Cannes Lions Exposed an Industry's Transition of Power: Takeaways From Winning Work

Article

June 26, 2026

By Cameron Shields

Hot take: PR people have spent too much time defending their existence. Defending budgets. Defending earned media. Defending why communications should be involved before the crisis, not after it. Defending why reputation matters.

But this year, the winning work at Cannes Lions made one thing abundantly clear: PR has moved on. Or up, rather. The business criticality is unignorable. And it’s the new center of gravity.

No more earned media first. It’s earned impact first. And everyone wants a piece of it.

PR Is No Longer Downstream

PR used to be the last stop. A product launches. A campaign gets approved. A crisis happens. Then PR enters the picture.

“Inside the PR Lions Jury Room” revealed what happens when PR moves upstream and shapes the agenda instead of responding to it.

The winning campaigns of 2025-2026 asked:

Could PR free a country from oppression?

Could PR influence government policy?

Could PR turn negative customer feedback into its strongest commercial driver?

The answer was a resounding yes.

When communications can change behavior, influence policy, galvanize communities, ripple culture and create outcomes that matter in the real world, the only thing left to ask is: when will the briefs catch up and what needs to happen to ensure they stay that way?

Upholding the Mantle: Our New Responsibility

One juror put it plainly: “PR is not a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have.”

If securing a seat at the table is yesterday’s battle, the responsibility now is to make communications worthy of staying there.

Of the winning work this year, here’s what that looks like:

Simplicity Is a Competitive Advantage. Simplify your programs; elevate the point of view. The Swedish Rx became one of the jury’s favorite examples: a Swedish prescription as a driver for tourism. The brilliance was in commitment rather than complexity. And while the execution expanded into multiple touchpoints, the idea remained pure. No twenty-slide explanation required. The jury repeatedly warned against a trap PR falls into all the time: “And then we did this. And then we did this. And then we did this.” Layer after layer until the idea disappears under the weight of its own presentation. Be integrated, but be clear.

Bring Levity in a Heavy World. While “nostalgia” wasn’t on repeat this year, the draw of escapism was still strong, but evolved into something closer to whimsy. Humor even. Effervescence in a weighted world. Not self-aware brand snark. Actual fun. The Swedish Rx is a great example. Attention can once again be earned through delight just as much as through purpose.

The Human CEO Is Finally Replacing the Corporate CEO. Don’t Revert. Gone are the days of the polished script. People are craving leadership and that’s coming through in the creative idea, not just the executive talk track. Campaigns from brands like Burger King and Columbia Sportswear reflected a growing appetite for executives who participate rather than perform. One standout example involved a CEO sharing a real phone number and actually listening. Accessibility became the story, transparency became the strategy, participation the platform. For years, communicators have focused on protecting executives. The next era is about connecting them. In a conversation with Fast Company and Inc.’s Stephanie Mehta, one of the top themes she observed was executives letting their guard down. Throw out the old script for good and lead through connection.

Reputation Equals Brand, and Vice Versa. The distance between crisis and opportunity has evaporated. If there was one piece of work that captured where PR is heading, it was the KitKat Heist. A communications idea that won both PR and Crisis. Rather than lawyer a presented problem, it acknowledged reality, then flipped it into participation, challenging the age-old notion that crisis communications is only about containment. Reputation and brand together, in harmony, reduce friction and create opportunity. That’s what gives communicators the license to lead, not just operate.

Business to the Center. While creative will always balance art, intuition and intelligence, evidence is still key. Prove the work is working for the business, or risk moving back to the sideline.

What PR Leaders Should Do Next

Stop measuring success by visibility. Start measuring movement, connectivity and effect.

Build ideas that people can participate in, not observe. Less flash in the pan, more longevity.

Trade safety for conviction.

Stop chasing culture. Understand its currents and contribute.

Bring your leaders closer to people.

Move faster. Intelligently. If uncertainty is the only thing we’re certain about, stop retreating. With reputation and brand at the center, you can turn a challenge into growth. That’s the Chaos Advantage.

PR leaders know the industry has already evolved. The only remaining question is whether the rest of us are still operating under the old definition.

Cameron Shields is FleishmanHillard’s Global Head of Consumer, Brand Impact .