Cannes Lions 2025: WPP wins Creative Company of the Year

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has named WPP  as Creative Company of the Year for 2025. 

This prestigious award recognises the collective  creative excellence of WPP’s agencies and their outstanding work for clients. 

In addition,  WPP’s Mindshare received the joint highest points tally in Media Network of the Year. 

Across the festival, WPP agencies collected an impressive haul of 168 Lions – a coveted  Titanium Lion, 10 Grand Prix including a Glass Lion for Change, 23 Gold, 53 Silver and 81  Bronze Lions – with winning entries representing creative talent and client partnerships  from across the world. Mindshare’s Grand Prix for Media also marked the first time a media  agency has been the sole recipient of the award since 2018. 

The Grand Prix-winning campaigns in particular showcased WPP’s ability to deliver innovative  approaches to audience engagement, deep cultural relevance and pioneering, responsible  applications of technologies such as AI. 

Combating misinformation, Ogilvy’s Vaseline Verified for Unilever earned a Titanium Lion – the first in Singapore’s history – and two Grand Prix: for Social & Creator and Health &  Wellness. The campaign transformed user-generated hacks on social platforms into  scientifically validated content, debunking myths, reinforcing Vaseline’s “Wonder Jelly” status  and generating huge social engagement. DAVID’s Haaland Payback Time for Supercell, an  example of truly innovative engagement, won the Grand Prix in Entertainment Lions for Sport.  The campaign brought footballer Erling Haaland into the Clash of Clans gaming universe,  uniquely targeting his “haters” by letting them raid his in-game village. VML’s equally  novel Preserved Promos for Ziploc secured the Grand Prix for Creative Commerce. In  response to the cost-of-living crisis, Ziploc helped shoppers extend promotional codes by  allowing them to upload expired offers and receive a discount on their next food purchase  when including Ziploc products. 

Leading with responsible AI, Mindshare’s Real Beauty Redefined for the AI Era for Dove won  the Grand Prix for Media. This campaign launched “Real Beauty DNA” on Pinterest, allowing  users to define diverse beauty, thereby retraining the platform’s AI to champion inclusive  beauty and reinforcing Dove’s iconic Real Beauty brand platform in the AI age. This was only  the latest articulation of Dove’s 20-year-old Real Beauty initiative, which received a Glass Lion  for Change and a Grand Prix for Creative Strategy thanks to Ogilvy’s work to transform a  humble soap brand into a global platform for self-esteem. Dove’s iconic campaigns in  partnership with Ogilvy have challenged unrealistic beauty standards through inspiring,  impactful, viral content, empowered 94 million children with self-esteem training, and over the  last two decades transformed Dove into a $7.5 billion global powerhouse. 

WPP’s commitment to new solutions for global challenges was also recognised with AKQA’s  work for the Museum of the United Nations – UN Live – and Spotify, with the Sounds  Right campaign earning the Grand Prix for Innovation. This initiative turned nature into an 

official artist to fund conservation, integrating ecosystem sounds into music tracks and  crediting “NATURE” alongside major artists like David Bowie, Ellie Goulding and V of BTS. 

Delivering huge cultural impact, VML and OpenMind also secured the first Grand Prix in the  Czech Republic’s history at Cannes Lions in the Outdoor category with KitKat’s Phone Break.  The campaign replaced smartphones with KitKat bars in outdoor visuals, revitalising the “Have  a break, have a KitKat” tagline first coined by J. Walter Thompson copywriter Donald Gilles in  1957. Similarly, Ogilvy’s Make Love Last for Viatris won the Grand Prix for Pharma, based on  an unbranded art project using time-lapse photography of real couples to subtly address  intimacy in China. 

Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “Our success at Cannes Lions is a tribute to the extraordinary  talent and passion of our people worldwide, and to the clients who entrust us with their brands.  It’s also a powerful statement about the central role of creative and media excellence in  building brands, shaping culture and driving growth, a principle at the heart of WPP and one  I’m very proud to see recognised today. Winning Creative Company of the Year is always a  huge honour, but celebrating this achievement with our brilliant people at my last Cannes as  CEO makes it doubly special. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who made it  happen.” 

Rob Reilly, Global Chief Creative Officer of WPP, said: “In a world increasingly shaped by  AI, authentic human creativity with integrity commands a growing premium. This year’s  winners from across WPP brilliantly showcase how our agencies are owning innovation and  technology, not to replace creativity, but to amplify it, solve complex challenges for brands,  and connect with audiences in more meaningful ways. Congratulations to all our teams and  fearless clients for these outstanding results.”