Shortlists, Insights, Lions: This was the Cannes Lions Festival 2025

Cannes Lions - the m&k aftermovie with wanderlust guaranteed

No recap, no best-of. This aftermovie condenses six days of Cannes into one feeling. For everyone who wasn't there - and for those who like to remember.

Creative power in a double pack: Dennis May and Rob Hartmann in a Croisette talk

Dennis May (Leo EMEA/Publicis DACH) and Rob Hartmann (Publicis Zurich) met m&k on the Snapchat terrace at the Marriot - with a view of palm trees, the Croisette and socially explosive cases. In the video talk, they talk about Cannes as a motivational booster, creative standards and the art of balancing client obligations and jury dreams. Take a look now.

 

From IAA Beach: Mark Strolz on B2B communication in transition

At the IAA Swiss Leaders Dinner in Cannes, Mark Strolz, Senior VP Digital Sales and Marketing at Kuehne + Nagel, spoke to m&k about his Cannes insights, the value of IAA membership and the new emotionality in B2B brand management. Click here for the multimedia article with video interview.

Mark Stolz during the talk with Anna Kohler (Pictures and video: Beat Hürlimann)

Friday, June 20

«Pushing Boundaries, Not Just Putting Up With Them»: On Big Ideas and Creative Courage

In the basement of the palace, he met m&k We sat down for a conversation with Philipp Skrabal, the current «Advertiser of the Year.» The CCO of Team Farner spoke about his 30 years of experience at Cannes, new categories, cultural pitfalls—and why the big idea is more important than ever. Click here to read the article.

Update, 11:30 a.m.: 

Team Switzerland did a fantastic job at this year's Young Lions Competition—they even made the shortlist in the Cyber category. Congratulations to Josephine Jeanguenin and Patricia Schneider! Click here to read the article.

«Back to True Love»

On the sidelines of the Swiss BBQ, we spoke with Christian Kies about his return to his «great love,» Switzerland, and thus to Jung von Matt. Find out more here.

Thursday, June 19

Dentsu Announces New Creative Director for Central Europe

During the Cannes Lions Festival, Dentsu confirmed the new leadership structure for its creative division in Central Europe. Effective immediately, Krzysztof Mocek—previously Creative Practice Lead and CEO of Creative CEE, as well as Chief Growth Officer for CEE—will assume overall leadership of the creative business in the merged markets of the former DACH and CEE regions. Mocek will also remain Chief Growth Officer for Poland.

The newly created role is part of the group-wide «Innovating to Impact» strategy, which focuses on AI-powered solutions, closer market integration, and greater creative collaboration. Going forward, the Central European creative division will work more closely with media and CXM teams across departments. Operational implementation will be led by Sławomir Stępniewski, CEO of Central Europe.

Insights from David Droga: On Creativity and Letting Go of Control

At the Lumière Theater on Thursday morning, David Droga, CEO of Accenture Song, spoke about creative responsibility in a changing industry. Creativity should not be comfortable, Droga said: It must be bold, surprising, and, at its best, «even dangerous.».

He urged the audience to think backwards—that is, to start with the desired effect rather than the briefing. Only then can the necessary creative freedom emerge. Polarization isn’t a flaw, but rather an indicator of relevance, and it’s allowed to happen: «We’ve often been both the best and the worst campaign at the same time. I like that. It shows that it made an impact.»

Droga also sees AI as an opportunity for the creative industry—«if not us, then who?» What drives him? A simple principle he learned from his mother: «Care. Look out for others. You don’t have to have a college degree to care about people.»

What are the Junior Lions up to these days?

We haven't heard much from this year's Young Lions competitors yet. But then again, they're the ones who have their hands full during Cannes Week and have to put together a pitch in just 24 hours.

On Wednesday evening, we received a message from two young participants: Jenna Davis and Alex Gubler had just finished their pitch for the Print category a few hours earlier: «After a few intense and sleepless 24 hours, we did it! We’ve submitted our idea, and we’re happy and tired. We’re looking forward to seeing what the other teams have come up with!»

Whether Switzerland will win a Cannes Lion after all this year depends on the young talent. In any case, we're keeping our fingers crossed for everyone at tomorrow's awards show!

Wednesday, June 18

Update, 9:30 pm:

In Switzerland, there was no lion's roar this year - it wasn't enough for precious metal. There was no Swiss work on the final shortlist in the Sustainable Development Goals category, and Sir Mary also missed out with her work Steal Marina's artwork ultimately came away empty-handed. Nevertheless, the campaign was one of the 141 nominees in the PR category out of a total of 1537 cases submitted. All in all, however, it was still a sobering Cannes year from a local perspective, especially as more Swiss work was submitted this year.

Critical insight from Philipp Skrabal

Observing the industry digitally has long been routine for him. But attending the festival in person, says Philipp Skrabal, "opens up the sensors in a way that no case film can". Between networking, screenings and discussions, Skrabal reflects critically on the festival in the speed talk - but by no means resignedly. Find out more here.

Insights from Paul-Kemp Robertson, Chief Content Officer Lions

What remains when Cannes falls silent? Perhaps a red sofa that symbolizes what machines cannot (yet) do: recognize the moment. Paul Kemp-Robertson, Chief Content Officer of the Lions, spoke to Anna Kohler and Beat Hürlimann from m&k in a speed interview about the festival's new self-image, the role of AI and the "How to Win in 2030" format. This way to the article.

Update, 12:00 pm:

Half time! Before we find out whether Sir Mary has been awarded a Lion, the traditional Swiss BBQ by Weischer.Cinema takes place at lunchtime. As every year, Switzerland's creative minds, advertising clients and young creatives came together at O'Key Beach. Weischer.Cinema CEO Christof Kaufmann gave a short but sweet speech. Over burgers, rosé and glorious weather, we chatted, laughed and exchanged ideas.

Tuesday, June 17

Update, 9:30 pm:

The lions in the "Film Craft" category have been distributed, and unfortunately none of them were for On. Tomorrow will show whether Switzerland will win an award after all: Sir Mary can hope to win in the "PR" category!

The IAA Swiss Leaders Dinner also took place for the first time on Tuesday evening. There were a few raindrops at the start, but afterwards the weather showed its best side, as did the hosts and guests. The Cannes Lionsm&k-team captured a few moments at O'key Beach and asked host and IAA President Matthias Kiess how the idea for the dinner came about and what goal he and the association are pursuing with it.

Update, 5 p.m.: The "Advertiser of the Year" 2025 is here!

On Tuesday afternoon, the recently crowned "Advertiser of the Year" 2025 will also be at the Croisette. Before we meet him on the hip terrace next to the Palais, he listens to the session "Defying Gravity: Reimagining Brand Narratives" moderated by VML CEO Jon Cook with VML CCO Debbi Vandeven, Electric Company Director Jon M Chu and actor, comedian and author Bowen Yang in the Debussy Theatre. The topic was the continuous development of brand stories.

Skrabal then photographs two award-winning works in the basement of the Palais to visualize the theme. "Impressive examples that would not be possible without continuity in the brand narrative," the Farner CCO is convinced. The "Phone Break" campaign for KitKat, for example, with which VML Prague won the Grand Prix in the "Outdoor" category - and thus the first ever Grand Prix for the Czech Republic. The campaign recreates a familiar image from everyday life - people on their cell phones. However, the phones were replaced with KitKats, which also pays tribute to the iconic phrase "Have a break, have a KitKat".

Skrabal cites this year's outdoor activation from Heinz as another example. The self-confident continuation of the "It Has to Be" campaign completely dispenses with the logo and brand name on the posters and instead shows classic Heinz products with their most popular counterparts - such as toast with baked beans or chips with ketchup. It remains a recognizable message, for which Wieden and Kenneedy London was awarded a Gold Lion in the "Outdoor" category.

When asked about other first impressions after twelve years of "festival abstinence", the Farner CCO says: "You can't see the sand at the Plage because of all the sponsors... except at the Plage Publique - but there's no rosé there!"

The reigning "Advertiser of the Year" then went to the Weischer Executive Dinner at Le Caveau 30. "I am happy and grateful that Weischer.Cinema let me be part of this experience," says Skrabal. He traveled to the festival at the invitation of Weischer.Cinema Switzerland. Together with Christof Kaufmann, CEO of Weischer.Cinema Switzerland, and Eveline Kneubühl, Director of Operations and member of the Executive Board, he enjoyed the dinner organized by the parent company in Germany.

Insights from Moritz Bartsch, Head of Creative Ops TikTok

On the terrace of the Carlton Hotel, TikTok demonstrated its own transformation from a viral entertainment platform to a strategic advertising partner. At the heart of its development are AI-supported tools, strong creator collaborations and a clear commitment to marketing as a business.

In the subsequent video interview with m&k Head of Creative Ops Moritz Bartsch takes an in-depth look at the tools that are intended to contribute to the democratization of high-quality creative. Find out more here.

Insights from Pedro Pina, Vice President YouTube

At the YouTube Breakfast at Cannes Lions, Vice President Pedro Pina spoke to m&k about the role of creator content in brand communication, the new "Open Call" program and the vision for the next 20 years. Click here for the article with video interview.

Update, 9am:

Day two of the 72nd International Festival of Creativity. In the early morning, the Croisette still belongs to the locals. m&kEditor-in-chief Anna Kohler makes her way along the beach to the Palais to take a look at the new shortlists. Unfortunately, there is no other Swiss work on today's list. Next stop: YouTube and TikTok!

Monday, June 16

Update, 10pm:

The first day of the festival is (almost) over. 130 guests from 27 countries came together at RTL Beach for the United Nations Dinner of the International Advertising Association IAA to eat, network and celebrate creativity together.

In the picture: the table of the Swiss delegation with Chantal Landis, Managing Director of IAA Switzerland, Silvana Imperiali, Managing Director Biggie DACH & CZ, Marc Strolz, SVP Digital Sales and Marketing at Kuehne+Nagel, Juan Baron, Head of Global Accounts Decentriq, Chiara Rusch, Head of International Sales at Ringier Advertising, m&kEditor-in-chief Anna Kohler, Matthias Kiess, TBWA\Zurich CEO and President of the IAA Swiss Chapter, and Marco De Angeli, Communication Manager at Kuehne+Nagel (from left to right).

Insights from Dentsu Lab EMEA

Head of Strategy Ashley Knight and Florian Root, Business Director EMEA, give an insight into the m&k-The Dentsu Lab, the innovation incubator in the Dentsu network, provides insights into the mindset and working methods of Dentsu Lab. Their goal: to create solutions that combine human needs with business values.

The conversation will discuss creative research and development between product design and brand strategy as well as the gap between R&D and marketing. Also discussed will be why true innovation needs more than trend reaction and how hybrid teams and rapid prototypes lead to more relevant results.

Insights from Jason Oke, Global Client President Dentsu

How do you combine artificial intelligence with human intuition - and what does that mean for brands like Adobe? Jason Oke, Global Client President at Dentsu, talks about the power of real relationships, creative opportunities in change and the tension between technology and talent in a speed interview at Dentsu Beach.

The discussion focused on the importance of creative excellence today, the relevance of personal contacts in an increasingly digital working world, the changes in the industry and the skills that will be important in the future. For m&k-editor Beat Hürlimann, it was an inspiring exchange about marketing, the courage to change and the future of the creative industries.

Insights from Vicki Maguire, CCO Havas London

Creatives in action: Havas London CCO Vicki Maguire discussed in the forum with Maisie McCabe from Haymarket Media Group, Xanthe Wells from Pinterest and Manie Fadel from Grey Brazil. In the subsequent speed interview with m&k she again addressed the issue of remuneration for creative services, which she had raised in the panel discussion.

Update, 5pm:

As part of this year's festival, business cards are circulating for an ominous hotline at the Croisette. To all our readers who will also be there: You can call +44 1880 280085 to place your "CannesFessions" - anonymity guaranteed. Find out more here.

Update, 9am:

The shortlists for the "Creative B2B" and "Creative Data" categories were announced on Monday morning - although there are no other Swiss works on the list. But not all categories are through yet.

Sunday, June 15

2 shortlist places for Switzerland

This year we start the Cannes Lions week with two shortlist nominations:

• In the Film Craft" category may On are eagerly awaiting a lion. The Zurich-based shoe manufacturer is shortlisted for the Short film series "Dream Together", realized by Smuggler Los Angeles.

• In the PR" category receives Sir Mary a chance to win an award. The agency had Launched an integrated activation campaign for the Kunsthauswho called for the art of Marina Abramović to be copied.