Saudi Arabia climbed to several spots on the Cannes Lions 2025 rankings from the 23rd to 15th spot, while the UAE stayed within the top 10.
Saudi Arabia went up from 23rd in the country rankings in 2024 to 13th in 2025, a big year-on-year gains. Riyadh also entered the top global city list at 15, entering the rankings for the first time.
UAE remained MENA’s highest-ranked market at 10th, dropping two positions from the last year. Dubai continued to perform consistently, placing 12th among cities.
A major contributor to the Saudi’s success was BigTime Creative Shop, which recorded a standout year. The Riyadh-based independent agency not only topped the list of MENA agencies in 2025, but it also ranked first globally on the Independent Agency: Entertainment. The shop collected seven Lions – two Golds, one Silver and three Bronzes – making it the most awarded independent agency in the Middle East this year.
BigTime Creative Shop’s work also fed into the performance of Riyadh Season, which placed third among travel brands globally. Two of the agency’s winning campaigns were created for the brand, adding to Saudi Arabia’s overall results.
The country’s rank was also supported by SRMG Labs, which was ranked number 5 globally among the in-house agency rankings. Based in Riyadh, the team won a Gold and two Silvers for its work with Billboard Arabia to secure a higher position within the in-house agency standings and further lift the city’s visibility on the global stage.
FP7 McCann Dubai topped the table of the UAE agencies ranking this year, followed by Impact BBDO, VML Dubai, Leo Burnett Dubai, TBWA\RAAD, Saatchi & Saatchi ME, Publicis Middle East, MullenLowe MENA, Memac Ogilvy and McCann Health.
Network rankings remained similarly competitive. BBDO Worldwide took the top regional position this year, followed by McCann Worldgroup, VML, Leo Burnett, and TBWA Worldwide, with Saatchi & Saatchi, OMD Worldwide, MullenLowe Global, Ogilvy, Digitas and Havas Creative Network rounding out the list.
See the complete 2025 Cannes Lions Rankings at https://www.lovethework.com/en/awards/rankings/cannes-lions.
