CANNES LIONS 2026 - Winners We're Impressed By (So Far)
Written By: Lexi Rapnikas
Campaign of the Festival: The Ordinary
The Ordinary’s Periodic Fable campaign by DECIEM | THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY won the Health & Wellness Grand Prix at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for challenging misleading beauty marketing. The campaign reimagined the periodic table with 49 scientifically unsupported skincare buzzwords, such as “age-defying” and “flawless,” to highlight how marketing jargon can deceive consumers.
This year’s awards also reflected a growing focus on holistic wellbeing and showcased high levels of creativity and investment in healthcare marketing, with brands including Kotex, adidas, Apple, Samsung Electronics, and various nonprofit organizations earning recognition across categories.
Heinz “Looks Familiar”
The Print & Publishing Lions Grand Prix at Cannes went to Kraft Heinz’s “Look Familiar?” campaign by Rethink Toronto, which turned a simple visual truth, the resemblance between Heinz’s keystone logo and fry boxes, into a global, multi-channel platform. Built around posters and extended through social, print, video, and a disruptive Uber Eats partnership, the idea scaled across 33 markets and translated directly into strong commercial results, including gains in distribution, household penetration, and volume share across key regions like the US, Canada, the UK, and Mexico.
Beyond sales impact, the campaign also delivered significant earned media success with 150+ press mentions, reinforcing Heinz’s long-standing positioning that when fries are on the table, it has to be Heinz.
Adidas x Oasis
adidas’ “Original Forever,” created by Johannes Leonardo, won the Entertainment Grand Prix at Cannes Lions for turning Oasis’ long-awaited reunion into a global cultural and commercial moment rooted in Britpop nostalgia. Building on Adidas’ historic association with the band, the campaign activated stadium pop-ups and official tour merchandise stands, effectively making the brand part of the live experience as fans flocked to the Gallagher brothers’ return. A nostalgia-driven film set to Oasis’ “Live Forever” further connected the band’s 1990s legacy with today’s audience, helping position Adidas as the unofficial uniform of the tour and driving sales peaks of one item per second while reaching stadiums across 41 shows worldwide.
Apple TV Gets a Rebrand AND An Award
TBWA\Media Arts Lab’s rebrand of Apple TV won the Design Grand Prix at Cannes Lions for transforming the streaming platform’s identity into a luminous, cinematic system centered on a glass-rendered version of its iconic logo. Filmed in-camera and set to an original score by Finneas O’Connell, the work used light, motion, and color to signal a new creative era for Apple TV while elevating its visual identity into a more emotional, tactile experience.
Apple also picked up additional recognition in the same category, including a Silver Lion for its holiday “Shot on iPhone” film A Critter Carol and further Silver wins across Entertainment categories, bringing its total Silver tally to four and underscoring the brand’s continued strength in craft-driven storytelling.
Hyundai Coquí Alarmed
Hyundai de Puerto Rico’s “Coquí Alarmed,” created by BBDO Puerto Rico Inc., won the Audio & Radio Grand Prix at Cannes Lions for transforming a small cultural insight into a playful brand experience rooted in local identity. The campaign replaced the standard Hyundai rental car lock-and-unlock sound in Puerto Rico with the call of the native coquí tree frog, responding to a viral Reddit, Inc. complaint about the island’s famously loud amphibians.
By turning a moment of irritation into a culturally resonant audio signature, the work reframed the coquí as a source of pride while showcasing how sound design can meaningfully connect brands to place and community.
