Strategy is on the ground in Cannes, bringing you the latest news, wins and conference highlights all week long. Catch all the coverage here.
It helps to be direct. That’s the message both in the works honoured at the 2025 Cannes Lions and among Canadians on the ground.
After several strong years on the global stage, Canada’s creative presence at the 2025 Cannes Lions has dropped slightly. That’s not to discount the 28 Lions already collected by nine Canadian agencies, or the impressive 131 shortlist nominations from an even broader range of shops. But with just one day left in the festival, it’s difficult not to compare this year’s showing with last year’s record-setting haul of 66 Lions, which also included a Grand Prix.
The quieter energy has led to some to wonder if shrinking budgets are making it harder to produce (and enter) truly standout campaigns. But that’s not to say the Canadians here feel hopeless – quite the contrary.
This year’s edition drew 26,900 entries, a marginal bump of less than 1% above 2024. Compared with 2016, when the festival peaked with more than 43,000 submissions, there has been a steep 38% drop over the past decade. During a time when creative and marketing departments are under budgetary pressure, and with culture-war tensions shaping brand decisions, the work on display feels, at times, more cautious than cutting-edge.
Still, Canada is far from invisible. Several homegrown marketers and advertisers – including GE’s Bob Park and Rethink’s Mike Dubrick – have been tapped to join the conversation on stage this week, contributing their perspectives through panels and presentations. Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail was recognized as Cannes Lions’ top national festival representatives this year – praised for its diverse jury makeup and longstanding support of the Young Lions competition.
And today, the country added three Lions to its count: a Silver in Creative Commerce for Rethink and IKEA’s “U Up?” campaign, a Bronze in Creative Effectiveness for Rethink’s “Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch,” and one more Bronze in Brand Experience & Activation for Weber Shandwick’s “Airbnb Icons.” That brings Canada’s Lion total, as of Thursday, to 28.
Follow us each day this week as we tally the Canadian finalists and medallists (below).
Lions (28):
Outdoor: 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Health & Wellness: 1 Gold, 2 Bronze
Entertainment: 1 Silver
Entertainment Lions for Music: 1 Bronze
Entertainment Lions for Sport: 1 Silver, 2 Bronze
Film Craft: 2 Bronze
Media: 1 Gold, 4 Bronze
Direct: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Social & Creator: 1 Gold, 2 Bronze
PR: 1 Bronze
Creative Effectiveness: 1 Bronze
Brand Experience & Activation: 1 Bronze
Creative Commerce: 1 Silver
Agencies:
Rethink: 3 Gold, 4 Silver, 5 Bronze
Courage: 1 Bronze
VML: 1 Silver
Klick Health: 2 Bronze
FCB: 1 Gold, 2 Bronze
Gut Toronto: 1 Bronze
Critical Mass: 1 Bronze
Weber Shandwick: 1 Silver, 4 Bronze
Ogilvy: 2 Bronze
Shortlists (132):
Health & Wellness: 12
Print & Publishing: 2
Outdoor: 6
Entertainment: 5
Entertainment Lions for Gaming: 1
Entertainment Lions for Music: 2
Entertainment Lions for Sport: 9
Design: 1
Digital Craft: 3
Film Craft: 10
Industry Craft: 2
Direct: 13
Media: 14
PR: 9
Social & Creator: 9
Creative Business Transformation: 1
Creative Effectiveness: 3
Brand Experience & Activation: 8
Innovation: 1
Creative Commerce: 3
Sustainable Development Lions: 1
