UK 2017 Cannes Lions haul declines by a fifth

4Creative was the only UK agency to pick up a Grand Prix, down from three shops last year. State Street Global Advisors was the most-awarded brand.

‘We’re the superhumans’: 4Creative and Blink share the Film Grand Prix
‘We’re the superhumans’: 4Creative and Blink share the Film Grand Prix

The UK’s Cannes Lions haul fell by a fifth as agencies brought home 31 fewer trophies.

UK shops picked up 119 Lions compared with 150 last year. This year, two Grands Prix were shared between four UK creative companies. The UK won six Grands Prix last year.

Channel 4’s in-house division, 4Creative, was the only agency to win a Grand Prix, beating more traditional shops. It also picked up four golds and six silvers. 

4Creative shared the Film Grand Prix with Blink for Channel 4’s "We’re the superhumans" to promote its coverage of the Rio Paralympics. Blink is second on the UK medals table. It also picked up two golds, one silver and one bronze.

Sharing the UK’s other Grand Prix were Analog and W&N Studio, which were awarded the Digital Craft Grand Prix for Björk’s virtual-reality music video NotGet.

While Adam & Eve/DDB brought home the UK’s biggest Lions haul with 24 gongs, it did not win a Grand Prix this year. The agency picked up three golds, ten silvers and 11 bronzes for brands including Skittles, John Lewis and H&M. 

Last year, Adam & Eve/DDB won two Grands Prix. 

Investment group State Street Global Advisors tops the awards table ranked by brands. Its "Fearless Girl" was by far the most-awarded marketing activity at Cannes, winning three Grands Prix, nine golds, two silvers and one bronze. 

In second and third place on the brands table are Burger King and Boost Mobile respectively, with two Grands Prix apiece. 

Other brands that took home a Grand Prix include Australia’s Transport Accident Commission Victoria, Colombian telecoms company Tigo-Une and Twitter. 

BBDO was the most-awarded network at Cannes, with 144 Lions across the festival’s 24 categories. 

WPP, however, was named the top holding company for the seventh year in a row, with Omnicom in second place and Interpublic in third. 

±±¾©Èü³µpk10 does not include Health & Wellness, Pharma and PR Lions in its tally. If all 24 categories were included, the UK’s number of awards climbs to 131, making it the world’s second-most-awarded country after the US.

2017 Cannes Lions winners (UK agencies/companies)


Healthcare Lions (UK winners)


PR Lions (UK winners)


2017 Cannes Lions Brands Medals

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