Cannes Lions 2025: Film Craft, Digital Craft, Industry Craft, and Design winners

DIGITAL CRAFT LIONS

Rapidly advancing technology and tools mean Digital Craft is a broad and continuously evolving category, so President Naoki Tanaka, Chief Creative Officer Dentsu Lab, led this year’s jury by asking: what is craft, and why do we need it? Their discussions boiled down to three key points; is it made from the heart? Does it add real value to someone’s life? And does it contain a sense of obsessive madness?

This campaign puts people at the centre. To me, this is digital craft.

The Gran-Prix-winning work, Caption with Intention, ticks all three boxes. A concept so simple it made the judges wonder why no one had done this before, the campaign involved the creation of a revolutionary new caption system for films, specifically designed to convey tone, volume, cadence and emotion, offering a more immersive and accessible viewing experience.  

“Cinema is a public medium, so it needs to be accessible to all. This was not over-designed, made just to look cool, or to distract from the film. Lots of research and testing went into it to make it feel just right, and the amount of people who it will benefit is huge. This campaign puts people at the centre. To me, this is digital craft”, Tanaka concluded. 

The jury also noted an accelerated fusion of AI and creativity, in particular a plethora of entries that involved the application of AI and data. The most compelling works understood AI deeply and applied it in a way that served a purpose, creating an experience that couldn’t exist without it. 

The category also awarded two Gold winners: Tree Correspondents for Hyundai Motor Company by FCB New York and Caption With Intention for Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences - Rakish - Chicago Hearing Society, by FCB New York.

To see the full list of winners and shortlisted work, visit the Cannes Lions site

FILM CRAFT LIONS

By as early as the third day of judging, there was no question about this year's Film Craft winner, explains 2025 President, Director and Co-Founder of Good People Films Ali Ali.

TELSTRA's Better On A Better Network, a charming series of witty and hand-crafted spots featuring quirky Australian critters scooped the winning spot. Created by Bear Meets Eagle On Fire through Biscuit Films, Revolver and with post production by ETC, the jury championed every aspect from the carefully considered writing to the love and labour poured into the traditional animation, even noting the authentic, hand-selected voices picked from the specific regions of Australia. 

In this AI craze, it was a breath of fresh air to see work be hand made carefully over time.

"We loved it instantly. In this AI craze, it was a breath of fresh air to see work be hand made carefully over time. It's fun, simple, and deeply human."

The category also awarded nine Gold winners: Donkey for Telstra by Revolver and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, A Tale As Old As Websites for Squarespace by Squarespace, Tailor Swif for A$AP Rocky, Paris Olympics 2024: Considering What? for Channel 4 by 4Creative and Biscuit Filmworks, Guao Guao for Desperados by LePub, Better On A Better Mobile Network for Telstra by Bear Meets Eagle On Fir, Argentina for Renault by Publicis Conseil, Find Your Friends for Apple by Apple, Considering What? for Channel 4 by Work Editorial. 

To see the full list of winners and shortlisted work, visit the Cannes Lions site.

INDUSTRY CRAFT LIONS

"There were no bad entries in this category", President of the Industry Craft jury Mattias Spaetgens, Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Scholz & Friends proudly explained as he introduced this year's Gran Prix winning work, Nigrum Corpus for Idomed. 

Created by Artplan, the initiative involved the creation of a gorgeously illustrated and informative interactive medical textbook shining a light on the issue of racism in the medical industry.

'Everything came together in a magical way' to create a beautiful, tactile product that has made real impact. 

While each of the 22 entries individually demonstrated different facets of the category, together displaying a full spectrum of what’s possible through great craft, Nigrum Corpus stood out to the jury for its impressive combination of skills, techniques and varied use of tools. From traditional illustration to typography, copywriting to storytelling and even the subtle use of AI, Spaetgens says 'everything came together in a magical way' to create a beautiful, tactile product that has made real impact. 

The category also awarded four Gold winners: Eye Test, Eye Scan, and Eye Care for 1001 Optometry by VML, No Labels for Nikka Whisky by Dentsu Inc, Project 4270 for Banco de Chile by BBDO, and Winning Isn't Comfortable for Nike by Wieden+Kennedy. Seven silvers and ten bronzes were also awarded.

To see the full list of winners and shortlisted work, visit the Cannes Lions site.

INDUSTRY CRAFT LIONS

This year, debates in the judging room for Design centred around idea vs execution, form vs function and the role of technology in design, explained awarding juror Dida Atassi, Managing Director, Creative Account Lead for Design & Digital Products at Accenture Song. 

The jury decided that the winning entry should be work that they would be proud to take back to the design community themselves – work they would present to clients to advocate for design as a medium for real impact.  

The jury decided that the winning entry should be work that they would we be proud to take back to the design community themselves.

While it was difficult to compare such varied campaigns – from initiatives that made real changes for people to more light-hearted work that showcased great craftsmanship – the entry that scooped the Gran Prix was once again Caption with Intention, by FCB Chicago.