Unpacking the Lions: Key themes emerging from the 2025 Cannes media jury
Fresh from judging the 2025 Cannes Media Lions, Aimee Buchanan, WPP Media's local CEO, reflects on the incredible work she encountered, and highlights some key themes that jumped out from the pack.
It’s important to appreciate the sheer scale of the task.
Our journey began with over 2,000 entries from 67 countries, with each judge reviewing 600 submissions before even arriving in Cannes. Once there, our jury of nine faced a rigorous process: narrowing 277 entries to 213 on day one, then to a shortlist of 66 for awards on day two. Day three saw us refine that to 33 silver and gold, then 13 gold, culminating in the selection of the Grand Prix. It was an exhaustive, yet incredibly rewarding, deep dive into media creativity and innovation.
Our guiding principles for media excellence
Before the judging commenced, our jury connected remotely to establish a shared understanding of what truly defines award-winning media. We aligned on the following core criteria:
- Work that genuinely moves media forward.
- Campaigns demonstrating an expansive view of “media.”
- The seamless integration of technology with human ingenuity.
- Embodiment of the Cannes spirit: creativity at the heart of media.
- Clear and demonstrable impact.
- Work that authentically reflects the current moment and that represented the current proposition of media.
Our jury was made up of an amazing group of people – diverse, passionate, incredibly insightful and smart. Coming together from Ghana, Dubai, India, Argentina, Brazil, Ireland, USA, England, and myself from Australia, our conversations were rich, robust and rigorous. It was a privilege to spend such focussed time with the work, alongside individuals with such varied perspectives, passion, and experience.
2025: Navigating a shifting media landscape
Judging the Cannes Media Lions in 2025 felt particularly significant. We are at a pivotal moment, on the cusp of a new media economy where commerce is integrated into every touchpoint, where digitisation is the norm, and where AI is deeply embedded in platforms and agency operating systems.
We are all working to pull meaning out of data, to be useful signals, and where outcomes are all that matter. This reality was clearly reflected in the work we judged, and several key themes emerged.
The judging panel, on ground.
The power of local context to reflect the diversity of markets, brands and media
We observed wonderful ideas that resonated deeply due to a deep understanding of local context. A prime example was Export Ultra’s ‘Cold Call Back Service’ from New Zealand. This campaign cleverly tapped into a local truth: Kiwis often put beer in the freezer and forget it. The jury was curious – “Does that really happen?” With my Kiwi husband’s personal experience of many exploded beers, I could quickly confirm the insight! The campaign leveraged the 34-minute window before a beer might explode, inviting consumers to text “Ice Ice baby” for a Vanilla Ice callback reminder. It was beautifully executed, encouraging a direct connection with consumers, extending through media and into their in-store presence. A unique campaign that made sense by tapping into the nostalgia of Vanilla Ice in a quintessential Kiwi way.
Similarly, Heineken’s two thoughtful pieces, ‘Pub Succession’ and ‘Pub Museums,’ aimed to preserve Irish pub heritage, engaging consumers, distribution channels, and broader audiences in nuanced ways. And Heinz innovatively transformed roller doors in China into new placements, complete with recipes unique to specific areas and sampling opportunities.
Hacking and reimagining – the algorithm, the moment, the platform, the service
This theme showcased remarkable creativity in leveraging existing systems in new ways.
‘Report This Ad’ was a powerful example from Veris, a counselling service. Recognising that platform moderators are highly exposed to negative content, Veris “hacked” the algorithm. By running specific content, they knew it would be reported, ensuring their counselling service fell right into the hands of their target audience.
Budweiser, a brand synonymous with music, found a clever way to engage without incurring music rights fees by running 1-second ads. Just long enough for consumers to recognise a song, but short enough to avoid licensing costs.
The Grand Prix winner, Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Redefined for the AI Era’, was perhaps the best example of this. Dove identified a problem within the digital channel, partnering with the platform to “hack” the algorithm, addressing the problem head on. A brilliant example of impactful work, depicting the future to correct and connect in media, while staying true to the brand.
Gaming for good: Driving social and commercial growth
Gaming emerged as a significant vehicle for communication. In my view, the standout was ‘Change the Ref, The Final Exam’. This campaign directly confronted the narrative linking gaming to gun violence. They created a game that flipped the model. In the school setting, instead of being the hunter, you are the hunted, winning by hiding under desks and barricading doors. The media strategy launched this campaign by placing it at the centre. It was confronting, powerful work that challenged conventions and demands behavioural change.
Making history at Cannes Lion 2025
Super Bowl madness: Connecting with pinnacle cultural moments
As media continues to fragment, the importance of leaning into live cultural events has never been more relevant. The Super Bowl featured heavily in the campaigns we were judging. While the sheer volume of campaigns centred on The Super Bowl was overwhelming in the initial rounds of judging, the creativity within them was undeniable.
Uber Eats’ ‘Football is for Food’ was highly entertaining, pertaining a conspiracy around football being created to drive you to eat. It showcased excellent integration and through-the-line planning that surrounded the audience in the lead up to and after the event.
The campaign by Rocket extended their TV spot directly into the stadium, encouraging the live audience to sing along to their ad’s music track. A simple, human connection that enhanced the experience and linked audiences to the brand.
And one of the more entertaining campaigns I saw in the judging rounds was “Pottytunities,” for a toilet paper brand who recognised the Super Bowl as being too entertaining – too many great ads, entertainment, and game to miss – they ran a spot at a carefully calculated moment, the exact time for a bathroom break. Instead of an ad, they offered what was truly needed: a “bathroom break”.
Seamless commerce: Integrating transactions into every available moment
Though not unexpected, seeing the integration of commerce into so many campaigns was inspiring,
ITAU’s ‘Touchboard Discounts’ transformed football stadium signage, activating discounts every time the ball hit it.
Mercado Livre’s ‘Coupon Rain’ identified a brilliant new opportunity to cut through during the football finals, the confetti at the trophy ceremony. Each piece carried discrete offers, followed by shoppable ads and discount codes in all subsequent contextual communications.
A Gold winner, Tata’s ‘Rewards Bag’ was a truly ingenious idea. It tapped into the insight that people often forget shopping bags but rarely their loyalty cards. They transformed the shopping bag into a loyalty card. A single scan at entry allowed for personalised offers and valuable data capture. A simple idea, executed effectively, with impressive results and future utility.
Made media not just paid
A distinct theme this year was the move beyond traditional paid media into “made media.” From the Tata shopping bag to the ‘The Final Exam’ game, and the beer tap in Legacy Lager, it’s clear that finding new spaces for brands to connect meaningfully with consumers is a powerful way forward. Perhaps the best example at Cannes 2025 was EDF’s ‘The Flame That Wasn’t a Flame.’ This natural energy company offered the ultimate product demonstration through the Olympic flame itself. The evolution from Paid, Owned, Earned to Paid, Owned, Earned, Made, and in some instances, Sold (where brands monetise their assets) is clearly thriving. The opportunity to connect these touchpoints and leverage data into meaningful ecosystems is something we will hopefully see more of in future Cannes festivals.
Aimee Buchanan
The divergence of data beyond a single category
After much deliberation, we did not award work in the data categories. While we saw excellent work that demonstrated a deep understanding and application of data, it was often entered into other categories. The work submitted specifically to the data categories, while good, did not reach the level we had hoped for. This represents a significant opportunity for our industry to submit truly groundbreaking data-driven media in these categories next year.
Reclaiming brand purpose: Standing for something meaningful
In many campaigns, we could clearly identify the brands with strong positioning and clear ownership of a particular territory. Whether it was Budweiser’s connection to music, Coke’s understanding of consumers’ love for customisation, Corona’s association with sunsets, or Dove’s commitment to real beauty.
‘Resale Budweiser’ was an excellent campaign, claiming back old merchandise by offering those selling music merchandise $50 to promote their sale, effectively turning it into a Budweiser ad linked to music culture.
SKOL’s ‘Retro Influencers’ reclaimed their old social content, where their beer appears, through a simple mechanic of asking consumers to retag their posts and in return they are paid with beer. The older the post, the more beer they received.
My first Cannes experience: Inspiring and insightful
And that wraps up my first Cannes experience – one that was truly inspiring, thought-provoking, and above all, a powerful reminder of the wonderful industry we are a part of.
The opportunities to shape brands, define and underline culture, build businesses, and contribute to societal change are alive and well. I’m looking forward to returning home to my family, but also to dive back into the work, energised by the creativity, innovation and themes I’ve witnessed.
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