TLDR: Cannes Lions has announced significant updates to its 2026 awards, introducing the Creative Brand Lion to recognize organizational creativity and the AI Craft subcategories to celebrate the collaborative synergy between human ingenuity and artificial intelligence. These changes reflect the evolving landscape of commercial creativity, emphasizing data’s strategic role and the growing impact of retail media.
Cannes Lions, the International Festival of Creativity, is set to evolve its prestigious awards for 2026 with the introduction of a groundbreaking Creative Brand Lion and dedicated AI Craft subcategories. These strategic additions aim to acknowledge the shifting dynamics within the creative industry, particularly the increasing influence of data, technology, and organizational approaches to fostering creativity.
The Creative Brand Lion, launching in 2026, will move beyond individual campaigns to celebrate the foundational systems, cultures, and capabilities that enable brands to consistently produce world-class creative marketing. Simon Cook, CEO of LIONS, articulated the rationale behind this new award: “For 70 years, we’ve recognised the work and creative outputs that drive demand for brands all around the world. But in 2026, we’re asking a different question: what are the inputs that make those breakthrough ideas possible in the first place? The Lion will recognise the visionary brands that are building the systems, cultures and capabilities that make world-class creative marketing inevitable and repeatable – and the practices that transform creative potential into lasting business impact.” This award will sit within a new ‘Brand Track’ and will focus on long-term capability-building initiatives that demonstrate measurable business growth and sustained brand value, rather than single campaign performance.
In a nod to the rapid advancements in technology, Cannes Lions is also introducing AI Craft subcategories across several craft-led Lions, including Design, Digital Craft, Film Craft, Industry Craft, and Creative Data Lions. These subcategories are designed to honor work where human creativity and artificial intelligence converge to produce ideas that neither could achieve independently. The emphasis is on recognizing the craft and artistry of creations that would be impossible without this collaborative human-AI effort, requiring entries to demonstrate that the core concept, execution, or impact was not achievable through traditional methods alone.
Further updates to the awards include a comprehensive refresh of the Creative Data Lion. This category will now reflect data’s evolved role, moving from merely informing creative decisions to actively driving creative strategy from its inception. Entries must clearly illustrate how data was integral to both the core idea and its measurable business impact. Marian Brannelly, Global Director of Awards at LIONS, commented on these changes: “We’re witnessing the industry evolve with data and technology playing a pivotal role in how creativity is used to solve business problems. Data has become a creative catalyst, AI is expanding what’s possible and retail media is redefining how brands connect with consumers.”
Additionally, new subcategories have been introduced into the Creative Strategy and Creative Data Lions to account for the explosive growth of retail media, which is projected to be the fastest-growing medium in 2025. These expansions aim to recognize excellence in both the strategic thinking behind connecting brands with shoppers and the innovative application of first-party data for targeted advertising within this space.
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The festival will open for submissions on January 15, 2026, with the main event scheduled for June 22-26, 2026. These changes underscore Cannes Lions’ commitment to adapting its awards to reflect the dynamic and technologically driven landscape of commercial creativity.
