LIONS Creativity Report Series 2024: Cannes Lions Rankings

The first instalment in our series of reports bringing together insights from the 2024 Festival content streams and winning work

Introduction

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Introduction

Welcome to the first instalment of the LIONS Creativity Report

Simon Cook

Chief Executive Officer, LIONS

This year, we start with the global rankings so you can learn which companies are at the top of their creative game based on their performance at Cannes Lions. 

Five subsequent reports will feature awarded work, insights from Jurors and winners and highlights from the Cannes Lions stages. We’ll be basing these reports on the core Festival streams: The Creativity Toolbox, Creative Impact, Innovation Unwrapped, Talent and Culture and Insights and Trends.

In November, we’ll publish the 2024 people rankings as part of The Talent Report, where you can track the progress of the talented individuals behind the Lion-winning work.

The start of the creative year

This report recognises work that has made history. But it also marks the start of a new creative year and acts as a tool for future success. It’s an opportunity to learn from the best minds across the industry. It’s a way for you to benchmark the work you’re involved in. And it’s a chance to soak up the insights, trends and intelligence – and use them to plan your future success for Cannes Lions 2025.

Our congratulations to anyone who entered, was shortlisted or won a Lion. And we’re very grateful to our expert Jurors from around the world who contributed their time, energy and care to setting the benchmark for creative excellence and effectiveness at Cannes Lions once again.

How the rankings are calculated

The Cannes Lions Special Awards are won through a points system, with scores calculated based on each company’s winning and shortlisted entries at Cannes Lions. Unlike our Lions, Special Awards are not awarded by a Jury.

You can find out more about each Special Award here(opens in a new tab). And you can learn more about the methodology behind the rankings and how we calculated each Award here(opens in a new tab).

Creative Company

WPP: Creative Company of the Year

“Creative excellence comes down to three things: people, process and passion. But doing it at scale takes an unwavering partnership between our brilliant agencies and our brave brand partners. Thank you for believing in the transformational power of creativity.”

Rob Reilly

Chief Creative Officer, WPP

WPP, Creative Company of the Year, won six Grands Prix – for three networks, in five markets, for six clients.

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Inclusivity was a key theme across WPP’s winning work. Grand Prix Glass: The Lion for Change winner ‘Transition Body Lotion(opens in a new tab)’ saw Unilever-owned Vaseline launch a skincare product specifically for trans women – resulting in a 725% increase in purchase intent. And multi-Lion-winning ‘Pink Chip(opens in a new tab)’ used DEGIRO’s stockbroking platform to track the performance of women-led businesses – and prove the value of buying shares in them. It convinced more than 14,500 DEGIRO users to invest in Pink Chip businesses within three weeks.

THE JURY'S VIEW: VASELINE ‘TRANSITION BODY LOTION’

“It demonstrated that driving social change is good business,” said Cindy Gallop, Founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn and Glass: The Lion for Change Jury President. “The two-year R&D process in close collaboration with the target customer, the innovation of isoflavones, the delivery of product efficacy while making its customers feel seen, respected and included – they represent a holistic approach to gender equality at its finest.”

Spotlight: WPP’s work on inclusion

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Grand Prix Cannes Lions

OGILVY SINGAPORE

Transition Body Lotion

2024, UNILEVER

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Omnicom came second in the Cannes Lions rankings.

Among its wins was ‘Gamer Loan(opens in a new tab)’ for Banco del Pacífico, which opened up credit opportunities to 72% more young Ecuadorians by allowing them to use their gaming accounts as collateral instead of traditional assets. It took a Gold in the Entertainment Lions for Gaming.

And Interpublic Group took the third spot for the fourth year in a row.

Mis[s]diagnosed(opens in a new tab)’, its work for healthcare company Organon, took a Bronze Pharma Lion. It exposed the gaps in knowledge around women’s cardiovascular health among medical professionals in the Arabian Gulf region through an experiment using a fake patient. It helped 28 million women learn the early warning signs of a heart attack.

Network

Ogilvy: Network of the Year

“Relentlessly pursuing the intersection of ‘what we can do’ with ‘what hasn’t been done before’ – that’s how real impact emerges. Driving product lines and business results, creating an economic multiplier within a community, changing policy and developing scalable solutions to the most pressing problems… We are a network of unrivalled creative talent, but that talent gets to live their wildest creative dreams because of big, bold clients.”

Liz Taylor

Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy

Ogilvy, Network of the Year, won four Grands Prix: JCDecaux’s ‘Meet Marina Prieto(opens in a new tab)’, Coca-Cola’s ‘Recycle Me(opens in a new tab)’, Vaseline’s ‘Transition Body Lotion(opens in a new tab)’ and CeraVe’s ‘Michael CeraVe(opens in a new tab)’. It also took a Gold Sustainable Development Goals Lion for Filsa Colombia’s ‘Filter Caps(opens in a new tab)’, which helped more than 10,000 people in remote communities with poor access to clean drinking water by transforming a bottle cap into a portable water treatment plant.

THE JURY’S VIEW: MADRID METRO ‘MEET MARINA PRIETO’

“‘Meet Marina Prieto’ took a Titanium Lion because it drew attention to the very thing it was selling – unused OOH space in Madrid Metro – and got everyone talking. It connected with people and aroused curiosity. It was a very sweet – and incredibly smart – way to showcase the power of a medium,” said Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer at VML and Titanium Lions Jury President.

And ‘Stop Bullying(opens in a new tab)’, its film for the Greek Ministry of Education, showed the far-reaching consequences of bullying in Greek society – and led to a sevenfold increase in formal reports of bullying incidents by children and their guardians year on year.

STOP BULLYING | GREEK MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AND SPORTS | OGILVY ATHENS | BRONZE, HEALTH & WELLNESS LIONS | 2024

In second place was Publicis Worldwide.

Among its wins was the Film Lions Grand Prix for telco Orange’s ‘WoMen’s Football(opens in a new tab)’. It used deep-fake technology to dupe viewers into appreciating women’s football, generating more than 2bn global impressions and 200m organic views.

It also won a Silver in the inaugural Luxury & Lifestyle Lions for ‘Bottega for Bottegas(opens in a new tab)’, in which Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta used its billboards, stores and website to champion smaller bottegas around the world. It increased brand visibility by 94% and sales by 79%.

Spotlight: Publicis Worldwide’s sustainability initiatives

DDB Worldwide was in third place.

Following on from 2023’s ‘Data Tienda(opens in a new tab)’, it continued to support low-income communities with no access to bank credit. Its multi-Lion-winning follow-up work for Gahr WeCapital, ‘The E-Commerce of Trust(opens in a new tab)’, took the trust-based system used in Mexican neighbourhoods and scaled it countrywide through an online store to help families struggling to pay for food. The platform has more than 7500 active users today.

THE E-COMMERCE OF TRUST_1
THE E-COMMERCE OF TRUST_2
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THE E-COMMERCE OF TRUST | GAHR WECAPITAL | DDB MEXICO, MEXICO CITY | SILVER, CREATIVE COMMERCE LIONS | 2024

Media Network

OMD Worldwide: Media Network of the Year

“Our wins spanned the globe, from New Zealand, to the Philippines, to France, USA and in-between. Clients across a multitude of sectors were represented and lauded as best-in-class, with work showcasing industry-leading examples of the use of technology, execution and smart, strategic thinking. As a future-facing agency, we continuously ask “what’s next?” and co-create campaigns with our clients, and partners, that inspire, break boundaries and drive growth.”

George Manas

Chief Executive Officer, OMD Worldwide

OMD, Media Network of the Year, won eight Media Lions, including a Gold for ‘Michael CeraVe(opens in a new tab)’. It also took a Silver and a Bronze in the Media Lions for ‘Lay’s Chip Cam(opens in a new tab)’, which used the celeb power of David Beckham and Thierry Henry to engage with audiences during a Champions League match. It achieved a 3% boost in global sales.

OMD also took a Bronze Media Lion for ‘Shot on iPhone / Little Garlic(opens in a new tab)’, a Chinese New Year film about a shapeshifter. The 15-minute film’s blockbuster-like launch across media platforms led to 498m views – equivalent to one third of China’s population.

SHOT ON IPHONE / LITTLE GARLIC | APPLE | OMD, SHANGHAI | BRONZE, MEDIA LIONS | 2024

PHD Worldwide came second.

Its work for the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the UK took a Gold Media Lion. ‘If You’re Into It, It’s in the V&A(opens in a new tab)’ connected people’s modern interests like golf and music to exhibits in the V&A, bridging the gap between past and present. Searches for the items in V&A’s collection featured in the campaign went up by about 12,000%.

In third place was Mediaplus.

Among its wins was its work for PetPace, ‘Animal Alerts(opens in a new tab)’, which took a Gold Media Lion. It tracked the behaviour of dogs around Lima, Peru, to predict earthquakes. It’s detected 18 seismic events so far.

Animal Alerts 1
Animal Alerts 2
Animal alerts 3
ANIMAL ALERTS | PETPACE | MEDIAPLUS GERMANY, MUNICH | GOLD, MEDIA LIONS | 2024

Independent Network

Rethink: Independent Network of the Year

“We promise our people they’ll do the best work of their careers with us – and setting the conditions for awards-calibre work fits with that promise. I encourage all agencies to dream big and set the conditions to go out and get what they want.”

Aaron Starkman

Global Chief Creative Officer, Rethink

Rethink, Independent Network of the Year, took 26 Lions across five clients. Among its wins was the Creative Effectiveness Lions Grand Prix for ‘It Has to Be Heinz(opens in a new tab)’.

Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch(opens in a new tab)’ was its most awarded piece, taking eight Lions. This renamed an underperforming sauce based on an X (formerly Twitter) post about Taylor Swift enjoying a snack slathered in ‘ketchup and seemingly ranch’ – leading to a 320% sales increase.

Edelman took the second spot.

Among its wins was ‘#CancelPizza(opens in a new tab)’ for Ajinomoto. It tackled the spread of misinformation on TikTok by promoting its own viral conspiracy: that pizza is unsafe to eat, as many of its ingredients contain MSG, a naturally occurring salt that TikTokers had ‘cancelled’. It took a Bronze in the Social & Influencer Lions.

#CANCELPIZZA | AJINOMOTO | EDELMAN, NEW YORK | BRONZE, SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS | 2024

In third place was Serviceplan Agenturgruppe.

Among its wins was ‘BMW iJack(opens in a new tab)’, which helped the luxury auto brand break into the EV market in the UAE by photobombing Google Maps listings of charging stations with BMW cars. It boosted test drives by 400% – and took a Bronze Lion in Media.

BMW IJACK | BMW | SERVICEPLAN MIDDLE EAST, DUBAI | BRONZE, MEDIA LIONS | 2024

Health Network

FCB Health: Health Network of the Year

“Interconnectivity and interoperability have been fundamental to our success and enable us to stay at the forefront of tech evolution. It’s how we’ve successfully combined creativity with deep science, data and intelligence – both human and artificial – to create meaningful work that pushes boundaries and changes lives.”

Dana Maiman

Chief Executive Officer, IPG Health (owner of FCB Health)

FCB Health, Health Network of the Year, was the winner of the Pharma Lions Grand Prix for ‘Magnetic Stories(opens in a new tab)’. It turned the sounds from MRI scans into robots or spaceships in audiobook stories, making them less intimidating for children.

THE JURY’S VIEW: SIEMENS HEALTHINEERS ‘MAGNETIC STORIES’

“The best way to exemplify the power of creativity is by having a direct impact on people’s lives – and this did that,” said Collette Douaihy, Global Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Health and Pharma Lions Jury President. “Meticulously crafted stories, precisely synced to each sound of the scan – this was storytelling at its best.”

FCB Health also won a Silver in the Health & Wellness Lions for ‘Impossible Journey(opens in a new tab)’, a campaign around a short film using hand-painted pictures telling the true story of Black mothers in the US through the lens of a stork.

IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY | ASTER | AREA 23, AN IPG HEALTH NETWORK COMPANY, NEW YORK | SILVER, HEALTH & WELLNESS LIONS | 2024

Klick Health came second.

In addition to the Gold Pharma Lion winner ‘Voice 2 Diabetes(opens in a new tab)’, for KVI Brave Fund Inc, it won a Bronze Lion in Health & Wellness for ‘47(opens in a new tab)’, an animated short film for coffee shop chain Café Joyeux. The film follows the journey of a man with Down syndrome and the challenges he faces in a world that doesn’t accept him – until, at age 47, he finds purpose and acceptance when he’s hired at Café Joyeux.

47 | CAFÉ JOYEUX | KLICK HEALTH, TORONTO | BRONZE, HEALTH & WELLNESS LIONS | 2024

In third place was Havas Health.

It won a Silver Pharma Lion for EarSwitch’s ‘Airquity(opens in a new tab)’, which lowers respiratory death rates among Black people by measuring blood oxygen from inside the ear. The device is being fast-tracked into the NHS, the UK’s healthcare system.

AIRQUITY | EARSWITCH | HAVAS LYNX, MANCHESTER | SILVER, PHARMA LIONS | 2024

Agency

Publicis Conseil, Paris: Agency of the Year

“Five years ago, [Publicis Groupe France President] Agathe Bousquet and I took over Publicis Conseil, and we had one simple vision: place creativity above everything. We had a crazy plan to become the most creative agency in the world by 2026 – the 100th anniversary of Publicis Conseil. We got there ahead of schedule thanks to the commitment of our talent and of our legacy clients, who were real partners for us.”

Marco Venturelli

CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe France

Publicis Conseil, Paris, Agency of the Year, took 17 Lions – including two Grands Prix for ‘Renault - Cars to Work(opens in a new tab)’: in the Creative Commerce Lions and in the Sustainable Development Goals Lions.

THE JURY’S VIEW: RENAULT CARS TO WORK

“We were profoundly impressed by Renault’s innovative approach to solving genuine human problems and pain points, while simultaneously driving business sales,” said Amy Lanzi, CEO of Digitas North America and Jury President of the Creative Commerce Lions.

Among Publicis Conseil’s wins was also ‘Gustave Roussy - A True Story(opens in a new tab)’, which showed Father Christmas fighting – and recovering from – cancer to highlight that 66% of cancers are survivable today. The film helped raise more than €5.3m in donations in December 2023 and took a Silver PR Lion.

GUSTAVE ROUSSY - A TRUE STORY | GUSTAVE ROUSSY | PUBLICIS CONSEIL, PARIS | SILVER, PR LIONS | 2024

Rethink, Toronto, came second.

Its work for Heinz Ketchup was predominant among its wins. But it also took six Lions for ‘Coors Lights Out(opens in a new tab)’, which saw the agency jump on an unexpected opportunity after a long foul ball damaged one of the brand’s digital billboards. Coors released limited-edition cans that replicated the black square of dead pixels on its ad, and they sold out in under 24 hours.

In third place was Ogilvy New York.

It took the Print & Publishing Grand Prix for Coca-Cola’s ‘Recycle Me(opens in a new tab)’. It also took a Silver Film Lion for Powerade’s ‘The Vault(opens in a new tab)’, which celebrated US gymnast Simone Biles’s decision to step back from competing to recharge after getting “lost in the air” during a vault jump – a phenomenon known as the twisties, where a gymnast loses their sense of where they are and how they’ll land. The campaign helped Powerade grow its brand value by 15% to $4.3bn.

Learn more about the importance of celebrating athletes as humans in LIONS Intelligence on Sport Sponsorships.

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Independent Agency

Rethink, Toronto: Independent Agency of the Year

“We set the goal to win Independent Agency of the Year in September 2023, and we created a detailed plan that every Rethinker had a part to play in. Crazy goals are good. I encourage all agencies to dream big and set the conditions to go out and get what they want.”

Aaron Starkman

Global Chief Creative Officer, Rethink

Rethink, Toronto, was named Independent Agency of the Year. Its most successful campaign was ‘Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch(opens in a new tab)’, which took eight Lions, including a Gold in Direct and in Social & Influencer. It also won a Silver Media Lion for ‘See My Name(opens in a new tab)’, for Molson™, which made sure the names of players in Canada’s Professional Women’s Hockey League were more visible by changing the position of its logo on jerseys to the spot usually hidden by ponytails.

SEE MY NAME | MOLSON™ | RETHINK, TORONTO | SILVER, MEDIA LIONS | 2024

Edelman, London, took second place.

Edelman’s biggest win was a Titanium Lion for its work for global logistics company DP World. It challenged the 100-year-old global temperature standard of –18°C for shipping frozen food – leading to potential energy savings of up to 17.7m tonnes of carbon per year. Sixty per cent of the global shipping container industry has already signed up to ‘The Move to -15(opens in a new tab)’.

Other winning work by Edelman, London

Klick Health, Toronto, came third.

It took the Innovation Lions Grand Prix for ‘Voice 2 Diabetes(opens in a new tab)’, for KVI Brave Fund Inc. It also won a Gold Entertainment Lion for ‘American Cancer Story(opens in a new tab)’, a film contrasting the number of children’s deaths caused by cancer in the US to the number of children killed by gun violence. The film showed a child that survived cancer, only to find herself in the middle of a school shooting on her first day back. Just over two weeks after its launch, US President Joe Biden announced an expansion of background checks for gun buyers.

AMERICAN CANCER STORY | CHANGE THE REF | KLICK HEALTH, TORONTO | GOLD, ENTERTAINMENT LIONS | 2024

Healthcare Agency

AREA 23, an IPG Health Network Company, New York: Healthcare Agency of the Year

“It’s an exciting time to work in health marketing, with a growing number of pharma clients realising that they need creativity more than ever. Only a few pharma companies were recognised this year – but this only motivates us to double down and deliver even more breakthrough work going forward.”

Tim Hawkey

Chief Creative Officer, AREA 23, an IPG Health Network Company

AREA 23, New York, Healthcare Agency of the Year, took the Pharma Lions Grand Prix for ‘Magnetic Stories(opens in a new tab)’, its work for Siemens Healthineers that turned the scary sounds of MRI machines into engaging children’s audiobooks to reduce anxiety. The audiobooks are now in use throughout CUF, Portugal’s largest hospital network – and Siemens Healthineers is already planning their expansion to Spain and other European countries.

MAGNETIC STORIES | SIEMENS HEALTHINEERS | AREA 23, AN IPG HEALTH NETWORK COMPANY, NEW YORK | GRAND PRIX, PHARMA LIONS | 2024

Another piece of work by AREA 23 was ‘Identity Builder(opens in a new tab)’ for Zhejiang University, which helped people with rare diseases connect with each other by spotting similarities between their experiences.

Klick Health, Toronto, took the second spot.

It won Gold in the Pharma Lions for ‘Voice 2 Diabetes(opens in a new tab)’, its work for KVI Brave Fund Inc that allows everyone with a mobile phone to receive a diagnosis through voice analysis.

THE JURY’S VIEW: KVI BRAVE FUND INC VOICE 2 DIABETES

“This is a phenomenal piece that addresses access to medical devices,” said Pharma Lions Jury President Collette Douaiy, Global Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Health. “It started with excellent data that led to a brilliant idea that led to a simple diagnostic tool.”

VOICE 2 DIABETES | KVI BRAVE FUND INC | KLICK HEALTH, TORONTO | GOLD, PHARMA LIONS | 2024

Havas Lynx, Manchester, was in third place.

In addition to its Silver Pharma Lion win for ‘Airquity(opens in a new tab)’, Havas Lynx was shortlisted in the Pharma Lions for ‘Ask a Doctor: Healing the Healers(opens in a new tab)’ – an international study on the increase in mental health disorders and depression among healthcare workers and the potential reasons behind it. The report has been downloaded more than 400 times so far.

ASK A DOCTOR: HEALING THE HEALERS | HEALING THE HEALERS COALITION | HAVAS LYNX, MANCHESTER | SHORTLISTED, PHARMA LIONS | 2024

Palme d’Or

SMUGGLER, United States: Palme d’Or

“This is our fifth Palme d’Or, and we’re very proud of that accomplishment. We’re in a very strong and exciting place, with a diversity of experience, passion and ambition in equal measure.”

Brian Carmody

Film Producer | Co-Founder, SMUGGLER

The Palme d’Or celebrates the most successful production company of the year at Cannes Lions, and 2024’s Palme d’Or went to SMUGGLER, United States. It took a Gold Film Lion for Apple’s ‘Relax: Tractor(opens in a new tab)’, which used a farmer travelling on a slow-moving tractor to demonstrate the long-lasting battery of iPhone 14 Plus.

RELAX: TRACTOR | APPLE, SAN JOSÉ | GOLD, FILM LIONS | 2024

And it took a Silver Film Lion for ‘Just Joking(opens in a new tab)’, for nonprofit organisation Sandy Hook Promise, which hijacked famous comedians’ acts to show that school shootings are anything but funny – achieving 500m video views.

In second place came Revolver, Australia, which took two Grands Prix.

The first was in the Film Lions for ‘Play It Safe(opens in a new tab)’ – a musical celebration of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary. The second was in the Film Craft Lions for ‘The Square Meter(opens in a new tab)’, which used musicians, mime artists and dancers to showcase the ways home improvement enthusiasts can get creative in small homes thanks to DIY retailer HORNBACH.

THE SQUARE METER | HORNBACH D.I.Y. / HOME IMPROVEMENT SUPERSTORES | HEIMATTBWA\, BERLIN | GRAND PRIX, FILM CRAFT LIONS | 2024

Uncharted Limbo Collective, United Kingdom, was third.

It was behind Spotify’s Digital Craft Lions Grand Prix-winning ‘Spreadbeats(opens in a new tab)’, which turned an Excel spreadsheet into a music video.

SPREADBEATS | SPOTIFY | FCB NEW YORK | GRAND PRIX, DIGITAL CRAFT LIONS | 2024

Creative Brand

Coca-Cola: Creative Brand of the Year

“The Coca-Cola Company believes creativity is a superpower that drives growth, inspires people and – most importantly – ignites change.”

Manolo Arroyo

EVP and Global Chief Marketing Officer, The Coca‑Cola Company

Coca-Cola won 17 Lions in total. Out of these, eight Lions – including three Golds – were for ‘Thanks for Coke-Creating(opens in a new tab)’ by VML, New York, which celebrated unauthorised versions of the brand’s logo in independent shops worldwide and helped it reach 3.7 billion people.

Heineken came second.

It won four Gold Lions for ‘Pub Museums(opens in a new tab)’, by LePub, Milan, which helped protect historic Irish pubs from closure by turning them into museums – unlocking tax support and other financial benefits. It also took a Bronze Outdoor Lion for ‘Heineken Heidden in Plain Sight(opens in a new tab)’. This campaign bypassed Malaysian laws around OOH advertising for alcohol brands thanks to the first three letters of Heineken’s name: hei, meaning ‘happiness’ in Cantonese – a commonly used word in Chinese New Year greetings.

HEINEKEN HEIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT | HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BERHAD | LEO BURNETT, KUALA LUMPUR | BRONZE, OUTDOOR LIONS | 2024

Apple was in third place.

Among its winning work was ‘Midnight(opens in a new tab)’, which showcased its products’ capabilities by meticulously recreating Osamu Tezuka’s 1986 manga graphic novel Midnight using only an iPhone camera. With 50m views, ‘Midnight’ became Apple’s most viewed and shared campaign in Japan.

Rankings by Region

Creative networks of the year ranked within each geographical region

Rankings by Market

Markets ranked based on performance