CANNES, FRANCE – At the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Publicis Groupe Philippines and Leo Manila Chief Creative Officer Raoul Panes had a front-row seat to some of the world’s most exciting and innovative work in gaming.
As a jury member for the Entertainment for Gaming category, he joined a global group of strategists, gamers, creatives, and planners to evaluate not just the ideas, but also the thinking and cultural truths behind them.
Speaking exclusively to adobo Magazine, Raoul hit pause to reflect on his thrilling experience of judging global work at Cannes Lions. He shared what leveled up for the jury, the entries that truly played to win, and the advice he’d give to agencies and brands looking to unlock the next stage in Entertainment for Gaming.
adobo Magazine: As a jury member for the Entertainment Lions for Gaming, how would you describe the overall judging experience this year?
Raoul: I enjoyed it a lot. Met a bunch of strategic thinkers, avid gamers, passionate creatives, sharp planners and best of all, great humans during the judging process. Varied disciplines, different nationalities. Had intense discussions on some entries. Convinced, dissuaded, affirmed each other at some point. Shared stories over lunch and drinks. In the end, we all felt good about our winners and our time together.
adobo Magazine: What surprised or impressed you most about the creativity in gaming entries in 2025?
Raoul: Gaming now isn’t just about that adrenaline rush while playing. It can achieve more things than ever before. We saw entries that aimed to educate people about road safety, pass legislation on gun control, find missing persons IRL, combat cyberbullying, save world heritage sites and so on. Then on the business side — of course there’s nothing surprising with brands wanting to boost sales but how the best ones — as you will see in the winners — did that, was most impressive. Clever use of game modes or features, inventive ways to use celebrities and communities.
adobo Magazine: How are brands approaching the gaming space differently today compared to a few years ago?
Raoul: The bar is higher now as more and more brands are getting into gaming. So in that sense, like anything else in advertising, you see a lot of mediocre work. Overall, in this category, you can say that 90–95% of the entries ranged from weak to average. The brands that are the best in using gaming are thorough and rigorous in their understanding of the culture and gameplay. And they’re finding new ways to embed themselves in the game.
adobo Magazine: What types of entries stood out this year? Were there specific genres, platforms, or themes that dominated?
Raoul: The ability to integrate commerce while enhancing gameplay was evident among some of the top winners. And we saw how embracing ridiculousness and audacity can create powerful, brave campaigns like “Call of Discounts”and “The Cheeky Controller.” Deep understanding of gamer culture — we saw some entries that leveraged gamer behavior like rage quitting, camping, and blaming internet lag for losing. Appreciation of brand superfans also unlock insightful ideas that become truly engaging campaigns. And when your brand is perceived to be traditional or nostalgic, why not make yourself relevant to the new generation by rebooting your lore and putting a gaming spin to it? Like how Mentos did it well with “Fizzooka.”
adobo Magazine: How are creators and brands innovating with formats like in-game activations, streaming collaborations, or immersive experiences?
Raoul: Some of the best campaigns used celebrities uniquely. Like soccer star Erling Haaland in Supercell’s “Payback Time.”
Gordon Ramsey in “Hayday”
Deadpool in Xbox’s “Cheeky Controller”.
In terms of immersive experiences — how about getting a real job and getting paid while doing the virtual version on Roblox? That’s Ikea’s “The Co-worker.”
Streaming is pretty straightforward but what you ask streamers and influencers to engage in makes the difference — like the hunt for Neymar in Mercado Livre’s “Call of Discounts”, the Grand Prix winner. Being timely and relevant also elevates engagement like in Supercell’s “Clash of Dragons.”
adobo Magazine: What were the main criteria used to evaluate the work in this category?
Raoul: Three things: How did the brand successfully tap into gaming communities? How did it add value to the gaming experience? How did it leverage the campaign to attain commercial success?
adobo Magazine: Can you tell us about the Grand Prix or Gold-winning work — what made it exceptional?
Raoul: Mercado Livre’s “Call of Discounts” capitalized on Prop Hunt, the game mode in Call of Duty which allows players to disguise themselves as objects to evade hunters out for the kill. Utilizing this mode, the campaign mapped over 400 objects or props in Call of Duty that can also be found on online merchant Mercado Livre. It then asked football legend Neymar to turn himself into those objects in a series of livestreams on Twitch. The faster his disguise was discovered, which thus got him eliminated, the bigger the discount on the corresponding product Neymar turned himself into. The brand tapped into what gamers were already enjoying. It was the brand going into the community rather than the reverse. No rude or jarring intrusions. The clever, unexpected use of a celebrity brought in even more engagement. The ridiculousness of Neymar turning into an office chair or a fridge and Gen Z’s eagerly searching for him to get huge, time-sensitive discounts is simply, um, bang on. In the end, the business results were impressive with thousands of coupons redeemed in minutes, translating to huge business impact. Call of Discounts, as the jury termed it, was the total package.
adobo Magazine: What can marketers and creatives learn from this year’s top winners?
Raoul: In the case of the Grand Prix winner — one shouldn’t discount ridiculous ideas. Sometimes what looks stupid can be genius. So go beyond straight-laced thinking. Gold winner Burger King’s “Burger to King” demonstrated the value of doing your homework. In-depth knowledge of a game’s new and even old features can unlock creative opportunities for your brand. Ikea’s “The Co-Worker” proves that even in well-trodden territory like Roblox, providing a unique experience will make your campaign stand out — in this case, using the platform for recruitment and rewarding people with real money and jobs.
adobo Magazine: What advice would you give to agencies and brands looking to enter the Entertainment Lions for Gaming next year?
Raoul: Before jumping in, understand the space and culture very well. Don’t be intimidated by the tech and gloss — if you are able to see through the intricacies of the game, you may not need a massive budget to create impact. Craft the case video to perfection. Make your write-ups and case boards bullet-proof because the jury will dig deep into those especially as the metal winners are determined. Supplementary info and things you may not have been able to include in the case video like walk-throughs, infographics or behind-the-scenes will be very helpful. Do not make false or overinflated claims.
adobo Magazine: How can Southeast Asian creatives better tap into the potential of gaming as a creative and cultural platform? As a Filipino creative leader, what does it mean to you to judge this global competition, and how do you see our region’s potential in gaming creativity?
Raoul: Our part of the world is big on gaming. More precisely, mobile gaming — which accounts for the biggest slice of the global gaming market. So the playground is right here, right now. And millions are playing for hours and hours. That’s a massive opportunity for brand engagement. So even as we rack our brains trying to come up with the next big Tiktok or Meta video campaigns, don’t forget that Gen Z and even older generations are playing games on their phones too. Dig deep into gamer behavior, local and cultural nuances, quirks. Find loopholes that allow you to creatively embed your brand into the gameplay without altering what gamers love about the game. Make your brand an ally, a co-player rather than an intruder.
Patch notes from France
As a jury member for the Entertainment Lions for Gaming at Cannes Lions 2025, Raoul underscored the importance of deeply understanding gamer culture.
He praised the most successful campaigns for embedding brands seamlessly into gameplay — shunning interruption for authentic participation — and for proving that even outrageous ideas can drive real business impact.
The jury process was passionate, collaborative, and above all, human — culminating in a celebration of campaigns that truly moved the needle in one of the world’s most dynamic creative arenas.
