Winners announced for Golden Award of Montreux 2026

The winners of this year’s Golden Award of Montreux have been announced.

The awards, which have traditionally ushered in advertising’s European awards season since being established in 1989, are dedicated to exceptional creative achievement and only recognise work worthy of winning Gold. 

This year’s event named BETC Paris’s CANAL+ commercial, Tango, as its Ad of the Year, the second consecutive year BETC has won the prestigious category. Directed by Pierre Dupaquier through production company We Are From LA, the 60-second spot uses the allegory of a magnetic dance to reaffirm the strength of the bond between CANAL+ and cinema. 

Above: BETC Paris's campaign for CANAL+, Tango, won Ad of the Year.

As it did in 2025, Serviceplan Group Germany won Agency of the Year. It picked up a total of five Gold medals, two of which were for its campaign for Bavarian supermarket Penny, Sheep Happens. The campaign used a real-life event which saw a herd of 50 sheep accidentally storm a Penny supermarket. The brand and its agencies then turned the unplanned chaos into marketing gold within a single day, generating over three million organic views using nothing but speed, wit and a grinning sheep as a profile picture.

Dentsu Lab in the Netherlands picked up two Gold medals for a piece of work that uses cutting-edge technology not as spectacle but as a genuine act of human restoration. The campaign, called Waves of Will powered by NTT, allows individuals with motor neuron diseases, such as ALS, to perform on stage via a digital avatar, using only their brainwaves.

Above: Penny's Sheep Happens campaign picked up two Gold medals. 

India had a strong showing at this year’s awards, picking up five Gold Medals which were shared across five separate agencies; Young & Hungry, Tree Design, Mathrubhumi, BC Web Wise and Tribes, recognising, respectively, excellence in Packaging Design, Direct Marketing, Events, Creative Use of Media and Spatial Communication. 

"Indian creativity reflects a dynamic fusion of culture and modernity that continues to inspire global admiration," said Ajay Chandwani, Managing Committee Member at Advertising Club India and one of this year’s jurors. 

The 2026 jury was composed of distinguished professionals from 17 countries, and among them were CEOs from top advertising agencies, renowned creative directors, global marketing and communications executives, media designers, and academic leaders. The Golden Award of Montreux only awards Gold prizes – with no Silver or Bronze awards – because only the best work is acknowleged, with all of the finalists rewarded with a Golden Award Certificate, crediting each creative for their personal contribution.