How Cannes Lions and creative ads grow brands

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is where the best in advertising, marketing and brand storytelling come together to celebrate standout creative work. Or, as they say: championing creative excellence since 1954. 

Many brands and agencies strive to create ads and campaigns that creatively grow their brand, highlight their latest innovation or even take a stand on social issues. But winning a Cannes Lion isn’t just about flashy ads — it’s about ideas that break through, shift culture and drive real business impact. 

Each year, the festival sets the standard for what’s possible in marketing, highlighting everything from emotional storytelling to cutting-edge tech innovations.

“Cannes Lions is the epicentre for the world’s best creativity.”

- Phil Duncan, Global Design Officer, Procter & Gamble

But what is it that makes for a Cannes award-winner? Let’s take a closer look at Cannes criteria for award-winning campaigns, some of the winning spots from previous years as well as the power of creativity. 

First, let’s take a look at the criteria for an award-winning Cannes ad. 

To start, there are nine award tracks: Classic, Craft, Engagement, Entertainment, Experience, Good, Health, Strategy and Titanium.  

Each of these tracks have their own specific criteria they will be judged on to determine a winner. Let’s dive into each: 

1. Classic: Honoring timeless creativity in traditional media

Celebrating the foundation of creative excellence, this track recognizes excellence in traditional advertising formats like film, audio, print and outdoor campaigns. It celebrates ideas that stand the test of time and make a lasting impact.

Subcategories: Film, Audio & Radio, Print & Publishing, Outdoor

Judging criteria: Judges evaluate originality, storytelling and overall impact. They look for strong creative ideas that break through clutter and leave a lasting impression.

2. Craft: Showcasing the art of execution

Creativity is nothing without execution, and this track highlights the best in production, direction, visual design, writing and overall craftsmanship across various media. These awards highlight the artistry behind campaigns.

Subcategories: Film Craft, Digital Craft, Industry Craft, Design

Judging criteria: This track is all about executional excellence. Judges assess artistic quality, technical skill and how well the craft elevates the overall creative idea. Attention to detail in cinematography, editing, typography, UX/UI and production value is key.

3. Engagement: Celebrating work that connects with audiences

Campaigns that successfully engage consumers, whether through brand experience, social media, PR or direct marketing, are recognized here. It’s all about how brands build meaningful relationships.

Subcategories: Creative B2B, Creative Data, Direct, Media, PR, Social & Creator

Judging criteria: Engagement-focused awards are judged on effectiveness in building connections. Judges consider personalization, audience interaction and measurable impact, such as earned media value, social shares and brand engagement.

4. Entertainment: Awarding content that captivates

This track focuses on branded content, partnerships and creative storytelling in music, gaming, film and other entertainment platforms. It rewards work that entertains while staying true to a brand’s message.

Subcategories: Entertainment for Music, Gaming, Sport

Judging criteria: Judges assess how well branded content integrates with entertainment while maintaining authenticity. Storytelling quality, audience enjoyment and brand fit are key factors, along with metrics like viewership and fan engagement. 

5. Experience: Recognizing immersive and interactive creativity

Great brands don’t just sell products — they create memorable experiences. This track honors innovation in retail, e-commerce, customer experience and live activations.

Subcategories: Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce, Luxury, Creative Business Transformation, Innovation

Judging criteria: This track is judged on how immersive and seamless the brand experience is. Judges evaluate emotional engagement, interactivity and effectiveness in driving brand loyalty or conversions.

6. Good: Highlighting purpose-driven creativity

Work that drives positive change, whether social, environmental or humanitarian, is honored in this track. It celebrates brands and organizations using creativity to make a difference.

Subcategories: Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Glass: The Lion for Change, Grand Prix for Good

Judging criteria: Judges focus on purpose, impact and authenticity. They look at how well the campaign drives real-world change, aligns with brand values and resonates with audiences in a meaningful way. Measurable social impact is critical here!

7. Health: Rewarding creativity in healthcare and wellness

This track recognizes outstanding campaigns in pharma, health and wellness marketing. It focuses on work that raises awareness, educates or improves lives through creative communication.

Subcategories: Pharma, Health & Wellness

Judging criteria: Work is evaluated based on how well it communicates complex health messages while remaining engaging and accessible. Judges also consider regulatory challenges, effectiveness in changing behaviors and innovation in storytelling.

8. Strategy: Recognizing smart, insight-driven creativity

Great campaigns start with great strategy. This track celebrates the thinking behind the work: how data, insights and planning come together to create impactful creative solutions.

Subcategories: Creative Strategy, Creative Effectiveness

Judging criteria: Judges evaluate how well a campaign’s strategic foundation drives creative effectiveness. They look for data-driven insights, audience understanding and clear evidence that the strategy led to strong business or brand results.

9. Titanium: Pushing the boundaries of creativity

This track celebrates game-changing ideas that redefine the creative industry. It’s for work that doesn’t fit into a traditional category — campaigns that challenge conventions, push cultural conversations forward or introduce entirely new approaches to marketing and brand storytelling. Unlike other awards, Titanium isn't about a single discipline; it's about big, bold thinking that sets new industry benchmarks.

Subcategories: None 

Judging criteria: Titanium Lions recognize bold, category-defying ideas that redefine the industry. There are no strict subcategories—this award is for work that challenges conventions, rewrites the rules, and sets new creative benchmarks. Judges look for visionary thinking, cultural impact, and work that opens up new possibilities for brands and agencies. 

Now that we’ve covered the criteria and award categories, let’s take a look at what consumers thought about past winners.  

We wanted to take a deeper look into some winners from tracks that are of particular interest to brands aiming for growth with their advertising: Creative Strategy, Creative Effectiveness and Innovation. 

Here’s a closer look at previous winners underneath these categories, as well as consumers’ response to the winning ads: 

1. “Dream Crazy” by Nike

Nike’s “Dream Crazy” advertisement previously won Cannes Lions’ Grand Prix Creative Effectiveness award. 

In the ad, athletes are shown doing things that others may deem ‘impossible’ or ‘crazy’ — from Serena Williams to Colin Kaepernick to Megan Blunk and more — inspiring others not to settle or give up because others say you can’t, whether it’s because of where you’re from, what gender you are or whether you’re a person with a disability. Their motivational message rings through: It’s only crazy until you do it. So just do it.  

The ad scored high in Uniqueness (ranking 7.6 compared to the 6.9 average) and high in Overall Appeal (ranking 7.9 compared to the 7.2 average), while also having a very strong connection to the Nike brand. 

It’s impressive that Nike can create an ad that highlights athletes and the inspiring message to go for your dreams, without plugging a single product or awkwardly fitting the brand into the story, and viewers still know it’s a Nike ad. 

It speaks very highly to the brand’s strength overall and the work that has gone into building distinctive brand assets. So not only did this ad excel in creativity and effectiveness, it also excelled in brand recognition, making Nike top of mind.

Respondents reported feeling happy (49%), excited (31%) and thoughtful (20%), all ranking above the norm, while watching the ad. But what did people love exactly? Almost all of it. Here’s a few of their verbatim responses:    

• “I liked the motivation behind the ad. The dialogues were excellent. Gives the audience confidence to get back on their goal.”

• “Everything. Inclusion. Representation. Aspiration. Motivation.”  

• “Positive encouragement for anyone and everyone who wants to participate in sports. I love that it includes people with disabilities.”

2. “Can’t Touch This” by Cheetos

Cheetos’ “Can't Touch This” ad was a previous winner of the Cannes Creative Strategy award. In the ad, a man was featured in a series of vignettes where he was unable to touch anything because of the Cheetos dust on his fingers, complete with MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” playing in the background. 

The ad was highly distinctive, scoring high in Uniqueness (ranking 7.3 compared to the 6.9 average) as well as Brand Linkage (ranking 8.0 compared to the 7.4 average). This indicates the creative strategy was successful given the goal was to establish a positive connection to a feature of the product (the cheese dust) and made people consider trying it — shown in the high Behavior Change score (7.6 compared to the 6.9 average).

Here’s what some of the respondents had to say: 

• “I thought it was great. I actually always love the Cheetos ads. They are so funny and inventive. I loved the mc hammer play on and you can't touch things or people when your hands are orange from eating them-which is actually true.”

• “I loved the humor and it’s very different from other ads. I loved how clever it was too.”

• “I liked the inclusion of "can't touch this" when it comes to having Cheeto dust on your fingers. It's very self-aware and humorously self-deprecating.”

3. “The World’s First Adaptive Deodorant” by Degree 

Degree’s “The World’s First Adaptive Deodorant” was a prior winner of the Cannes Innovation Grand Prix award. 

In the ad, several individuals without complete arms are shown boxing in a gym at full-force and working at a barbershop — activities that may have seemed difficult or considered “limiting” due to their disability. Degree challenges these assumptions, stating, “There should be no limits when something moves us” and introduces their line of deodorant built with a diverse disability community.  

Degree performed the best out of all the Cannes ads we tested. It was well loved by respondents and scored significantly above the norm across almost all measures — especially in Uniqueness (ranking 8.6 compared to the 6.9 average) and Overall Appeal (ranking 8.3 compared to the 7.2 average). Similar to Nike’s “Dream Crazy” respondents appreciated and connected to the empowering and uplifting aspects of the ad. 

Here’s what some of the respondents shared:    

• “I like that it teaches someone with a disability, or even anyone struggling, that they can overcome anything they put their mind to.”

• “It shows that there are no limits to what people with disabilities can do.”

• “It illuminated very effectively how determination and courage can help people overcome many different types of obstacles and challenges, and that Degree is listening very carefully to this community.”

It’s clear that all three of these ads were exceptionally creative and yielded high scores in uniqueness and likability. But there was also a common theme to be found across each of them: How they used their creativity and uniqueness to solve a problem at hand. 

After all, winning a creative award is great, but solving a problem or changing a perspective through that creativity is the bullseye.

Nike and Degree both shared the common goal of inclusion and inspiration. Each of their ads displayed people living with disabilities or life challenges disputing limitations others may have set for them and chasing their dreams (if not exceeding them), inspiring viewers and leaving them with a positive, can-do feeling. 

While for Cheetos, it was more of a brand achievement that to many may seem impossible. They were able to take an attribute of their product that was previously deemed negative (being stuck with cheesy dust on your fingers) and turn it into something positive: a reason to get out of doing the things you don’t want to!

All three brands used the creativity within their ads to solve something and change our perspectives on a matter — showing us all the power creativity can truly hold.  

With the 2025 Cannes awards festival happening soon, what can we expect to see from the winners this time around? Will more of them include brands that take a stand on social issues? Or will they include brands that flip negative perceptions on their head? Or something else entirely? We can’t wait to find out!