The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the winners of eight awards that make up the Entertainment and Craft Tracks: Entertainment Lions, Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Entertainment Lions for Music, and Entertainment Lions for Sport, as well as Design Lions, Digital Craft Lions, Film Craft Lions, and Industry Craft Lions.
Commenting on the second Awards evening, Simon Cook, CEO of LIONS, said, “This body of winning work represents the pinnacle of creative entertainment and artistic craft that resonate with and provide meaningful connections with today’s consumers.”
From 735 entries received, 22 Lions were awarded: 5 Gold, 7 Silver, 9 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘Night Fishing’ for Hyundai Motor Company, by INNOCEAN Seoul.
Filmed entirely using seven car cameras, the short film of an encounter between an anonymous agent and an unidentified being targeted the ad-skeptical MZ (millennials and Gen Z) generation for Hyundai’s flagship electric vehicle brand, IONIQ.
Commenting on the Grand Prix, Jury President David Rolfe, Global Head of Production, WPP/Hogarth, said: “‘Night Fishing’ is a somehow deeply humanistic, riveting and even bizarre action sci-fi piece, in the form of the highest order of branded entertainment. We were genuinely as awestruck by the craft and narrative as we were in admiration of its rootedness in IONIQ’s unique product attributes and brand identity.”
For the Entertainment Lions for Gaming, 327 entries were received in total, among which 11 Lions were awarded: 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 6 Bronze. The Grand Prix was won by ‘Call of Discounts’ for Mercado Livre by GUT, São Paulo.
To achieve more cultural relevance among Gen Z audiences, Latin America’s largest e-commerce platform transformed a globally streamed gaming session into a real-time marketplace featuring football legend Neymar Jr.
The Entertainment Lions for Music had a total of 469 entries judged, with 16 Lions awarded: 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 7 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘Tracking Bad Bunny’ by DDB Latina, Puerto Rico, for Rimas Music.
Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny transformed his album release into a landmark event that elevated his homeland, redefined fan interaction and set a new standard for music releases.
Jury President Seiya Matsumiya, CEO and Co-Founder of Black Cat White Cat Music, said: “We chose our Grand Prix not only for its originality, cultural impact, and bold creative execution but because it stood as a defiant and dignified response to a discriminatory remark made by a prominent organization. The artist utilized the partner corporations’ platforms to mobilize his huge fanbase and reclaim the image of his homeland. A Grand Prix should not only represent creative excellence, but it should also carry a message.”
Entertainment Lions for Music entries increased for the third consecutive year, up 6.1% (27 entries) year on year.
The entertainment Lions for Sport received 766 entries, 26 Lions were awarded: 5 Gold, 8 Silver and 12 Bronze. The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Haaland Payback Time’ for Clash of Clans by DAVID New York.
Cast as the mobile game’s first-ever playable character, football legend Erling Haaland brought his fans to the game as well as offering his haters the chance to destroy the village he’d spent a decade building.
The Entertainment Lions for Sport saw healthy growth this year, up 15.2% (101 entries).
For Design Lions, 1087 entries were judged, and 33 Lions were awarded: 5 Gold, 11 Silver, and 16 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘Caption with Intention’ for Closed Captioning by FCB Chicago.
By transforming captions into a responsive design language through animation, typography and colour, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences included the system in the Oscars submission rule book, ensuring accessibility becomes a foundational part of filmmaking.
The Design Lions also saw considerable growth in the number of entries, up 17.3% (160 entries) from 2024.
The Digital Craft Lions had a total of 554 entries received, with 17 Lions awarded: 3 Gold, 5 Silver, and 8 Bronze. The Grand Prix was also awarded to ‘Caption with Intention’ for Closed Captioning by FCB Chicago.
Jury President Naoki Tanaka, Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Lab, said: “The Grand Prix-winning idea offered a brilliantly simple solution to a long-overlooked problem: making cinema truly accessible. By dynamically adapting captions to voice characteristics, the work balanced functionality and design with exceptional craft. A small innovation with enormous human impact.”
For Film Craft Lions 1459 entries were received, and 49 Lions were awarded: 9 Gold, 12 Silver, 27 Bronze. The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Telstra – Better on a Better Network’ for Telstra by Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, Sydney.
The mobile network created 26 individual spots, each representing lesser-known regional towns and remote areas that benefit from a better network. It highlighted the scale of the network more insightfully and humanly. Australia secured its first Grand Prix in this Lion.
For the Industry Craft Lions, 779 entries were received, and 22 Lions were awarded: 4 Gold, 7 Silver, 10 Bronze and the Grand Prix which went to ‘Nigrum Corpus’, for IDOMED by Artplan, São Paulo.
To raise awareness about racism in healthcare education, the IDOMED initiative created a book combining illustration, 3D design and AI to create a visual language that blends the precision of classic medical manuals with a more human approach. Poland won its first-ever Industry Craft trophy with a Bronze Lion.