WPP commands the global stage with historic 140-Lion sweep at Cannes Lions 2026

At the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, WPP was victorious. Ogilvy and VML claimed the number one and number two Creative Network of the Year titles respectively, while Burson London was named PR Agency of the Year, and WPP Media emerged as the most awarded media group at the festival for the second consecutive year. Altogether, WPP agencies brought home 140 Lions — a Titanium, seven Grand Prix, 29 Gold, 40 Silver, and 63 Bronze — with winning work spanning client partnerships across more than 25 countries.

The sweep came at a significant moment for the company. This year’s festival marked the first Cannes Lions under WPP CEO Cindy Rose, who arrived with a clear conviction about what the industry’s most creative holding company is ultimately in the business of: trust. Earlier this year, WPP’s Elevate28 strategy set out a clear mission — to be the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands.

Cindy gave that mission its operational backbone, unveiling WPP’s new trust principles: a set of commitments to clients and partners that describe how the company operates — not abstract aspirations, but explicit standards codified at a moment when AI is dramatically transforming the industry and trust is increasingly in scarce supply. The principles cover everything from client data ownership and open platform design to responsible AI governance, human creative accountability, and transparent media investment — a framework built for the complexity of the world brands are navigating right now.

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As Cindy herself put it: “Creativity is our superpower — it’s what builds brand differentiation and trust for our clients.” The two ideas — winning Lions and earning trust — are not separate stories at WPP. The Lions prove what the principles promise: that when creativity is treated as a strategic business driver, grounded in data, governed responsibly, and delivered by people who are accountable for results, it produces work that doesn’t just win awards but changes the fortunes of the brands behind it.

See WPP’s Titanium, Grand Prix, and Gold wins at Cannes Lions 2026, from Day 1 to Day 5, below: