Cannes Lions 2026 has released the shortlist for the Creative Data Lions category, one of the Festival’s most relevant competitions for understanding how creativity, data science, artificial intelligence, strategy and technology are reshaping the way brands create value.
The Creative Data Lions celebrate the transformative power of data-driven creativity, recognising work where data is not simply an analytical input, but an essential part of the idea, the execution, the experience and the measurable impact.
The 2026 Jury President for Creative Data Lions is Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Groupe South Asia. Her leadership brings deep experience in media, advertising, business transformation and strategy to a category where data is becoming increasingly central to global creativity.
The Creative Data Lions 2026 shortlist includes 39 shortlisted entries, distributed across 17 subcategories: Data-Enhanced Creativity, Real-Time & Dynamic Creative, Creative Data Visualisation, Data-Driven Creative Strategy, Creative Data Collection & Research, Data Integration, Retail Media, Data Infrastructure & Architecture Innovation, Data-Driven Media Innovation, Creative Data Technology, Social Data & Community Insights, AI Craft, Data-Driven Product Innovation, Data Storytelling & Narrative, Ethical Data & Privacy Innovation, Purpose-Driven Data Solutions and Market Disruption & Transformation.
The selection confirms that Cannes Lions is raising the standard for data-driven creativity. This year’s finalists show that the strongest ideas do not only use information for targeting or measurement, but to create products, activate platforms, visualise problems, personalise experiences, protect privacy, support causes and transform business models.
The United States leads the shortlist with nine shortlisted entries, followed by Australia, Brazil, Peru, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and the Mexico/Venezuela pairing, reflecting the global reach of data-driven creativity.
Among the most represented brands are BCP, Brahma, Suncorp Insurance, 1001 Optometry, Google, Wisła Kraków Football Club, Tiffany & Co., Deloitte and The Philipstown Wirecar Foundation. Their repeated presence across different subcategories shows how the strongest Creative Data ideas can operate as strategy, technology, narrative, product, media and impact solutions.
In Data-Enhanced Creativity, shortlisted work includes “Seat With a View” by Flynas; “Haven” by Suncorp Insurance; “The Birdwatcher” by Spoor; and “Unwatched Goals” by Brahma. This section shows how data can enrich a creative idea by turning information, behaviour, context or specific signals into experiences that are more useful, precise and memorable.
Real-Time & Dynamic Creative includes “Unwatched Goals” by Brahma and “600K Network” by Comando con Venezuela. Both entries highlight the value of creativity capable of responding to live information, shifting moments or urgent contexts to activate audiences with greater timing and relevance.
In Creative Data Visualisation, Cannes Lions shortlisted “Find Your Edge” by Google and “Fantasy Herd” by Meadow Fresh. The section confirms the power of data visualisation to translate complex information into experiences that are understandable, engaging and actionable.
Data-Driven Creative Strategy brings together “SOS POS” by BCP and “Here to Stay” by Mastercard. Their presence underlines how data can become the foundation of a creative strategy capable of identifying opportunities, solving business tensions and building solutions with real impact.
In Creative Data Collection & Research, the shortlist features “Pedigree Caramelo” by Pedigree; “The Unbreakable Twin” by Deloitte; and “Forests Without Names” by Hyundai. These entries show how collecting, interpreting and applying information can become a creative platform for animal health, technology, sustainability, identity and environmental awareness.
The category also recognises data integration and retail media through “Lucky Fan Index” by Wisła Kraków Football Club in Data Integration, and “SOS POS” by BCP in Retail Media. These works show how data can connect fan engagement, commerce, media, transactional platforms and consumer behaviour.
In Data Infrastructure & Architecture Innovation, “The Unbreakable Twin” by Deloitte has been selected, while Data-Driven Media Innovation includes “Custom Billboards” by Mercado Libre. These cases point to a key trend: data does not only improve campaigns, it can also build smarter infrastructures, systems and media formats.
Creative Data Technology is represented by “Magnif-Eye” by 1001 Optometry, while Social Data & Community Insights includes “Serving Singles” by Knorr. The two works show different ways of using data: one oriented towards vision care, technology and utility; the other focused on social behaviour, community and cultural insight.
AI Craft includes four shortlisted works: “Mermaid” by Tiffany & Co.; “R0_B0+” by Canal+; “Alta: Your Personal AI Stylist” by Alta Daily; and “Magnif-Eye” by 1001 Optometry. This section confirms that artificial intelligence is now central to the conversation around creativity, craft and data, especially when it enables experiences or solutions that were previously impossible.
In Data-Driven Product Innovation, shortlisted entries include “T-Rex Leather” by Lab-Grown Leather; “Duobell” by Škoda; “Ring Search Party for Dogs Campaign” by Ring; and “SOS POS” by BCP. These works demonstrate how data can drive product innovation, intelligent services, mobility, safety, search, commerce and practical utility.
Data Storytelling & Narrative includes “Find Your Edge” by Google; “The Philipstown Wirecar Grand Prix” by The Philipstown Wirecar Foundation; “SOS POS” by BCP; and “Unwatched Goals” by Brahma. The section confirms that data can also tell stories, build emotion and transform statistics or signals into culturally relevant narratives.
In Ethical Data & Privacy Innovation, “Lucky Fan Index” by Wisła Kraków Football Club has been shortlisted. Its presence shows that data creativity must consider not only efficiency and impact, but also responsibility, transparency, ethics and trust.
Purpose-Driven Data Solutions includes “Haven” by Suncorp Insurance; “Mermaid” by Tiffany & Co.; “Ring Search Party for Dogs Campaign” by Ring; “Nigrum Corpus” by IDOMED & Instituto Yduqs; “Dying Reviews” by Hospice NZ; and “SOS POS” by BCP. This subcategory shows how data can help solve human, social, community and service challenges with a purpose-driven dimension.
Market Disruption & Transformation is represented by “Haven” by Suncorp Insurance. The case confirms that data-driven creativity can move beyond communication to transform a category, a user experience or a way of delivering value.
Mexico appears in the shortlist through “600K Network” by Comando con Venezuela, entered by Rainbow Lobster Mexico City and Comando con Venezuela Caracas. The work places Mexico and Venezuela within the global conversation around data, networks, social mobilisation and real-time creative response.
Among the most repeated campaigns in the shortlist are “SOS POS”, “Unwatched Goals”, “Haven”, “Magnif-Eye”, “Find Your Edge”, “Lucky Fan Index”, “Mermaid”, “The Unbreakable Twin” and “The Philipstown Wirecar Grand Prix”. Their presence across multiple subcategories highlights the versatility of ideas that connect data, technology, experience, narrative, product, purpose and results.
Creative Data Lions 2026 arrives at a decisive moment for the creative industry, as brands need to prove that data can deliver more than efficiency: it can also create relevant ideas, useful experiences, responsible innovation, trust and measurable growth.
With this shortlist, Cannes Lions 2026 confirms that data is no longer the exclusive territory of analysts, planners or performance teams. In contemporary creativity, data is raw material, language, infrastructure, interface, narrative and a strategic engine for building smarter, more useful and more human brands.
