Annoyingly simple, massively scaled, and even more relevant given the tariff wars. Proof that smart design is good business. Jealous of this one. —Gabriel Schmitt, global CCO, Grey
KFC “Prize on the Bone” | DM9
Brazilians have a nostalgic love for promotions hidden on ice cream sticks. To make KFC’s promo unforgettable, they did what no other brand would dare—they hid the prize on the bone! How crazy is that? One of the best promotional campaigns I’ve seen this year. —Thasorn Boonyanate, CCO, BBDO Bangkok
Uber “Football is for Food” | Special US
This is a rare example of non-sports brand advertising that really gets sports fans. They took a simple, funny premise that’s tight to the brand, and didn’t shy away from getting hyper-specific in the name of broad appeal. At Mischief, we love the quote “in the particular is the universal,” from James Joyce. I love that they leaned into this approach, and wrote the crap out of it. —Kevin Mulroy, ECD and partner, Mischief @ No Fixed Address
The New Yorker “Everything, Covered” | Roof Studio
A masterclass of curation and animation to transform the most iconic covers in the history of publishing into a tool for storytelling. Set to the sound of an iconic New York track, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” it’s a beautiful and powerful story that is a huge contender for Film Craft. —Danilo Boer, global creative partner, FCB
Novartis “Your Attention, Please” | Merkley+Partners
The Super Bowl was proof that health marketing can be great marketing (no asterisk needed). I particularly loved “Your Attention, Please” from Novartis—big, purposeful, and entertaining as hell. Pharma juries have traditionally struggled to award campaigns with real scale that live up to non-profit work. I hope this is the year things change, and that Cannes 2025 sets a new benchmark for what pharma is capable of doing when it dreams big. —Eric Weisberg, global CCO, Havas Health Network
