As the curtains fell yesterday on the 72nd edition of the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France, Africa’s presence, once again, faded into the background, with the continent scoring negligible wins across categories and Nigeria notably absent from the winners’ table. The recurring trend continues to have either continued to show the deepening gulf between global creative excellence and the continent’s representation at the industry’s biggest stage or, as some people believe, the widening ‘misunderstanding’ of African creativity on the global stage.
With over 26,000 entries from across the world and hundreds of awards handed out across multiple categories—including Creative Strategy, Brand Experience, Innovation, and Creative Commerce—the Cannes Lions 2025 Festival was a resounding celebration of global ingenuity and storytelling. However, for the African creative industry, and particularly Nigeria, the festival’s climax has left behind more questions than answers. Africa’s performance at the Cannes this year ranks one of the poorest performance of the continent in recent years.
This year, countries like the United States, France, Denmark, the UK, and Japan led the charge, taking home Grand Prix trophies for work that show innovation, brand purpose, and cultural relevance. While the likes of Costa Rica and Poland made historic appearances on the winners’ roster, most of Africa remained largely unrepresented.
The only glimmer from the continent came from South Africa’s Joe Public, which retained the title of Regional Network of the Year – Sub-Saharan Africa. But beyond that regional recognition, Africa, the world’s youngest and arguably most creatively promising continent, once again failed to make a tangible impression on the global stage.
Even more glaring is Nigeria’s complete absence from this year’s medal table. Despite being Africa’s largest economy and home to some of the continent’s most dynamic advertising and creative agencies, the Nigerian flag was conspicuously missing across all 32 categories awarded at the 2025 edition of Cannes Lions. From Creative Effectiveness to Luxury, and Innovation to Brand Experience, Nigeria’s once-hopeful trajectory at Cannes appears to have stalled.
It has now been two years since a West African agency last clinched a Lion at the festival. In 2023, X3M Ideas, led by industry heavyweight Steve Babaeko, made history as the first West African agency to win a Bronze Lion in the Health and Wellness category. The award was for the agency’s “Soot Life Expectancy” campaign for The Extra Step Initiative, which highlighted the severe air pollution crisis in Port Harcourt by reimagining traditional obituaries with drastically reduced life expectancies to symbolize the impact of soot pollution. That campaign not only broke through creatively but marked Nigeria’s inaugural and still only appearance on the Cannes Lions leaderboard. Since then, no Nigerian agency has returned to that spotlight.
This year, standout global winners included Publicis Conseil, Paris, which won two Grand Prix for its “AXA – Three Words” campaign addressing domestic violence through a redefined home insurance contract.
Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Los Angeles, which secured the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix for democratizing creativity globally through user-generated content.
Dove’s “Real Beauty” platform by Ogilvy UK, which clinched the Creative Strategy Grand Prix, continuing its two-decade-old push for authentic beauty and self-esteem advocacy.
LVMH’s “The Partnership That Changed Everything”, which redefined Olympic sponsorship into cultural storytelling, earning the Luxury Grand Prix for its creative collaboration with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Yet, despite these shining examples, Africa’s narratives—its rich culture, bold storytelling, and social relevance—were glaringly missing from the global conversation.
A Deeper Malaise?
For Nigeria, the no-show at Cannes may or may not be symptomatic of a larger issue within the country’s creative ecosystem. Analysts point to underinvestment in world-class campaign development, lack of access to international awards circuits, and a focus on short-term marketing gains rather than long-term creative platforms. Others blame a prevailing disinterest in building ideas that go beyond local contexts to inspire global resonance.
While Nigerian agencies continue to perform well at local, continental and other global award shows, a platform like Cannes demand a different scale and strategic ambition.
“There’s a clear need for Nigerian creatives to begin to dream globally again,” a senior creative director told Brand Communicator off the record. “We need more work like X3M’s Soot campaign—ideas rooted in local insight but executed with global finesse and empathy.”
The cost of participation also remains a factor, with submission fees running into thousands of dollars per entry. However, other emerging-market agencies have found creative ways to secure global recognition through strategic partnerships, collaborations with NGOs, and by tapping into topical issues with universal appeal—something Nigeria’s agencies can learn from.
The message from Cannes 2025 is loud and clear: global creative recognition will not come to Africa and Nigeria by default. It must be earned with intention, investment, and a sharpened focus on world-class thinking and storytelling.
If Nigeria is to take its rightful place in the global creative conversation, agencies, clients, regulators, and the industry at large must work in concert to build the kind of work that not only sells, but stirs hearts and earns Lions.
Until then, the silence from Nigeria at Cannes may continue to echo louder than any Grand Prix gong.