creative Strategy, Luxury, Brand Experience; Innovation And More

Here's a summary of some of Wednesday's winners and best work from this year's Cannes Lions festival:

'Made to Share' for Cadbury by VCCP - Creative Strategy, Silver Lion

Cadbury’s 'Made to Share' campaign, created by VCCP, builds on the brand’s long-running belief in generosity by turning the Dairy Milk bar into a playful social gesture.

The limited-edition packs divide the chocolate into witty, situation-specific portions, helping people recognise the friends, family or colleagues who deserve a little extra thanks. By using the product itself as the medium, the campaign makes sharing feel personal, funny and unmistakably Cadbury.

'A Time and a Place' for Claude by Mother - Creative Strategy, Silver Lion

Claude’s 'A Time and a Place' campaign, created by Mother, uses the Super Bowl’s vast advertising platform to question whether ads really belong everywhere. Across a series of darkly comic films, everyday AI queries about work, health and relationships are interrupted by jarringly inappropriate sponsored responses from a fictional ad-funded chatbot.

The campaign positions Claude as a more trusted AI assistant — one designed to support people’s thinking, rather than compete for their attention.

'Columbia' for Columbia Sportswear by adam&eve\TBWA - Creative Strategy, Bronze Lion

Columbia Sportswear’s Expedition Impossible, created by adam&eve\TBWA, turns product proof into a brilliantly daft cultural provocation. To show its gear is built for the edge of the Earth, Columbia challenged flat earthers to go and find it — promising to hand over the company if they could prove the planet’s edge exists.

The campaign uses humour, mischief and outdoor credibility to dramatise Columbia’s confidence in kit engineered to withstand even the most absurd expedition

'Three Words' for AXA by Publicis Conseil - Creative Effectiveness, Grand Prix, Gold and Bronze Lions

AXA’s Three Words, created by Publicis Conseil, turned a tiny change in insurance language into a potentially life-saving act. By adding domestic violence as a recognised risk in home insurance policies, AXA enabled victims to access practical support including legal, psychological and financial assistance, as well as emergency relocation.

The campaign shows how a brand can move beyond awareness into tangible action, using creativity to change both a business product and people’s lives.

'Pedigree Caramelo' for Pedigree by AlmapBBDO São Paulo, Creative Effectiveness - Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions

'Pedigree Caramelo', created by AlmapBBDO São Paulo, turned Brazil’s much-loved caramel-coloured mutt into a national symbol for mixed-breed dog adoption. The campaign set out to give “caramelos” the same status usually reserved for purebreds, through a hero film, celebrity support, a Caramelo Kennel Club, a genetic study and a dedicated dog show.

By reframing an overlooked street dog as an icon of affection, loyalty and Brazilian culture, Pedigree transformed adoption advocacy into a joyful cultural movement.

‘The Wedding Rice’ for Wikifarmer by McCann Athens - Creative Business Transformation, Grand Prix 

The work reframes a Greek wedding tradition of throwing rice as a symbol of prosperity, however, doing to contributes significantly to food waste. Wikifarmer set to turn this on its head and repurpose inedible rice for wedding ceremonies – preserving a long-standing tradition while supporting local rice farmers. 

‘Vaseline Verified’ for Vaseline by Ogilvy Shanghai - Creative Business Transformation, Silver and Bronze Lions

This campaign looks to dispel the myths surrounding Vaseline ‘health hacks’ that take social media by a storm – but potentially put individuals’ health at risk. Using creators and a lab of scientists, online hacks were tested and ‘verified’ with a tick of approval should they be found to be scientifically backed. 

'Tiffany&Co. X Netflix's Frankenstein' for Tiffany&Co. Jewellery & Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein by Blinkink London, LUSHPOP STUDIOS Avon and MoA STUDIO Madrid- Luxury, Gold Lion

The collaboration is a cinematic partnership with Netflix in which Tiffany & Co. jewellery and archival pieces are woven directly into the storytelling of the film, rather than used as traditional product placement.

Set in a richly gothic reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic, the film features rare archival jewellery, high jewellery pieces, and objects from the Tiffany & Co. archives that are worn by key characters—especially Elizabeth Lavenza, played by Mia Goth. These pieces are used not just as costume, but as extensions of character, symbolising identity, transformation, and emotional depth.

The collaboration, led with costume designer Kate Hawley, draws on Tiffany’s 200-year heritage of craftsmanship to enhance the film’s world-building, blending historical authenticity with del Toro’s dark, romantic visual style. It also extends beyond the screen into physical installations and window displays, reinforcing the brand’s cultural and artistic positioning.

'Supernova Adaptive' for Adidas by TBWA\Canada Toronto - Innovation, Grand Prix

This campaign introduces Adidas’ first performance running shoe designed specifically for athletes with Down Syndrome and other adaptive needs.

Rather than being a traditional advertising-led campaign, it centres on product innovation as the story itself—developing a shoe shaped directly by feedback from adaptive athletes. Features like an easier step-in design, wider fit, softer cushioning, and adaptive lacing systems were designed to address real physical and sensory challenges.

The campaign highlights co-creation with athletes and specialists, positioning inclusion as something engineered into sport from the start rather than added afterwards. It’s ultimately about making running more accessible, comfortable, and dignified for people who have historically been excluded from standard footwear design.

'Oreo Cows' for Oreo by VML New York/VML Mexico City - Creative Commerce, Silver Lion

The campaign reimagines Oreo’s iconic milk-dunking ritual by bringing it to life through an unexpected cultural symbol: black-and-white Belted Galloway cows that naturally resemble Oreo cookies.

Instead of simply advertising the product, the campaign turns these real cows into the creative centrepiece of a storytelling platform—positioning them as playful “living ambassadors” of the Oreo and milk pairing. It reframes a familiar everyday ritual as something culturally meaningful and visually iconic, rooted in humour and surprise.

The work blends film, influencer activations, limited-edition milk packaging, and retail integration to revive and strengthen the emotional bond between Oreo, milk, and local culture in Mexico.

'Expedition Impossible' for Columbia Sportswear by adam&eve\TBWA - Brand Experience and Activation, Grand Prix and Bronze Lion

Columbia Sportswear and adam&eve\TBWA add more awards to its roster in this category. The work turns product durability into a cultural stunt by challenging flat earthers to prove their theory by finding the edge of the Earth. By infiltrating flat earth communities across social platforms and inviting them to put the brand’s gear to the ultimate test, the campaign generated widespread conversation, and showed how humour and cultural relevance can make a functional product claim impossible to ignore. 

'The Filet-O-Fish Facebook Society of 2012' for McDonald’s by Leo UK - Brand Experience and Activation, Silver Lion

The work celebrates one of the most overlooked McDonald’s customer groups: The Filet-O-Fish Facebook Society. Built around the insight that devotees of the sandwich felt like a community in themselves, the campaign transformed a modest Facebook page into a thriving fan club, giving members exclusive content, recognition and a space to champion their favourite menu item. 

'Chupa Chups Impossible' for Chupa Chups by BBH London - Brand Experience and Activation, 2x Bronze Lions

Built around the long-standing joke that Chupa Chups lollipops’ packaging is hard to open, the work doubles down on online chatter in creating a new easier-to-open wrapper. However, the ironic twist housed the hardest to open lollipop yet.