Direct Lions: Publicis Conseil wins Grand Prix while VCCP wins UK's only gong

France's Publicis Conseil picked up the Grand Prix in the Direct category for its ‘Three words that can change everything' campaign for AXA.

The campaign recognised 'domestic violence' as a risk in home insurance policies and guaranteed emergency rehousing for victims, with a major awareness-raising campaign to inform the general public.

It comprised a TV commercial, supported by a national billboard campaign, as well as press, digital, and social media coverage.

The two-minute educational video explained the initiative and detailed the victim support process behind AXA's guarantee.

Jury President Gaëtan du Peloux, President and Chief Creative Officer, Marcel, commented: “We have awarded the three little words that are undoubtedly the most powerful. This groundbreaking 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.”

The UK's sole winner in this category was VCCP, which picked up another Lion - this time a Bronze - for its 'Daisy vs. Scammers' campaign on behalf of O2.

The campaign was a first of its kind developed to fight back against scammers. Using lifelike, state-of-the-art, Conversational AI, Daisy was designed to speak with scammers and keep them on the phone for as long as possible so they have less time to try and scam real people.

There was a total of 60 Lions awarded in this category.

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.