As Cannes Lions 2026 draws to a close, leaders share dire warnings and guidance

On the fourth day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, FP7 McCANN MENAT was crowned the MENA Network of the Year, after claiming  the most number of metals cats for the region.

As it stands, the Middle East region has been awarded 17 Lions, including five Silver Lions and 12  Bronze Lions.

Viewing the wins by agency, FP7 McCANN MENAT has the highest number of wins from the region with a total of nine wins, while Publicis KSA and Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East share two wins each.

BigTime Creative Shop, IMPACT BBDO, TBWA\RAAD, Landor and Memac Ogilvy take home one shiny Lion each.

‘The Birdwatcher‘ campaign for Spoor by FP7 McCANN MENAT – about AI-powered bird monitoring for wind projects – won three metals cats. It was awarded a Silver Lion and Bronze Lion in the Digital Craft category, and another Bronze Lion in the Design category.

The ‘Spots for Shops‘ campaign for Parkin by FP7 McCANN MENAT in Dubai, UAE, won a Silver Lion and a Bronze Lion in the Media category.

The ‘Recipe for Change‘ campaign for Puck under Arla Foods by FP7 McCANN MENAT in Dubai, UAE, won a Silver Lion and a Bronze Lion in the Media category, as well as a Bronze Lion for Creative Strategy.

The ‘Let It Fly‘ campaign for Saudia Airlines by Publicis KSA, Jeddah and Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East claimed a Silver Lion in the Outdoor category and a Bronze Lion in the Direct category.

‘The Ring: The Legacy Continues‘ brand campaign by BigTime Creative Shop in Riyadh was also honoured with a Silver Lion in Film Craft category.

The ‘Untaught History Edition‘ campaign for Annahar by IMPACT BBDO was awarded a Bronze Lion in the Media category.

The ‘Laws Under Attack‘ campaign for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by TBWA/RAAD was awarded a Bronze Lion in the Media category.

‘The Coolest Ihram‘ campaign, brought to life by Landor, Dubai, for Saudia Airlines in Saudi Arabia was handed a Bronze Lion in the PR category.

 

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The ‘Missing Letters of Worth / Sit Al Bait‘ campaign, brought to life by FP7 McCANN MENAT, for L’Oréal Paris in the UAE was handed a Bronze Lion in the PR category.

The ‘Om Badr‘ campaign for KFC by TBWA\RAAD in Dubai, UAE, won a Bronze Lion in Social & Creator category.

Memac Ogilvy‘s ‘Is that a Pinntorp?’, which is part of its ‘Affordable Masterpieces‘ campaign for Saudi Arabia’s IKEA AlSulaiman, picked up a Bronze Lion in the Print & Publishing Lions category.

‘The Unburied Casket‘ campaign for Women for Change by Edelman SA, Johannesburg, in partnership with Edelman Middle East.

Click here to find out all the top contenders for Cannes Lions awards from the Middle East region

 

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John Hegarty offers a warning and a cure at Cannes Lions 2026

Meanwhile, at the Palais, advertising executive Sir John Hegarty delivered a diagnosis, a warning and, thankfully, a way out. Known as one of the most enduring creative voices in advertising,

Hegarty lit up the Lumiere Theatre right from the opening line, asking the audience of brand and agency leaders: “Are we all f***ed?” He challenged the industry to question whether it has drifted too far from the principles that made it commercially powerful in the first place.

He explained that while the industry has more data, more powerful platforms and more effective delivery systems than ever before, people still aren’t enjoying much of what brands put in front of them.

The medicine, in Hegarty’s view, begins with a painful admission. The industry has become highly efficient at finding people, following them and serving them messages. It has become less good at making anything they actively want to spend time with.

“We’ve perfected the art of stalking rather than inspiring. And in most countries stalking is illegal. Actually, if you’re a brand stalking people, then you should be very, very careful,” Hegarty said.

Although the quote was delivered with a tinge of humour, the warning was serious. For years, the industry has rewarded precision, optimisation and performance mechanics, often at the expense of imagination. Hegarty’s argument was that this has weakened the product itself.

“People are paying good money to avoid advertising. In reality, we are making a worse product. There’s no question about that. All research points to it. People are disillusioned with advertising, they don’t like it,” he said.

This is the uncomfortable truth behind the ad-avoidance economy. People are not rejecting content; they are not rejecting entertainment; but they are rejecting work that feels interruptive, dull or overly transactional.

“I’ve never read a business book that says, ‘To succeed, make a worse product.’ But that’s what we’re doing. We’re making a worse product. And no wonder people are turning off. They’re not turning off Netflix. They’re not turning off the World Cup. They’re turning off the things they don’t love. And sadly, they’ve fallen out of love with us,” Hegarty explained.

He added, “People are spending more time watching digital entertainment than ever before,” Hegarty said. “Why? They do stuff people like. Why do we keep having to say the obvious for people to understand? Do stuff people like.”

That line may be simple, but it cuts through much of the industry’s jargon. Brands often talk about engagement as if it is a media outcome, but Hegarty reminded the room that engagement begins with whether the work is worth engaging with.

“A brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world. It’s a corner of someone’s mind. You’re trying to become a part of their world. You’re trying to elevate your brand into culture,” Hegarty said.

Hegarty’s proposed remedy starts inside companies. Creativity, he argued, cannot sit politely at the edge of the organisation, waiting for permission from process, procurement and performance frameworks. It has to shape the way the business is run.

“Creativity needs to be the heart of advertising, not on the fringe,” said Hegarty.

Making the case for creatives at the very top, he added, “If you want to run a creative company, then creative people have got to be at the top of it.”

And then came the line that drew both laughter and awkward silence in equal measure: “Let’s get rid of the CEO. I have a solution. Rename them the ‘creative executive officer.’”

In closing, Hegarty returned to the need for deep change rather than another incremental tweak. He did not call for another dashboard, but instead called for a reorientation around work people actually welcome.

“Unless we do something fundamentally different, unless we restructure, unless we rethink how we operate our companies, change will not happen. And change needs to happen. Our industry needs to understand that it has to be loved more to succeed,” he said.

On Day 4, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026 organisers also officially honoured Jim Stengel as the inaugural Lions Laureate for Marketing; a new honour recognising individuals whose vision, influence and contribution have left an enduring mark on the marketing profession and advanced the role of creative marketing as a driver of business growth.

Throughout a distinguished career spanning more than three decades, including seven years as Global Marketing Officer at Procter & Gamble, Stengel helped shape modern marketing leadership.

In 2003, Stengel brought the first major client-side marketing delegation to Cannes Lions, helping accelerate the Festival’s evolution into a global meeting place for marketers, brand builders and business leaders.

Beyond his corporate achievements, Stengel dedicated much of the last two decades to developing the next generation of marketers through teaching, writing, and mentorship.

In 2011, Stengel served as the Dean for the inaugural Cannes Lions Creative Academy for Marketers before establishing and pioneering the CMO Accelerator Programme in 2013, which continues to develop senior marketing leaders to this day.

As such, Cannes Lions dedicated a session on Day 4 to celebrate a career defined not just by what Stengel achieved, but by what he gave back to the global marketing, advertising and creative industry.

Meanwhile, Campaign Middle East continued to capture the voices of leaders from the region making waves at Cannes Lions through a score of interviews now published across it’s social media channels.