Pick Us A Cannes Lions Winner (Part 5)

With UK agencies vying with their counterparts from all around the world once more, creative excellence is the name of the game in Cannes. Across this week, we'll be showcasing some of the UK entries to look out for on the winners' podium.

Stay tuned to find out what else has entered this year's awards throughout the week and keep up to date with our Cannes Lions 2025 coverage.

Next up is McCann London, Leo Burnett, and T&P.

McCann London

Xbox: 'The Cheeky Controller'

With the release of Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine film last year, Xbox teamed up with Deadpool to design a custom Xbox Wireless Controller that everyone will want to get their hands on. 

Modeled after Deadpool’s much-discussed, perfectly rounded tush, the controller was available for one lucky fan to enter for a chance to win via a global sweepstakes alongside other custom Xbox hardware.

Read more here.

Xbox: The Adaptive Controller 'This Is How We Do It'

Furthering its commitment to inclusivity, Xbox introduced a new device to make gaming more accessible: the Xbox Adaptive Joystick.

The ad, by McCann London, highlighted the versatility of the Xbox Adaptive Joystick, the various ways it can be used, and showcases the different thumbstick toppers available, emphasising Xbox's dedication to making gaming more accessible for everyone.

Read more here.

Leo Burnett

McDonald's: 'McRib Returns'

McDonald’s teased audiences about the return of its much-loved McRib, confirming it would be making a return to its menu. A series of ‘mistakes’ were made by McDonald’s in the build up to the launch - from glitchy app notifications to cryptic OOH poster ads.

The campaign, McRib Returns? kicked off with a push notification sent to McDonald’s 1.82 million app users, which simply read: “McRib_Test.notification_16.10.24 [TEST]”. From there, the teases only grew bolder. A broken email sent to McDonald’s CRM base followed shortly after, setting social media alight with questions about whether the McRib was truly coming back. Glitchy appearances of the McRib popped up in ads across London.

Read more here.

McDonald's: ‘The Meal’

Marking Mental Health Awareness Week, McDonald’s removed its iconic smile from its Happy Meal boxes for the first time, helping start a conversation around children’s mental health. Over 2.5 million special boxes were printed and placed in restaurants nationwide, accompanied by stickers representing different emotions, helping children to discuss their feelings.

Skoda: ‘Redditor Edit’ (‘You Said It’)

Škoda and Leo Burnett teamed up to tap into the enthusiasm of the Reddit community with a social-first campaign for the fourth-generation Octavia. ‘You Said It’ focused on the dedicated followers of the subreddit 'r/CarTalkUK', which boasts over 350,000 members. The car enthusiasts affectionately dubbed the Škoda Octavia as ‘Our Lord and Saviour, the Škoda Octavia’, encapsulating the car’s cult status among petrolheads. 

The keys were handed over to Reddit members with the first-ever ‘Reddit Car Share’. Participants from across the length and breadth of the UK were the very first to test-drive the new fourth-generation Octavia, before press, retailers and even before the car was photographed for marketing.

Read more here.

Kellogg’s: ‘The OG’

Kellogg’s looked to revitalise its legacy with a fresh visual identity, marking the new chapter with its famed Cornelius the cockerel being front and centre.

The work saw Cornelius celebrated on out-of-home (OOH) posters, featuring its ironic signature red, blue and white palette, alongside the tagline ‘The OG’ in the typography of the timeless Kellogg’s logo - a design that nods to the brand’s rich legacy while connecting with a new generation of breakfast lovers. 

In a masterstroke, Leo Burnett has cropped the Kellogg's name in the poster series, reminding us that when it comes to cereals - and rooster-shaped mascots - Cornelius really is the OG.

Read more here.

Škoda: ‘Draw De France’

Škoda partnered with the Tour de France by inviting the cycling community to a ‘Draw de France’ Strava competition. They asked the public to either ride, walk, run, e-bike, or hike for a total of 100 minutes, and then turn their route into a piece of art by drawing it on the Strava app. 

Some of the best submissions included the rider’s cycling route drawn as a bicycle, the outline of France, and even as a person.

T&P

E45: 'This is Me. This Is My Space.'

Skincare brand E45 supported transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people with the release of ‘This Is Me. This Is My Space.’ which has won the annual Channel 4 Diversity in Advertising Award. As a result, the campaign was backed by over £1m worth of commercial advertising airtime across the Channel 4 network.

E45 extended its existing ‘This is ME45’ brand platform to shine a light on the skin experiences of a community who are almost invisible in advertising, featuring in less than 1 per cent of ads.

M&M's: 'Ring x M&M's'

M&M's partnered with Ring to deliver a frightfully fun Halloween by bringing some candy-coated charm to doorsteps around the UK. Ring customers were able to set their Video Doorbell to greet visitors with a selection of fun and festive Quick Replies from Red, M&M’S iconic spokescandy. M&M’S turned the tables on trick or treaters by surprising those who ring the doorbell, asking them to respond to various challenges as suggested by Red.

For the limited-time takeover, M&M’S encouraged Ring customers to share hilarious reactions to the cheeky Quick Replies on social platforms to drive widespread conversation around the partnership.

Read more here.

Txix: 'Twixmas'

Twix partnered with D Double E and Nella Rose to launch the first-ever Twixmas anthem, tapping into the vibrant world of UK grime and keeping the festivities going during the post-Christmas period.

Twix redefined the post-Christmas lull with ‘Twixmas Time’, featuring a song, written by T&P creatives in collaboration with D Double E to a backing beat by Sir Spyro, that played out across a social media campaign.

Read more here.

Snickers: 'Own Goal'

Snickers signed esteemed football manager José Mourinho in a first of its kind partnership that saw the brand team up with José to pioneer a fully authorised AI clone, ready to coach football fans out of the 'Own Goals' mistakes they score over summer.

To create personalised videos of José for any fan submitting an 'Own Goal', Snickers made pioneering use of AI. The work saw eight separate stages in the AI pipeline create a unique ‘chain of thought’ architecture, including safeguarding - to ensure consistently entertaining and brand-safe original content, helping each output to feel unique without relying on templated content.

No other AI-powered campaign has used the technology in this exact way before: trained to deeply mimic the personality of a major talent, to generate limitless pieces of original video content, and designed to be shared to many.

Read more here.