By Mary Maddever and Jennifer Horn

Today’s gloomy weather in Cannes is encroaching on Canadian creatives’ sun-worshipping plans…but, nothing like winning 18 Lions this morning to brighten the day.

Canadians did particularly well in the Media category, bringing in a total of 8 Lions, led by Touche!, Wavemaker, Mindshare and Initiative, which shared their honours with creative agencies. Dentsu also earned a Silver, while Angry Butterfly/Stryker Media and FCB brought home Bronze.

Outside of media, Rethink snagged Seven trophies (2 Silver and 5 Bronze) for its work with clients Kraft Heinz, Coors Light and Molson. Second in line was Edelman, Courage and FCB, with all three shops bringing two more Lions (each) to Canada.

That’s not all. Dentsu, VML, Angry Butterfly, Ogilvy and LG2 each snagged a Lion of their own, helping to bring Canada’s total tally to 39. Not bad for the mid-way point of the competition. The number to beat is 51, a record set by Canada in 2023.

While Canada was shut out of the Creative Data category, insights behind the Creative B2B jury room, as shared by jury president Andisa Ntsubane, managing executive brand marketing and communications Africa Vodacom Group, pointed to a new area of opportunity for the industry.

Ntsubane told reporters during the press conference that it’s the decade for B2B, which is gaining momentum for creative credibility. “We certainly saw that, and the strategic thinking also shone through across the board,” he said.

B2B work is emerging at the forefront of global social issues, added Ntsubane, and more innovative uses of content to engage audiences was another theme across the work. “We saw influencers, celebrities, and humor shining through in B2B and having a profound impact on emotional connections.” Cannes Lions CEO Phil Thomas added that the Titanium shortlist has a lot of B2B work this year.

One thing for anyone planning to enter work in the future, Ntsubane says “there is work to be done around metrics and outcomes in terms of results – more impact on the business.”

Catch the Gold and Grand Prix winners for these categories this afternoon (3pm EST), when the festival holds it’s third award show for the week. In the meantime, here are the Silver and Bronze Media winners from Canada.

Media (8)

Silver

“See My Name”
Molson
Rethink / Wavemaker

“Heinz Ketchup Fraud”
Heinz Ketchup
Rethink

“Inflation Cookbook”
SkipTheDishes
Dentsu

“Sans Emission”
Volkswagen
Touche Montreal / VML Toronto

Bronze

“Next to Stok’d”
Stok’d Cannabis
Angry Butterfly / Stryker Media

“Inployable”
Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS)
FCB / Initiative

“Coors Lights Out”
Coors Light
Rethink

“Cost of Beauty”
Dove
Mindshare NY / Ogilvy London / Ogilvy Toronto

Check out Strategyonline.ca for festival coverage and Canada’s Lions standings.