Cannes 2026: Social & Creator; Direct; Media; Creative Data; PR

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

'The KitKat Heist' for KitKat by VML London and Burson - PR, Grand Prix and Two Gold Lions; Media and Social & Creator, Gold Lion and Silver Lion

'The 'KitKat Heist' turned a real supply-chain disaster into a participatory brand story. Just before Easter, 12 tonnes of KitKat bars disappeared in transit; rather than burying the news, VML London and Burson helped KitKat make the theft public and invite consumers to help “crack the case”.

The campaign’s centrepiece was the Stolen KitKat Tracker, a digital tool that let people enter the batch code from their own KitKat to see whether it might be part of the missing haul. It reframed a product loss as a playful true-crime treasure hunt, generating mass participation, social chatter and renewed brand love by making an everyday chocolate bar feel suddenly rare, newsworthy and part of a shared mystery

'Savings Index' for NatWest by Initiative Media\T&P London - Media, Bronze Lion

'Savings Index' for NatWest turned the bank’s research into a useful public-facing media asset, rather than another financial-services message about products. Built from a major UK survey, it revealed how people are really saving, budgeting and feeling about money — from Gen Z using social media savings challenges to the emotional strain caused by not having enough put aside.

Initiative Media and T&P used the data as the campaign engine, creating content and earned-media hooks that helped NatWest show up as a practical authority on everyday financial behaviour, not just a bank selling savings accounts.

'Expedition Impossible' for Columbia Sportswear by adam&eve\TBWA - Direct, Gold Lion and Silver Lion; PR, Gold Lion and Silver Lion; Social & Creative, Silver Lion and Bronze Lion

Columbia Sportswear and adam&eve\TBWA turned 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 - Direct, Bronze Lion; Social & Creative, Bronze 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. 

‘Missing Managers’ for XBOX by McCann London - PR, Bronze Lion 

The campaign looks to use the power of gaming to close the gender gap in sport, given the underrepresentation of women in football management. 

Female players were invited to prove their tactical skills through challenges in Football Manager 26 and, if successful, were given access to fully-funded UEFA coaching qualifications and work experience with Women’s Super League clubs. 

'Duobell' for Škoda by AMV BBDO - Creative Data, Silver Lion

Tackling the rising rate of cyclist collisions, this campaign by AMV BDDO saw the agency work with The University Of Salford to create a bell like no other, penetrating it's ring through noise cancelling headphones.

Breaking through to the millions of cyclists throughout London, the campaign was influencer and PR-led and also released data in an open-source whitepaper. By giving the engineering blueprints away, the campaign empowers any city planner, manufacturer, or cyclist to build or adopt the technology and improve urban street safety.

'Vaseline Originals' for Vaseline by Ogilvy Singapore - Social & Creator, Gold Lion

Tracing back years of online content to find the first of the brands multi-use hacks, this campaign gives back credit to those creators and re-invents the iconic and classic product into new ones to help millions of people use the product in so many more ways.

It brought the brand back to basics - repositioning Vaseline as a trusted, original solution that still works, without the hype.

'Here To Stay' for Mastercard by McCann Poland, Warsaw - Creative Data, Bronze Lion

'Here To Stay' focused on supporting Ukrainian refugees who had settled in Poland following the war.

The campaign helped them rebuild a sense of stability and belonging by giving visibility to their presence—integrating Ukrainian language, culture, and everyday needs into Polish society. It used Mastercard’s platform to make refugees feel recognised not as temporary outsiders, but as part of the community.

By highlighting real stories and practical support, the campaign encouraged empathy and acceptance, reinforcing the idea that these individuals are not just passing through—they’re here to stay.