Hear them roar: Top Creative Effectiveness & Strategy Lions by consumer vote

It’s been a tumultuous few years for brands. And now, with inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, increased business demands for results and consumer expectations at an all-time high, creative effectiveness is more important than it has ever been before — all the more reason why it’s a key theme at Cannes Lions. 

In a recent report by Cannes Lions and WARC on Marketing Challenges, marketing effectiveness was cited as a major challenge by 64% of marketers, only topped by economic uncertainty (72%). 

To celebrate creativity that truly works for brands, we decided to look into two of the most acclaimed categories at Cannes Lions, linked to effectiveness: Creative Strategy and Creative Effectiveness. 

Behind any great campaign, there is a strong insight, anchored in a consumer truth that has some relevance to the brand. The Creative Strategy Lion celebrates this “idea behind the idea” or campaign strategies that use powerful insight to address a brand challenge, leading to impactful outcomes for the brand (judging criteria is composed of 30% interpretation of business/brand challenge; 30% insight/breakthrough thinking; 20% creative idea and 20% outcome and results.) 

The Creative Effectiveness Lion focuses on the measurable impact of creative work, while still taking into account the idea and strategy (judging criteria is composed of 25% idea; 25% strategy; 50% impact and results). Many of the prior year’s Creative Effectiveness winners also won in Creative Strategy. 

Read on to learn more about the two grand prix winners for these categories.

Creative content is the biggest profitability lever marketers can influence. In his 2023 research, Paul Dyson has shown that creative content can multiply your profits up to 12 times! Cannes is all about celebrating the power of creative and a lot of great creative work has been shortlisted across the two categories we focused on. 

So what do most of them have in common? The power of creative distinctiveness harnessed for the brand. 

Our research uncovered a pattern across many of these great ads: They were all seen as being particularly distinctive (scoring significantly above the norm on ad distinctiveness), enabling them to grab attention, stand out and be memorable. 

This distinctiveness was harnessed for the brand — resulting in strong brand recall and making people feel positive towards the brands (brand appeal). Creativity is always uplifting, but the real step change for brands comes only when it’s harnessed for the brand. This is where the creative strategy and creative effectiveness winners really stand out. 

So how does Cannes categorize success within these winning categories? Here's a simple breakdown:

Creative Strategy

This category celebrates the thinking that powers big ideas. It’s all about how smart, strategic planning can reshape a brand, reimagine a business or influence consumer behavior and culture. It often highlights the behind-the-scenes work of strategists and gives credit to the strategic thinking that helps transform how a brand shows up in the world.

Creative Effectiveness

Part of the Strategy track, this category is all about results. It recognizes creative work that not only looked good, but actually worked — delivering on business goals, improving customer outcomes and driving long-term impact. To win here, entries need to show that a strong, creative strategy led to real-world success.

Now let’s have a look at the two grand prix winners from each of these categories.

🦁 Grand Prix winner for Creative Strategy

This year’s top honor in Creative Strategy went to Dove for its long-running “Real Beauty” campaign. 

First launched in 2004, the campaign set out to challenge traditional beauty standards and empower women to define beauty on their own terms. Over the past two decades, it has evolved into the foundation of Dove’s brand and business strategy, shaping everything from product development to global messaging.

The impact? Massive. Dove’s Self-Esteem Project has reached more than 94 million girls. The brand now plays a role in 60% of all beauty and personal care purchases, up from just 5% when it was primarily seen as a soap brand. Today, Dove is used by 37% of the global population. Since its launch, “Real Beauty” has driven around $28 billion in incremental revenue and boosted brand value by over 350% since 2009. What started as a bar of soap is now a $7.5 billion brand spanning seven product categories — all anchored by a strategy that champions women.

For a deeper dive into what this campaign did well and what consumers had to say, check out our article here.  

🦁 Grand Prix winner for Creative Effectiveness

Apple took home this year’s Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix for its “Shot on iPhone” campaign — an idea that’s been evolving since 2015, starting with the “World Gallery.” 

Instead of leaning on tech specs like megapixels and lens quality, Apple flipped the script and simply showed what the iPhone could do. Real photos, shot by real people, became the centerpiece, building emotional connection, brand love and purchase consideration around the globe.

Ten years later, it’s Apple’s most enduring and effective campaign, helping turn the iPhone into the world’s best-selling smartphone. 

The numbers tell the story: Over 20 billion out-of-home impressions, 14 billion campaign views and more than 265 million engagements on social alone. In 2025, the campaign drove over 40 million visits to the iPhone product page and contributed to a 5-point increase in market share since 2015 (Source: Canalys). All that impact, and now, a Cannes Lions Grand Prix to match.

For a deeper dive into what this campaign did well and what consumers had to say, check out our article here.  

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: The process of making a great ad is a balancing act of art and science. Both are equally as important when making a winning ad campaign — one that is creatively effective. And starting with a real insight relevant to the brand is a huge unlock.

These campaigns were successful because they started with an insight and then focused on harnessing the power of creative distinctiveness to grab the attention of consumers and become memorable.

We’d like to congratulate each of them on their wins as well as the many other brands who were entered into this year’s Cannes Lions! 

If you’d like to learn more about how to make effective creative, learn how Zappi Amplify can help.