Cannes Lions 2026: Entertainment, Sport, Music, and Gaming winners

ENTERTAINMENT LIONS

Head judge in the Entertainment Lions category, Chris Beresford-Hill, reported the category was “satisfying to judge” and that “the quality of the ideas was very apparent.” With Entertainment being now “being an amorphous category” that crosses into many other categories, the jurors found that the work they responded to had a meaningful clear role for the brand, and that it never felt like it was just marketing tick boxes or there were gratuitous close ups of logos or products. "It was always about the brand having a role in a piece of content and giving genuine entertainment value. You don’t want traditional advertising masquerading as entertainment, you want the brand to mean it.” 

He went on to add that the jury wished they could award four Grands Prix, as there were such strong contenders. “We found once the role of the brand was established, there was the courage to see the idea through. The Grand Prix winning work, Adidas and Oasis' Original Forever, was so flawless in execution, we wanted this to be the example for which every brand should strive for."

The jury awarded three Gold Lions to; Who's Waiting For You for Cerveza Victoria by Wieden + Kennedy, with production by The Youth and post production by Colossal; The Tiger for Gucci by MJZ, and Everybody Coinbase for Coinbase by Isle of Any, with production by Daisy Chain Studios and post production from Wave Studios. 

To see the full list of winners and shortlisted work, visit the Cannes Lions site.

ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR GAMING

Head judge of the Gaming jury, Lolly Thompson, Joint Global CCO M+C Saatchi Group, said “Entertainment Lions for Gaming is the most dynamic category as it’s as limitless as the many worlds it creates, and it think it is where brands and culture can really meet. And if you think about culture in gaming, that is actually the people who play the games. It’s truly immersive and to get it right, that is true alchemy, and that’s what we saw with this work."

“One of the criteria was authenticity, did it actually represent the audience? Was it a brand fit? We got down to 20 from the shortlist, which was hard. The breadth of the category and the breath of the ideas, everything was so different. After much debated we had only got the shortlist down to 19! It was a long process."

He pointed out how crucial it was for campaigns to get the language and culture right, that belonging really matters in this space. “Gaming isn’t a media channel, it is a culture fuelled by players… the most literate audience on the planet, they know their gamers , they know when someone comes in and isn’t talking their language.”

The discussion over the Grand Prix Winner, Clash Royale, was largely about what the work achieved. “They could have addressed the problem the legal way and go through the heavy machinery of IP lawyers, but these guys went ‘nope’ and flipped it on its head and just said look ‘we know you are playing these games, it’s fine we see you, but just come home. And I think that is really nice and virtuous. It’s something that only an original can do. And it really established Clash Royale as the original game.”

Pocket-sized Halftime Show for Clash Royale by Uncommon Creative Studio, with production by Gizmo, won a Gold award. 

To see the full list of winners and shortlisted work, visit the Cannes Lions site.

ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR MUSIC

Head of the Entertainment Lions for Music jury, Matt Murphy, Global CCO 72andSunny Worldwide, said they had 200 plus entries – which they whittled down to a shortlist of 34 – and were grateful to have the opportunity this year to award a second Grand Prix if necessary for the music category.

“The music video category was very strong, we saw a powerful rise of craft, a whole range of ways of storytelling, a scale of emotional reactions from ‘emo’ to ‘oh my God that’s bonkers’. Some were so bonkers we cant even talk about them anymore.”

The first Grand Prix went to Rosalia ft. Bjork and Yves Tumor for Berghain. “The first time I watched it I just wrote down ‘Wow’. It absolutely floored me. It’s story of heartache, but also it has just so such freedom. It’s fantasy but it is also rooted in reality. It represents the freedom to unleash, to emerge as something other than yourself.” He noted they also appreciated how “the video was all shot practically. AI is not the enemy, but we loved the decision to shoot practically. It shows the vision of the craft, it shows the standard of the motion choreography. It was such a powerful piece."

The second Grand Prix was awarded for Original Forever, adidas and Oasis. “What we were looking for was a breakthrough collaboration between a musical artist and culture. And what I mean by culture is it could be a brand, or an experience or have a piece of content goes into the world, but the key to it was how the music was driving the storytelling. The artist should benefit the brand as much as the brand benefits the artist. It should be a symbiotic relationship. Also it had to be in service of the audience, the audience should be benefited the most. “

Adidas and Oasis' relationship is not new. They adopted the brand, there is nostalgia at play, but what we loved about this was that it brought in a whole new generation of fans, as a friend that is a hard thing to do. Adidas became a sort of partner on the tour it was more than a sponsorship. The fans were just wearing it. It felt kind of easy, some times doing something so obvious it’s hard, this was so obvious but it worked. We applauded them for their fearless commitment to the idea."

Two Golds were awarded for this category, including; Apple's I'm Not Remarkable, created by Apple with production by Somesuch and post production by Wave Studios and Trim Editing; and Beat Off Cancer for Fuck Cancer, created by VML with production by Dirty Work and Jamute. 

To see the full list of winners and shortlisted work, visit the Cannes Lions site.

ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT

Head Judge Shannon Washinton, CCO and Managing Partner, 11 Ounces Worldwide, opened by praising the jury, saying she was "so pleased it didn’t just represent agency people, but a breadth of players in the vast ecosystem of sport. People who represented clubs, teams, business leader creative leaders. I’m really happy also that we represented Venezuela for the first time at Cannes Lions, and on a very personal level, it was good to see a woman representing cricket on the jury. It’s a big deal, as the culture of cricket is very male." 

The Grand Prix winning idea, the The Thousand Sponsors of Muni, Club Deportivo Municipal, speaks to the idea of how money shows up in the sport. "We love a winner in sport, but winning is just a moment. It’s also important to remember all the hard work the goes in around the endeavour. This campaign showed how a small club shifted the power over to the fans. It was a reminder of what fandom means. Fans remember about the times when things weren’t going well." 

“One reason we loved it is it moved beyond just the jersey. It really highlighted how money is distributed in sport. This campaign says to [small business supporters], 'you get to have your logo on this kit, you become a partner, your fandom signals to other fans they should support your business'. The passion became a collective action and boosted the local economy." The jury was also impressed by the design of the kit itself; “it’s a cool looking kit."

“It sets a precedent for how teams and clubs can behave moving forward. Often most of the money goes to the athletes but this widens it out to marketing, to fans."