WPP Retains Creative Company of the Year Title at Cannes Lions 2025

WPP has been named Creative Company of the Year at Cannes Lions for the second consecutive year.

The annual award is calculated based on which holding company’s member agencies earn the most points for shortlisted and awarded entries. WPP agencies collected 168 Lions, including one Titanium Lion, 10 Grand Prix (including the Glass Lion for Change), 23 Gold, 53 Silver, and 81 Bronze.

WPP’s win comes as the company sharpens its focus on its media division and AI tools amid a slumping share price.

The recognition also comes as its longtime chief executive (CEO), Mark Read, attends his final Cannes Lions as boss before stepping down in December.

In a statement, Read said: “Our success at Cannes Lions is a tribute to the extraordinary talent and passion of our people worldwide, and to the clients who entrust us with their brands.”

He added: “Winning Creative Company of the Year is always a huge honour. However, celebrating this achievement with our brilliant people at my last Cannes as CEO makes it doubly special.”

WPP’s Global Creative Showing

WPP’s top-winning campaigns included Ogilvy’s “Make Love Last” for Viatris, which won the Grand Prix in Pharma. The agency’s “Vaseline Verified” for Unilever also won a Titanium Lion and two Grand Prix (Social & Creator, Health & Wellness).

Elsewhere, DAVID’s “Haaland Payback Time” for Supercell was awarded a Grand Prix in Entertainment Lion for Sport, while VML’s “Preserved Promos” for Ziploc took home 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 was the winner of the Innovation Grand Prix.

VML and OpenMind’s “Phone Break” for KitKat won the first Grand Prix for the Czech Republic in Outdoor.

Finally, Ogilvy U.K. helped Dove score 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 (CCO), said: “In a world increasingly shaped by AI, authentic human creativity with integrity commands a growing premium,” adding: “This year’s winners from across WPP brilliantly showcase how our agencies are owning innovation and technology, not to replace creativity, but to amplify it.”

The award bookends a bumpy first half of the year for the U.K.-based ad network.

WPP kicked off the year by ceding its crown as the world’s largest ad network by revenue to French rival Publicis Groupe. By Spring, an unpopular return-to-office mandate drew over 16,000 signatures of protest. This was followed by an unspecified number of layoffs at its media arm, Group M, renamed WPP Media shortly after.

The search for Read’s successor is on, with both external and internal candidates suggested by industry sources as contenders for the job.

In the other special Cannes Lions categories, Omnicom’s DDB won Network of the Year, and Publicis Conseil was named Agency of the Year.

OMD Worldwide won Media Network of the Year.