ADC Switzerland Awards: Grand Prix for thjnk Zurich

ADC Switzerland Awards See Record Participation in Its Anniversary Year

The year 2026 holds special significance for ADC Switzerland: Switzerland’s most prestigious creative competition is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In this anniversary year, agencies and creatives submitted 336 entries—about 50 more than the previous year. The 32-member jury met over two consecutive days and awarded a total of 43 bronze, 26 silver, and 10 gold cubes, as well as a Student of the Year, an Evergreen, and a Grand Prix. Those honored at the 2026 ADC Switzerland Awards will thus be making an even bigger mark on history than in previous years.

On the first day, the jury selected 62 entries as worthy of bronze, allowing them to advance to the Gold Jury. The following day, in a session lasting more than twelve hours, the Gold Jury decided on the silver and gold awards. The expert jury was joined by two guest jurors: Victoria Rispy, Head of Marketing at «20 Minuten,» and Laura Meyer, manager and former CEO of the Hotelplan Group.

Grand Prix for «Ortsschilder» by thjnk Zurich for Migros

The highlight of the evening was the Grand Prix, which is awarded unanimously and goes only to a piece of work that truly stands out among the Gold Cubes. This year, it went to «Ortsschilder» by thjnk Zurich for Migros Supermarket. ADC President Thomas Wildberger commented on the result as follows: «We’re celebrating 50 years of the ADC with a fitting number of Gold Cubes. We awarded ten—more than we have in a long time. Not because we were being particularly generous, but simply because these are groundbreaking works.»

The ten Gold Cubes were awarded in the following categories and for the following projects: In the «Social & Creators – Single Post» category, the award went to «Grittibänz im Benz» by ESE Agency for Migros Supermarket. In «Design – Corporate Design,» gold went to «Theater Neumarkt» by Raffinerie for Theater Neumarkt. «Let animals grow old» by Stories for Hiltl won in the «Film Craft» category. «On Time» by SRG SSR for the European Broadcasting Union received gold in «Art Direction – Film.» «The Password» by thjnk Zurich for Sunrise won in «Film – Long-Form.» In «Promotion – Events,» «At Home on the Swiss Stage» by SRG SSR for the European Broadcasting Union was honored. «The Semantic Campaign» by Digitec Galaxus for Digitec Galaxus won in both «Posters – Print» and «Posters – Digital.» In addition, «Ortsschilder» by thjnk Zurich for Migros Supermarkt won gold in «Posters – Print» as well as in the «Campaigns» category.

Silver Cube: A wide range of outstanding works

The 26 Silver Cubes were awarded to a wide range of projects and agencies. Among the double Silver winners, «The Password» by thjnk Zurich for Sunrise stood out in particular, having been honored in the categories «Film Craft & Audio Craft – Film Craft» and «Art Direction – Film.» Similarly, «Ortsschilder» by thjnk Zurich for Migros Supermarket received double silver in «Advertising – Campaigns» and «PR – Campaigns.» «Made in Switzerland» by SRG SSR for the European Broadcasting Union won silver in «Film – Music Video» and «Art Direction – Film.» «Don’t Explode» by Neu Creative Agency for Child Protection Switzerland was honored in «Film – Online Film» and «Good – Single Works.».

Other Silver Cubes went to, among others, «A message from the Swiss President» by Wirz Group for Switzerland Tourism, «Billboard Workout» by thjnk Zurich for Ochsner Sport, «Finn and His Dad» by Wirz Group for Migros Cooperative Federation, «MINI Paul Smith» by Jung von Matt Limmat for MINI (BMW Group), «The Bank Job» by Leo/Publicis Groupe for Baloise, «The Unmissable Jersey» by Havas for Adidas, and «Zweifel x Aromat» by Jung von Matt Limmat for Zweifel Chips & Snacks.

Student of the Year and Evergreen

Arno Thöni won the «Student of the Year» title with «Lingua Eterna» on behalf of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). The award is open to students and graduates of universities, universities of applied sciences, or private schools with a focus on the creative arts.

The Evergreen—an award recognizing outstanding advertising achievements over many years, which has been awarded multiple times by the ADC—was presented to «Roger Federer vs. Switzerland» by Wirz Group for Switzerland Tourism.

Two New Members Inducted into the ADC Hall of Fame

Danielle Lanz and Markus Ruf have been inducted into the ADC Hall of Fame. The two have had a significant impact on the Swiss creative industry—first through their individual careers, but above all through their joint agency, Ruf Lanz.

Special Award and Creative Festival

Another highlight of the anniversary year was the «20 Minuten 50 Years of ADC Award.» This special prize was selected by the readers of «20 Minuten» and curated by Martin Spillmann. They chose Die Mobiliar’s campaigns, with their humorous illustrations of damage claims, as the most popular advertisements of the past 50 years. The cube for this award was designed by René Fehr, a founding member and the inventor of the ADC cube.

The creative festival that served as the backdrop for the awards ceremony took place at the Kraftwerk in Zurich—renamed «Craftwerk» for the festival week. National and international speakers came to the city for a program lasting several days. Thomas Wildberger summed up the goal: «We want to give this not only to ourselves, but to the entire industry—and to everyone who cares about creativity.»

All award-winning entries from the ADC Switzerland Awards are available on the ADC website: www.adc.ch