WPP Wins Cannes Lions Creative Company of the Year 2024
WPP triumphs again, securing the Creative Company of the Year title at Cannes Lions 2025! The advertising powerhouse demonstrated its global creative prowess, with its agencies amassing 168 Lions, including multiple Grand Prix awards. as the primarykeyword champion, WPP’s victory showcases its innovative campaigns, embracing AI adn media division strategies. This win marks CEO Mark Read‘s final Cannes Lions in his current role, adding a special touch to the achievement. Secondarykeyword: Cannes Lions highlights the importance of authentic creativity in a tech-driven world. For a deeper dive into the advertising industry, see News Directory 3. Facing industry shifts,WPP remains at the forefront. Discover what’s next for WPP.
WPP Named Creative Company of the Year at Cannes Lions Again
Updated June 21, 2025
For the second consecutive year, WPP has been recognized as the Creative Company of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The annual award considers points earned by a holding company’s agencies for shortlisted and winning entries.
WPP agencies collectively secured 168 Lions, including 10 Grand Prix, one Titanium Lion, 23 Gold, 53 Silver, and 81 Bronze. This recognition comes as WPP increases its emphasis on its media division and artificial intelligence tools amid recent fluctuations in share price.
Mark Read, WPP’s CEO, attended what will be his final Cannes Lions in his current role, as he is set to step down in December.
Read acknowledged the win, stating, “Our success at cannes Lions is a tribute to the remarkable talent and passion of our people worldwide, and to the clients who entrust us wiht their brands.” He added that celebrating the achievement at his last Cannes as CEO made it “doubly special.”
WPP’s Global Creative Showing
Among WPP’s top campaigns were Ogilvy’s “Make Love Last” for Viatris, which secured the Grand Prix in Pharma. ogilvy also won a Titanium Lion and two Grand Prix for Unilever’s “Vaseline verified” campaign (Social & Creator, Health & Wellness).
DAVID‘s “haaland Payback Time” for Supercell earned a Grand Prix in Entertainment Lion for Sport. VML‘s “Preserved Promos” for Ziploc won the Grand Prix in Creative Commerce. mindshare and Dove’s “Real Beauty Redefined for the AI Era” won the Grand Prix for Media, and AKQA’s “Sounds Right” for UN Live and Spotify secured the Innovation grand Prix. VML and OpenMind’s “Phone Break” for KitKat won the first Grand Prix for the Czech Republic in Outdoor.
Ogilvy U.K.also contributed to Dove’s success with another Grand Prix for its “Real Beauty: Self-Esteem Project,” which won the Glass Lion for Change.
Rob Reilly, WPP’s global chief creative officer, noted the importance of authentic human creativity in an AI-driven world. He said that this year’s winners from WPP agencies showcased how they are using innovation and technology to amplify creativity.
The award caps off a challenging first half of the year for the U.K.-based advertising network. WPP started the year by losing its position as the world’s largest ad network by revenue to Publicis Groupe. An unpopular return-to-office policy also led to significant internal protest, followed by layoffs at Group M, which was subsequently renamed WPP Media.
the search for read’s successor is underway, with industry sources suggesting both internal and external candidates.
In other Cannes Lions categories, DDB, part of Omnicom, was named Network of the Year, and Publicis Conseil was named Agency of the year. OMD worldwide won Media Network of the Year.
What’s next
WPP will likely continue its focus on integrating AI and strengthening its media division as it navigates the transition to a new CEO. The company aims to maintain its creative edge and market position amid industry changes.