VML Grands and Glory at Cannes 2025

VML reaffirmed its position as a global creative powerhouse at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, delivering a bold, human-first approach to brand storytelling that resonated across categories and continents.

The network was recognized as one of the top four most awarded agencies this year, earning 63 Lions - six more than 2024 - including two Grands Prix, seven Gold, 22 Silver, and 32 Bronze, alongside 169 shortlists. VML’s work was celebrated across 21 of the 30 Lions categories.

This year’s wins honored 34 ideas for 29 client brands, developed across 20 offices around the world. From emotionally rich storytelling to digitally driven experiences, the work shared a common thread: an innovative perspective rooted in deep insights.

Looking at our Cannes Lions performance this year, it's clear that our commitment to human-first creativity is truly shining through at VML. What we strive for are ideas that resonate deeply with people — connecting on an emotional level, understanding cultural nuances, and serving a genuine purpose. These awards are a reflection of the extraordinary collaboration that happens across our global teams and the trust of our client partners. It's more than just winning; it's about the shared journey of crafting meaningful experiences that move people and drive real impact.

Debbi Vandeven

Global Chief Creative Officer at VML.

This recognition at Cannes Lions underscores VML’s commitment to building connected brands that not only drive growth but place humanity at the center of every idea.

VML also celebrates WPP’s recognition as "Creative Company of the Year" at Cannes and our client partner AXA being named "Brand of the Year."

Dive deeper into our creative achievements by exploring each piece of winning work below, and click on the accordion sections for updates from each day of the festival as they happened in real-time.

Daily Updates

VML had a fantastic start to the week with a successful Monday, June 16, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, securing 15 Lions!

Leading the charge was "KitKat Phone Break" by VML Prague, which secured a Grand Prix in the Outdoor category, alongside a Silver Lion in Print & Publishing. We’re proud to bring home Czechia’s first-ever Grand Prix award!

Gold wins include a Health & Wellness Lion for "Group Therapy" by VML Paris and an Audio & Radio Lion for "NAME THIS OREO" by VML New York.

Silver wins also include Print & Publishing Lions for "The Shakespeare BIC" by VML Sao Paulo and "Not every Smile starts as a Smile" by VML Paris, an Audio & Radio Lion for "NAME THIS OREO" by VML New York, and Outdoor Lions for "Balikbayan Magic: Philippine Oriental Food Market" by VML Toronto and "The Philharmonic Prints" by Schloz & Friends, Berlin.

Additionally, we achieved multiple Bronze awards across various categories including Pharma Lions for "Don't Stop Motion" by VML Santiago and "PainVisible" by VML Madrid, New York; Health & Wellness Lions for "The Shaded Route" by VML Riyadh and "This is not a game" by VML Mexico City; and Outdoor Lions for "Coca-Cola Classic" by VML, New York, Sao Paulo, Kansas City & Paris and "The Shaded Route" by VML Riyadh.

Building on our strong start, Tuesday brought even greater triumphs for VML at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Leading the charge with a Gold win was “The Hidden Eye Test” by VML Sydney in the Industry Craft category.

Silver awards included Entertainment Lions for Music for “Tennessee Sound Sites” by VML Kansas City and “The Girl Who Played the Tutari” by VML Mumbai, Industry Craft for “The Philharmonic Prints” by Scholz & Friends Berlin, Design for “The Shakespeare BIC” by VML São Paulo, and Digital Craft Lion for “The Shaded Route” by VML Riyadh.

Bronze winners included Industry Craft for “Coca-Cola Classic” by VML New York, São Paulo, Kansas City & Paris, “The Shakespeare BIC” by VML São Paulo, and “Tennessee Sound Sites” by VML Kansas City. In Entertainment, “Group Therapy” by VML Paris earned Bronze, as did “Bad Luck Reverser” by VML New York in Entertainment Lions for Sport.

VML continued our winning streak on Wednesday at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

We secured three Gold Lions: “Preserved Promos” by VML New York in Direct, “The Rewards Bag” by VML Montevideo in Media, and “Navy Subreddit Hunt” by VML Dallas in Social & Creator.

Silver wins included “Health Tracker” by VML Buenos Aires in Creative Data, “Wendy’s Frosty Fix” by VML Kansas City, and “Preserved Promos” by VML New York in Direct. Additional Silvers were awarded to “Kleenex Score” by VML New York, “Subreddit Hunt” by VML Dallas, “Preserved Promos” by VML New York, “Thanks for Coke-Creating” by VML New York, Kansas City, São Paulo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Sydney, and “Legacy Lager” by VML Sydney in Media. Two more Silvers were awarded to “Name This OREO” by VML New York in Social & Creator.

Our Bronze Lions celebrated a wide range of creativity, including “Preserved Promos” by VML New York in Creative B2B, “The Social Feed” by VML Dubai in Creative Data, “Dancing Washers” by VML Mexico City, “SupportBelt” by VML Detroit, “Name This OREO” by VML New York, “Preserved Promos” by VML New York, “Safe at 3AM” by VML Dubai in Direct, “Timeout Against Hate” by VML New York in Media, and “Undeleted” by VML Buenos Aires in Social & Creator.

Thursday was another remarkable day for VML at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, highlighted by a distinguished Grand Prix win.

The Grand Prix was awarded to “Preserved Promos” by VML New York. Additionally, we earned a Silver Lion for “The Social Feed” by VML Dubai in the Creative Commerce category.

Our Bronze wins showcased a range of impactful campaigns, including “SupportBelt” by VML Detroit, “The Social Feed” by VML Dubai, “Bad Luck Reverser” by VML New York, and “Thanks for Coke-Creating” by VML New York, Kansas City, São Paulo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, and Sydney in Brand Experience & Activation. Other Bronze awards went to “Emoji Coke,” “Kleenex Score,” and “Bad Luck Reverser” by VML New York in Creative Commerce. Additional recognition included “The Hidden Eye Test” by VML Sydney and “Waiting to Live” by VML London in Creative Strategy, as well as “Painvisible” by VML Madrid/New York and “Living Fabric” by VML Bogota in Innovation.

As the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity comes to a close, we’re proud to share more incredible achievements from our teams and client partners.

We’re delighted to announce that “Group Therapy” by VML Paris has earned a Gold Lion, and “Irmela vs. Nazis” by Scholz & Friends received a Bronze Lion, both in the Film category.

Thank you for joining us on this journey at Cannes Lions. We’re deeply honored by the recognition and grateful to our client partners for their trust and collaboration in bringing these ideas to life.

VML's full list of winning work:

"Preserved Promos" by VML New York for Ziploc

Grand Prix in Creative Commerce
Gold in Direct
Silver in Direct
Silver in Media
Bronze in Creative B2B
Bronze in Direct

"Phone Break" by VML Czechia for KitKat

Grand Prix in Outdoor
Silver in Print & Publishing

"Group Therapy" by VML Paris for AXA

Gold in Film
Gold in Health & Wellness
Bronze in Entertainment

"Name this OREO" by VML New York for Mondelez / OREO

Gold in Audio & Radio
Silver in Audio & Radio
Silver in Social & Creator: Creator Collaboration
Silver in Social & Creator: Social Listening & Insight
Bronze in Direct

"SubReddit Hunt" by VML Dallas for the U.S. Navy

Gold in Social & Creator
Silver in Media

"The Hidden Eye Test" by VML Sydney for 1001 Optometry

Gold in Industry Craft
Bronze in Creative Strategy

"The Rewards Bag" by VML Montevideo for TA-TA

Gold in Media

"The Shakespeare's BIC" by VML São Paulo for BIC

Silver in Design
Silver in Print & Publishing
Bronze in Industry Craft

"The Philharmonic Prints" by Scholz & Friends (a VML company) for Berliner Philharmonie

Silver in Industry Craft
Silver in Outdoor

"The Shaded Route" by VML Riyadh for HungerStation

Silver in Digital Craft
Bronze in Health & Wellness
Bronze in Outdoor

"The Social Feed" by VML Dubai for HungerStation

Silver in Creative Commerce
Bronze in Brand Experience & Activation
Bronze in Creative Data

"Kleenex Score" by VML New York for Kleenex

Silver in Media
Bronze in Creative Commerce

"Sound Sites" by VML Kansas City for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development

Silver in Entertainment Lions for Music
Bronze in Industry Craft

"Thanks for Coke-Creating" by VML New York, Kansas City, São Paulo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Sydney for The Coca-Cola Company

Silver in Media
Bronze in Brand Experience & Activation

"Balikbayan Magic" by VML Toronto for The Coca-Cola Company

Silver in Outdoor

"Frosty Fix" by VML Kansas City for Wendy's

Silver in Direct

"Health Tracker" by VML Buenos Aires for Elea Labs

Silver in Creative Data

"Legacy Lager" by VML Sydney for Legacy Australia

Silver in Media

"Not Every Smile Starts as a Smile" by VML Paris for Colgate

Silver in Print & Publishing

"The Girl Who Played the Tutari" by VML Mumbai for The Coca-Cola Company

Silver in Entertainment Lions for Music

"Bad Luck Reverser" by VML New York for Refisal

Bronze in Brand Experience & Activation
Bronze in Creative Commerc
Bronze in Entertainment Lions for Sport

"Coca-Cola Classic" by VML New York, São Paulo, Kansas City & Paris for The Coca-Cola Company

Bronze in Industry Craft
Bronze in Outdoor

"PainVisible" by VML Madrid & New York for Aritium

Bronze in Innovation
Bronze in Pharma

"SupportBelt" by VML Detroit for Ford

Bronze in Brand Experience & Activation
Bronze in Direct

"Dancing Washers" by VML Mexico City for Whirlpool

Bronze in Direct

"Don't Stop Motion" by VML Santiago for CENABAST

Bronze in Pharma

"Emoji Coke" by VML New York for The Coca-Cola Company

Bronze in Creative Commerce

"Irmela vs. Nazis" by Scholz & Friends for toom DIY market

Bronze in Film

"Living Fabric" by VML Bogota for Universidad De Los Andes & Atratus

Bronze in Innovation

"Safe at 3AM" by VML Dubai for Dubai Tourism

Bronze in Direct

"This is Not a Game" by VML Mexico City for Movistar

Bronze in Health & Wellness

"Timeout Against Hate" by VML New York for Foundation to Combat Antisemitism

Bronze in Media

"Undeleted" by VML Buenos Aires for Dove

Bronze in Social & Creator

"Waiting to Live" by VML London for NHS Blood & Transplant

Bronze in Creative Strategy

Inside the Jury Room

Alison Tilling, Chief Strategy Officer at VML AUNZ, represented Australia on this year’s Creative Strategy Lions jury. For Campaign Brief, Alison takes readers behind the scenes – sharing what set the best work apart, the joy of discovering diverse ideas from around the world, and why judging this category is hard – but exhilarating. "A highlight for me was the sheer variety of work and meeting a fantastic group of fellow jurors," said Alison.

VML "Wicked" Panel

VML assembled a creative powerhouse on stage at Cannes Lions for a blockbuster panel on storytelling with award-winning comedian and actor Bowen Yang, Wicked director Jon Chu, and VML’s Global Chief Creative Officer Debbi Vandeven in a conversation moderated by VML Global CEO Jon Cook. The panel was a fascinating dive into modernizing classic stories and how these familiar narratives can unlock extraordinary creative potential for brands.

Agentic AI Made Real

Our Cannes panel "Agentic AI Transformation Made Real" brought together leaders from VML Enterprise Solutions joined by clients, partners and colleagues for an afternoon discussion on practical stories from the front lines of AI transformation. VML is reimagining how we work and our leaders shared key insights on Agentic AI including identifying opportunities, defining the right level of autonomy, and how to embed AI directly into existing tools and workflows for clients.