Warc Creative 100: Ogilvy and Heineken top global creative ranking

The Warc Rankings 2026 have recognized the world's leading campaigns and companies in the field of creativity. Published on March 10, 2026, the rankings are compiled annually by Warc and aggregate the results of the top global and regional creative awards of 2025. The selected competitions are determined in collaboration with the Warc Rankings Advisory Board and through an annual global panel survey.

Three key trends are shaping the creative industry

Amy Rodgers, Head of Content at Warc Creative, explains: "The Warc Creative 100 celebrates the award-winning campaigns and companies that are shaping the future of the marketing industry by harnessing the power of creativity to drive differentiation and change." Three main themes emerge in this year's ranking: Creativity Across Media Channels, Advocacy through Creativity and Creative B2B Marketing as a Differentiator.

The most successful campaigns demonstrate creative innovation across various media types. Particularly noteworthy: two B2B campaigns made it into the top 10 of the Creative 100 ranking - "Spreadbeats" for Spotify and the sales promotion of outdoor advertising space for JCDecaux. This underlines the growing importance of creativity as a differentiating factor in B2B marketing.

"Three Words" honored as most creative campaign

The most awarded campaign in 2025 was "Three Words" for the AXA insurance brand, developed by Publicis Conseil Paris. AXA added three words - "and domestic violence" - to its insurance policies in France to give victims of domestic violence immediate access to relocation cover under their policy.

Marco Venturelli, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Conseil, explains the success: "I think the reason why this idea resonated with so many people is the contrast between its simplicity and its exponential impact. In just three words, we are changing millions of home insurance policies to make them more inclusive for a risk that affects women more than fires or floods."

In second place is the B2B campaign "Spreadbeats" by FCB New York for Spotify. The music streaming service changed the perception of its advertising opportunities among media planners. Third place went to "Lap of Legends" by FCB New York and 160over90 New York for Michelob Ultra, in which the beer brand collaborated with Formula 1 and staged a real versus a virtual F1 race.

LePub Milan takes over top position with agencies

LePub Milan rises from second place in the previous year and leads the creative ranking for the first time. The agency placed two campaigns for Heineken in the top 100, as well as numerous other campaigns that contributed to the overall result. Bruno Bertelli, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of LePub Worldwide, comments: "LePub Milan is honored to be ranked #1 in the Warc Creative 100. This award recognizes our visionary clients and exceptional team who inspire bold, culturally relevant ideas."

The independent agency Serviceplan Munich jumped from seventh place in the previous year to second place. Publicis Conseil Paris takes third place with another strong year. Serviceplan Munich also leads the ranking of independent agencies, followed by Rethink Toronto and Klick Health Toronto.

Ogilvy defends top network position

Ogilvy is the most awarded network for the sixth consecutive year. The network has 15 campaigns in the top 100, with seven offices from around the world contributing to the ranking: Ogilvy New York, Singapore, Mumbai, Ogilvy Health New York, David Madrid, New York and Circus Grey Lima.

Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy, says: "Six years at the top of the Warc Creative 100 is more than a milestone - it's a testament to how our network presents itself. The best work, for the biggest brands, in every market worldwide." DDB Worldwide, which will soon be disbanded, is ranked second for its work in 2025, followed by VML in third place.

Serviceplan leads the ranking of independent networks for the second time in a row. Alexander Schill, Global Chief Creative Officer and Partner of the Serviceplan Group, explains: "I believe that in our competitive, technology-driven industry, creativity remains the true differentiating factor. That's why it means so much to us to be ranked number one again in the Warc Creative 100 - both as an independent network and as an agency."

WPP remains leading holding company

WPP has defended its position at the top of the holding company rankings for the fourth year in a row. Three networks feature in the top 50: Ogilvy and VML at number one and three and AKQA at number 28. Rob Reilly, Global Chief Creative Officer of WPP, comments: "Our continued recognition in the Warc Creative 100 is a testament to WPP's incredible talent and the hard work of our dedicated teams worldwide."

Omnicom Group ranked second and Interpublic Group third for their pre-merger performance.

Heineken most creative brand for the first time

After being one of the top ten brands for the last four years and coming second last year, Heineken has now achieved the position of most creative brand for the first time. Heineken has two campaigns in the top 100 and a further 19 campaigns in the full Creative 100 database from 12 different countries worldwide, underlining the global reach of the brand.

Nabil Nasser, Head of Global Heineken Brand, says: "We are incredibly humbled and proud that Heineken has been recognized as the number one global brand in the Warc Creative 100 for the first time in our history. The Warc rankings are one of the industry's most respected benchmarks, recognizing work that achieves business results and cultural impact."

Apple takes second place, McDonald's climbs to third. Vaseline is a new entry in the top 50 this year, driven by the "Vaseline Verified" and "Transition Body Lotion" campaigns in Asia.

Unilever takes the lead among advertisers

Unilever achieves the position of leading advertiser in the Creative 100 for the first time. The FMCG giant is represented by 15 different brands in the full Creative 100 database, with Vaseline and Dove making the top 50 brands in ninth and tenth place respectively.

Leandro Barreto, Chief Marketing Officer of Unilever and Beauty & Wellbeing, explains: "This recognition is a powerful validation of the bold, culturally relevant work that our teams are bringing to the world - work that inspires, connects and creates real impact. Creativity is one of our strongest competitive advantages."

Anheuser-Busch InBev falls back to second place, Heineken moves up to third.

USA defends country ranking

The USA retains its first place - a position it has held since 2006. 30 of the top 100 campaigns came from the US, the same number as in 2025. The UK in second place generated 11 of the top 100 campaigns. Brazil moves up one place and secures third place.

The Warc Creative 100 was compiled using a rigorous, unbiased and transparent methodology. The full ranking includes the 100 most awarded creative campaigns, the top 50 creative agencies, agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and leading holding companies. The case studies and summary report are available to Warc members. The Warc Media 100 will be announced on March 13 and the Warc Effective 100 on March 18.

For more information https://www.warc.com/creative/rankings/creative-100