Cannes Lions 2026 Preview: 5 Must-Watch Campaigns Recommended by Our Team
Hello! I’m Yamaguchi, a PR planner at SUNNY SIDE UP.
For those of you reading SUNNY DAYS, the official media of SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP, many are likely interested in or already working in the PR and advertising industry. As PR professionals, you may already know about the premier festival held every June in Cannes, a city in southern France.
It’s called the “Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.” This week-long celebration brings together cutting-edge ideas in PR, advertising, campaigns, and communication from around the world, offering exhibitions, talk sessions, and networking opportunities for industry professionals globally.
This year, four members from SUNNY SIDE UP, including myself, will be on-site to experience firsthand the outstanding work from around the world and the passionate presentations from top creators.
In preparation, we’ve been studying notable campaigns, including winners from “Spikes Asia 2026” (the advertising awards for the Asia-Pacific region), and holding prediction sessions to discuss which campaigns might win. Through these sessions, we not only expand our creative horizons by reviewing global work but also gain valuable insights by analyzing what makes campaigns award-worthy and comparing our predictions with actual results. Today, I’d like to share five campaigns that sparked particularly lively discussions among our team members.
【HUGGIES】EXPENSIVE SH*T
Agency: McCann New York, McCann New Zealand
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A product demonstration by diaper brand “Huggies.” Babies were placed on ultra-expensive antique furniture and luxury cars worth approximately $500,000 (about 80 million yen), and the scene was live-streamed for one hour. The campaign demonstrated the product’s functionality in preventing leaks by confidently declaring, “With Huggies, there will be no leaks or stains.” |
This unique concept that effectively communicates the product’s features became a hot topic among our team. While baby product advertising typically features “smiling babies in pristine rooms,” this campaign brilliantly spotlights the reality parents relate to—”poop at the worst possible moment”—while transforming it into entertainment. It’s an incredibly bold and humorous idea that proves the product’s value with absolute confidence.
【McDonald’s】The Golden Zone
Agency: TBWA Colombia
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An activation by McDonald’s leveraging their F1 sponsorship in Latin America. By analyzing the track layouts of all 24 F1 circuits worldwide, they discovered that every course contains a curve shaped like McDonald’s “M” logo (Golden Arches). During races, special coupons were distributed in real-time on the app only during the few seconds when the lead vehicle passed through this “Golden Zone” (M-shaped curve). Popular F1 streamers encouraged fans to participate, leading to increased app membership and race viewership. |
Personally, I love this campaign. Rather than simply displaying sponsor signage, it’s a uniquely clever initiative that brilliantly connects the thrilling moments fans are passionate about with business objectives (app downloads and purchases). At SUNNY SIDE UP, we often propose strategies to increase brand app membership and understand the challenges involved, but this campaign leverages the live nature of sports (the characteristic of simultaneous engagement) to achieve results seamlessly.
【Columbia Sportswear】Expedition Impossible
Agency: adam&eve TBWA
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A guerrilla activation by outdoor brand “Columbia Sportswear.” Columbia Sportswear claims their products can “withstand extreme conditions,” interpreting “extreme” as “the edge of the Earth.” To prove their products’ overwhelming toughness, the CEO personally issued a challenge in The New York Times and other publications to flat-Earth believers who believe the Earth has an edge: “If you can find the edge of the Earth, I’ll give you this entire company (assets, offices, and all).” |
The perspective of transforming what would typically be a product durability demonstration “tested in harsh snowy mountains” into entertainment by provoking the flat-Earth community is fascinating. The ability to engage internet memes and niche cultures that seem unrelated to the brand, and above all, to achieve such high impressions on a low budget, is remarkable (though it’s a dynamic approach characteristic of international markets). This notable campaign has already been shortlisted in the Cannes Lions 2026 Titanium category.
【Nichiigakkan】RADIO TIME MACHINE
Agency: TBWA HAKUHODO
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An AI device that also garnered attention at this year’s Spikes Asia. While it appears to be a retro radio, when you turn the dial to a “past year” instead of a “frequency,” generative AI automatically creates and plays news and hit songs from that year as if it were a radio program. Addressing the challenge of Japan’s aging society with increasing dementia cases, this device is used in nursing facilities as a “reminiscence therapy” tool to evoke old memories, bringing smiles to elderly residents and facilitating communication between staff of different generations. |
While technology continues to advance rapidly, this is a gentle and heartwarming initiative utilizing AI. Not only is the design retro, but the mechanism is simple and user-friendly for elderly people, making it wonderfully practical. This notable campaign has already been shortlisted in the Cannes Lions 2026 Innovation category.
【Sea Cleaners/JCDecaux】REVERSE MEDIA SCHEDULE
Agency: Dentsu Creative Aotearoa
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Research from the University of Manchester showed that when consumers encounter a brand’s litter, they tend to value that brand 2% less. In other words, littered products become “reverse outdoor advertising” for brands. Sea Cleaners partnered with a media measurement company to develop a “reverse media schedule” that calculates how much brand value is protected by collecting litter. They called on brands to contribute donations to Sea Cleaners, which continues to remove litter that creates “negative brand impressions” from New Zealand’s beaches, harbors, and streets. |
Sustainability is already widely discussed. While it’s often addressed from a “corporate moral obligation” perspective, this is an incredibly clever campaign that successfully reframes it from a “business and media investment perspective.” As a PR professional, I think daily about advertising and PR effectiveness, but I had never focused on “littered trash.” This is a campaign I’m personally interested in, and it has also been shortlisted in the Cannes Lions 2026 Titanium category.
In Closing
Approximately 26,000 entries are submitted to Cannes Lions each year. The excitement of encountering so much cutting-edge creativity on-site is already overwhelming.
Which campaigns will win the prestigious Grand Prix this year?
During the festival, we plan to share on-site reports about the energy and latest trends on SUNNY SIDE UP’s official Instagram and here on SUNNY DAYS, so please follow along.
We look forward to learning from ideas around the world and bringing back insights to create new “fun disruptions” of our own.
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SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP Official Instagram |
