Cannes Lions 2026 has released the shortlist for the Creative Commerce Lions category, one of the Festival’s most relevant competitions for understanding how creativity is redefining modern commerce, from shopping experiences and transactional channels to retail media, digital platforms and new conversion models.
The Creative Commerce Lions celebrate innovative and creative approaches to online and offline commerce, recognising work that optimises different points of the customer journey and demonstrates how creativity can increase consumer engagement and drive commercial success.
The 2026 Jury President for Creative Commerce Lions is Phil Camarota, Chief Creative Officer at Flywheel, Global. His leadership brings deep experience in retail, commerce, shopper marketing and brand-building in environments where brands must both stand out and sell.
The Creative Commerce Lions 2026 shortlist includes 41 shortlisted entries, distributed across 17 subcategories spanning Consumer Goods, Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast-Food Chains, Social/Influencer Commerce, Entertainment Commerce, Innovative Use of Commerce Channel, Commerce Media, Targeting, Insights and Personalisation, In-Store Experiences, Customer Acquisition & Retention, Brand Strategy, End-to-End Commerce, Inclusive Commerce, Social Behaviour, Breakthrough on a Budget, Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility, Use of Humour and Cultural Engagement.
The selection confirms that creative commerce is no longer only about selling products. This year’s finalists show how brands are turning the act of buying into experience, entertainment, utility, social participation, personalisation, inclusion, purpose and community-building.
Colombia leads the shortlist with seven shortlisted entries, followed by the United States, Spain, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Singapore, Poland, Ecuador, India, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Mainland China. The geographic spread confirms that Creative Commerce is now a global territory for brands, agencies, retailers, platforms and communities.
Among the most represented brands in the shortlist are Águila, Broadfork Produce, Oreo, McDonald’s Nordics, McDonald’s, Vaseline, Wisła Kraków Football Club, Cámara Colombiana de Comercio Electrónico, IKEA, Clash Royale, Farmacias Económicas, Laut gegen Nazis e.V. and Leroy Merlin. Their repeated presence across different subcategories shows that the strongest commerce ideas can live across product, channel, experience, data, culture and conversion.
In Consumer Goods, shortlisted work includes “Add the Look” by Ego; “Resize the Price” by Águila; “Cancer Prevention Discounts” by Broadfork Produce; and “Oreo Cows” by Oreo. This section shows how consumer brands are using promotions, shopping behaviour, culture, health, product and data to turn transactions into memorable ideas.
“Resize the Price” by Águila, created by DAVID Bogotá and DAVID Madrid, appears in both Consumer Goods and Targeting, Insights and Personalisation. Its double presence confirms the strength of an idea that connects price, behaviour, cultural context and commercial strategy through a direct consumer mechanic.
“Oreo Cows” by Oreo, created by VML New York and VML Mexico City, also appears twice in the shortlist. The work competes in Consumer Goods and Customer Acquisition & Retention, showing the brand’s ability to use product, creativity and shopping experience as tools to attract and retain audiences.
In Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast-Food Chains, the shortlist includes “Pickle It Forward” by McDonald’s Nordics and “The Golden Zone” by McDonald’s. Both campaigns show how commerce can be activated through consumption habits, brand platforms, rewards, fast food and experiences designed to generate direct interaction.
Social/Influencer Commerce includes “Vaseline Originals” by Vaseline, created by Ogilvy Singapore. Its presence confirms the importance of creators, communities, social conversation and cultural credibility in an environment where influence can become a real route to purchase.
Entertainment Commerce brings together “Lucky Fan Index” by Wisła Kraków Football Club; “Gamers on Duty” by Lenovo; “Field Barcode” by Mercado Livre; and “The Golden Zone” by McDonald’s. This section demonstrates how entertainment, sport, gaming and fandom can operate as commerce platforms when they connect emotion, utility and conversion.
“Field Barcode” by Mercado Livre, created by GUT São Paulo, stands out as one of the strongest ideas in the shortlist. Its presence in Entertainment Commerce shows how a brand can turn a visual code, a sporting context and a retail platform into a high-impact commercial experience.
Innovative Use of Commerce Channel includes “An Agent ‘Como a Gente’” by Magazine Luiza and “Mandatory Vacation Packages” by Cámara Colombiana de Comercio Electrónico. Both entries reflect how commerce channels can become creative solutions when they integrate technology, consumer behaviour and business opportunities.
Commerce Media appears as a key area in the shortlist, with work including “Lime Guides” by Corona; “IKEA Preowned” by IKEA; and “Build Your Own Super Bowl Commercial” by Uber Eats. These pieces show how commerce media, brand platforms and shopping moments can become creative territories capable of driving attention, interaction and results.
“IKEA Preowned”, created by McCann Spain Madrid, appears in both Commerce Media and Customer Acquisition & Retention. Its double presence demonstrates how a second-hand platform can activate sustainability, circular commerce, consumer relationships and retention through a service-led idea.
Customer Acquisition & Retention is the largest subcategory in the shortlist, with six finalists: “Lucky Fan Index”, “IKEA Preowned”, “Pickle It Forward”, “Copycats Welcome”, “Oreo Cows” and “Vaseline Originals”. This concentration shows how commerce creativity is increasingly focused on building long-term relationships, not only generating immediate sales.
In In-Store Experiences, Cannes Lions shortlisted “Saints Pères Extra Virgin Bar” and “Karangahape Returns”. Their presence confirms that the physical store, the urban environment and the in-person experience remain strategic spaces for differentiation and commercial value.
Brand Strategy is represented by “Cif Clean My Name” by Cif, created by Droga5, part of Accenture Song, São Paulo. The campaign shows how brand strategy can activate commerce when it connects utility, behaviour, reputation and a concrete consumer solution.
End-to-End Commerce includes “Uva Uva Bombón” by Uva App, created by De la Cruz Ogilvy San Juan. The work highlights the potential of an idea capable of moving across the full commercial journey, from attention and participation to conversion and growth.
Inclusive Commerce recognises “Streaming Out Loud” by Kuaishou, created by Topic&Loong Beijing. Its inclusion underlines the importance of designing more accessible, open and participatory commercial experiences for diverse audiences.
Social Behaviour includes “Spots for Shops”, “Copycats Welcome”, “A Drugstore in Your Pesebre” and “§HOPLEFTING”. These campaigns show how commerce can start from real social behaviours to shift habits, activate conversation and build new forms of commercial interaction.
In Breakthrough on a Budget and Use of Humour, the shortlist includes “The Password Heist” by Leroy Merlin, created by BETC Paris and BETC Fullsix Paris. Its double presence confirms that a commerce idea can stand out through strategic intelligence, a limited budget, humour and a simple mechanic with high participatory potential.
Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility includes “Cancer Prevention Discounts” by Broadfork Produce; “Carefleet” by Renault; and “Seeds for Gaza” by Careem. This section shows how commerce can also become a tool for health, mobility, humanitarian aid, prevention and social action.
Cultural Engagement includes “A Drugstore in Your Pesebre” by Farmacias Económicas; “The Period Uniform” by Somos Martina; and “§HOPLEFTING” by Laut gegen Nazis e.V. These works demonstrate that the most relevant commerce ideas do not only respond to shopping needs, but also to symbols, rituals, social tensions and cultural conversations.
Mexico appears in the shortlist through “Oreo Cows” by Oreo, developed with participation from VML Mexico City and production, media and PR teams in Mexico. The Mexican presence within a multinational campaign confirms the market’s strength in commerce creativity, production, retail, consumer goods and regional activation.
Among the most repeated campaigns in the shortlist are “Resize the Price”, “Cancer Prevention Discounts”, “Oreo Cows”, “Pickle It Forward”, “The Golden Zone”, “Vaseline Originals”, “Lucky Fan Index”, “Mandatory Vacation Packages”, “IKEA Preowned”, “Copycats Welcome”, “A Drugstore in Your Pesebre”, “§HOPLEFTING” and “The Password Heist”. Their presence across multiple subcategories highlights the strength of ideas that connect strategy, experience, channel and behaviour.
Creative Commerce Lions 2026 arrives at a decisive moment for the industry, as brands need to prove that creativity can deliver more than awareness: it must facilitate purchase, improve the journey, build loyalty, activate data, create utility and produce commercial growth.
With this shortlist, Cannes Lions 2026 confirms that commerce is one of the most dynamic frontiers of global creativity. The strongest ideas do not only lead people to buy; they transform the way people discover, consider, interact, pay, recommend and build relationships with brands.
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