Entertainment Lions for Sport
The Entertainment Lions for Sport celebrate creativity that taps into fan culture and leverages the power of sports and esports in connecting people to brands.
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Introduction
The history of the Entertainment Lions for Sport
The Entertainment Lions for Sport were introduced in 2019 to celebrate the unique and powerful intersection of sports, entertainment, and branding. This specialist Lion was created to recognise work that leverages the universal appeal and cultural significance of sports to create compelling and impactful campaigns. From collaborations with athletes and teams to activations at major sporting events and branded sports content, the Entertainment Lions for Sport honour creativity that captures the passion, energy, and community spirit inherent in sports.
Since its inception, this Lion has celebrated groundbreaking work that harnesses the emotional power of sports to create meaningful connections between brands and audiences worldwide.
What kind of work can be entered?
Eligible work may include campaigns featuring partnerships with athletes, teams, or leagues; branded sports content such as documentaries, commercials, or digital series; and activations at live sporting events or tournaments. This Lion also embraces innovative use of technology in sports marketing, such as augmented reality, virtual fan experiences, or interactive campaigns that engage audiences.
The work may also highlight grassroots initiatives that use sports to drive social impact or community-building, as well as collaborations that create memorable moments through sponsorships or immersive fan experiences. Ultimately, the work should showcase how sports can serve as a dynamic platform for storytelling, emotional engagement, and delivering tangible results for brands.
What are the Jury looking for?
The work should demonstrate how sports can be a powerful platform for storytelling, cultural relevance, and meaningful brand connections. That is, work that goes beyond traditional sponsorships or endorsements to create innovative, emotionally engaging, and memorable experiences for audiences. The work should also show how effectively the campaign aligns with the brand's objectives while delivering measurable results, whether through fan engagement, community impact, or commercial success.
RUNNER 321 | ADIDAS | FCB TORONTO | GOLD, ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT | 2024
The categories
A. Branded Content for Sport
Creative content crafted to build awareness for a brand by associating it with culture and values through sport.
Branded film, audio and radio content, including documentaries and series, with sports at its core that aims to amplify a sports organisation’s or brand’s message.
If you are submitting a series of films, please upload all executions in a single video file with slates denoting the start of the next execution
Brand or sponsor integration into live coverage of sport events, including the use of live streaming platforms, where a brand contributes a unique narrative or expertise that clearly enhances the overall quality of the content.
Please provide a sample film file of up to 30 minutes.
Sport-related content/programming created to promote a media company, network, broadcaster or publisher. The work will be judged not just on the content, but also on how it communicated or evolved the identity of the publisher.
Sport initiatives/campaigns that demonstrate brand narratives to drive meaningful fan/consumer engagement across relevant platforms.
B. Sport-Led Brand Experience
Meaningful, engaging experiences and activations created to attract or maintain an audience.
Brand or sponsor integration into live sport or esport events, shows, stunts and installations held physically or within virtual worlds, enabling a brand to provide message amplification and engage with an audience.
Immersive experiences that creatively push the boundaries of technology within sport entertainment. This could include, but not be limited to, AI, AR, VR, XR, wearable tech and mobile devices, voice technology, blockchain technology, gamification, virtual worlds, the metaverse and all other emerging platforms. Does not include prototypes of early-stage technology.
Esports, games and gaming initiatives created to communicate a brand, teams or sports organisation through the creative production, promotion and distribution of content with sport-related gaming at the core. This includes but is not limited to the use of brand integration within existing gaming platforms.
Experiences that successfully carry a brand’s message across multiple platforms/channels, both online and offline. The work should demonstrate how content featuring a brand’s message, product or service has been seamlessly implemented on various platforms to continue and amplify meaningful consumers’ experience and engagement.
C. Community
Work that focuses on the development, maintenance and nurturing of a community or fanbase.
Audience engagement and distribution strategies designed to build and engage a sports-related fanbase, enhancing community activity and brand affinity.
The creative and innovative use of content creators, streamers and/or influencers to drive a brand’s message and engage with a specific audience within sport. This may include, but is not limited to, collaborations, sponsored content and user-generated content.
D. Partnerships
Exceptional strategic partnerships between brands and sports-related entities.
Strategic brand partnerships and collaborations that leverage sports, branded content and entertainment to meet specific business goals and mutually benefit everyone involved.
Strategic partnerships between a brand and a known sports personality, team or sports organisation. The work will be judged on how effective and mutually beneficial the partnership was.
E. Challenges & Breakthroughs
Creative and innovative work that is brought to life through deep cultural insight, regional context and progressive thinking.
Brand-led creative work that leverages sport to tackle and confront disparities based on sex, sexuality, disability, age, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or other status within a sport or sports-related community.
The innovative use of new or existing technology, platforms, media or channels to create branded products and content that enhance the sports experience, comfort, performance, safety of athletes and fans.
Brands that have creatively adapted their approach in response to competitor pressure by challenging the status quo to create game-changing work that uses progressive thinking and innovative creativity.
Work inspired by a specific audience or community, relying on identifiable social behaviour. The work should demonstrate how leveraging insights into consumer behaviour can create a powerful connection with a brand.
Work that celebrates the art of humour in branded communications, infusing wit, satire, and cleverness into campaigns that provide amusement and create memorable, laughter-inducing connections with audiences.
Creative use of modest budgets and/or resources in relation to the market and/or industry to create maximum impact. The work should demonstrate how fresh insight, smart spending and compelling strategic thinking solved a business problem despite limited resources.
Work that honours marketers who craft strategic solutions rooted in the lived experiences of culturally grounded communities. This approach reflects and translates the nuances of customs, behaviours, and traditions that shape foundational perspectives on identity (e.g. disability, gender, race, orientation, age). Such insights reveal how diverse audiences choose brands and media experiences, driving growth and impact.
Eligibility
Work will need to have been executed during the eligibility period of 8 February 2024 – 10 April 2025.
Is there a limit to how many times I can enter?
There is no overall limit to how many times the same piece of work can be entered into Entertainment Lions for Sport as long as the categories chosen are relevant.
Esports may be entered across all categories within the Entertainment Lions for Sports.
OLIVEIRA DOS CEN ANOS | REAL CLUB CELTA | REAL CLUB CELTA, VIGO | GOLD, ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT | 2024
Previous Winners and inspiration
WoMen’s Football
Cannes Lions 2024 Grand Prix Marcel Paris / Orange / 2024
French Telco and partner of the French Football Federation Orange used deepfake technology to combat prejudice and promote the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The film attracted over 200m organic views and over 450 pieces of cross-media PR coverage.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL | ORANGE | MARCEL PARIS | GRAND PRIX, ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT | 2024
What influenced the winning work?
The Entertainment Lions for Sport Jury awarded this work the Grand Prix for its ability to combine creative excellence with cultural impact. The work stood out for its innovative approach, using storytelling and technology to celebrate and amplify the meteoric rise of women’s football.
Jury President Louise Johnson praised the work for “brilliantly capturing the spirit of a movement,” highlighting how it not only showcased the growth of women’s football but also contributed to its global momentum. By integrating cutting-edge technology with compelling narratives, the campaign connected with diverse audiences, breaking through traditional barriers and creating a sense of inclusivity and inspiration.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL | ORANGE | MARCEL PARIS | GRAND PRIX, ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT | 2024
Inside the Jury Room: Entertainment Lions for Sport
To hear more from the Jury and how they decided on the winning work, check out the video below.
Entries & Judging
What is the judging criteria?
A number of criteria will be considered during judging, weighted as follows: 30% creative idea; 20% strategy & insight; 30% craft & execution; 20% results.
What do I need to provide with my entry?
To enter, you’ll need to complete an online entry form, which can be found on the Cannes Lions entry site . In the ‘Written Explanation’ section, you’ll be asked to provide the Jury with everything they need to know about your work.
You’ll also be able to submit optional supporting materials to provide additional context with your entry.
All case films, films, demo films and original content must be subtitled in English.
Detailed information outlining the entry process can be found on A Guide to the Cannes Lions Awards.
What if I don’t have all the details right away?
Don’t worry – you can fill in the form in any order and save your progress at any time while it’s still in the pending stage. However, please only check out when your entry is 100% complete as no changes can be made to your entry once you’ve clicked “Submit” and “Checkout”.
The Written Submission
Here’s the questions you’ll be asked regarding your work.
To start your entry to the Entertainment Lions for Sport, go to our Awards page.
The Jury will refer to the written explanation you provide throughout the judging process. Our advice is to provide as much relevant detail as possible.
When answering the following questions keep the main element you’re trying to celebrate in mind (e.g. the storytelling, the strategy, the craft, the use of data).
The bullet points under each question are prompts designed to guide your thinking, based on the factors the jury will be considering when reviewing your work. You might not need to use them all, and that’s totally fine. They’re there to help you consider what’s most important in your work.
Questions
The word limit for this section is 100 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please provide any brand and cultural context that would help the jury understand any cultural, national or regional nuances applicable to this work.
You should outline why this piece of work was created for this particular brand, in this market, at this particular moment in time, with all of the cultural and market conditions.
The word limit for this section is 250 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please select the objective(s) that were most important when creating this work – what the work set out to achieve.
For the jury to accurately assess the work, it must first establish its objectives. As you progress through the entry system, you must link your results back to each objective selected.
- Over achieve on brand metrics (e.g. awareness, engagement)
- Change consumer behaviour (e.g. attitudes, frequency, penetration)
- Create short-term sales growth (e.g. sales, promotions, discounts)
- Improve brand health (e.g. consideration, preference)
- Create sustained sales success (e.g. profit, sales)
- Create long-term brand and sales growth (e.g. shareholder value, retention, loyalty)
There is no word limit for this section.
This question is compulsory.
Please provide a summary of your entry. describe the background and context behind the work what creative challenges did the work face
This should be an overview of the work and an analysis of its effectiveness. You should describe how the objectives of the campaign have been successfully met.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Consider the following when describing the creative idea of the work:
- Does the work cross boundaries/have the ability to think beyond conventional boundaries or categories?
- Does the work evoke surprise/have the power to continue captivating attention?
- Does the work transcend the original challenge?
- Does the work incorporate breakthrough thinking?
- How did the creative insight directly influence the amplification of the brand message?
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Consider the following when describing the strategy:
- Was the strategy based on consumer behaviour and/or cultural insight?
- Did the insight come from research and data?
- Did creativity play a key role in the interpretation of the business challenge?
- Was this piece of work relevant to the defined target audience?
- Does the work genuinely solve a real problem?
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Consider the following when describing the execution:
- How effectively was the concept brought to life?
- What specific implementation strategies were employed to ensure success?
- Was the execution timeline realistic and well-managed?
- Which channels were utilised for placement, and were they optimal for reaching the target audience?
- How extensive was the scale of the execution in relation to the defined objectives?
- Did the execution adapt to any unexpected challenges or changes in the environment?
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
Please refer back to the objectives selected when answering this question. Consider:
- performance against brand metrics (e.g. awareness, engagement)
- change in consumer behaviour (e.g. attitudes, frequency, penetration)
- indications of short-, medium- or long-term sales success (e.g. shareholder value, profit, revenue, ROI, sales, share)
- brand health improvement (e.g. consideration, preference, quality of experience and interaction)
- potential changes in government regulations or societal/economic events (e.g. changes in economic, political, social factors)
- achievement against objectives
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory.
If there are additional results you wish to disclose to the Jury but prefer to keep confidential, please enter them below.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is optional.
Category Specific Questions
Please tell us how the work tackled and confronted disparities within a sport or sports-related community.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E01.
Please outline the innovative elements of the work.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E02.
Please tell us how the work challenged or was different from the brand's competitors.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E03.
Please tell us about the social behaviour that inspired the work.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E04.
Please tell us about the humour insight that inspired the work.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E05.
Budget Details
Please provide budget details that show how the campaign achieved breakthrough results on a limited budget. Consider:
- the overall budget
- the breakdown of costs
- how the campaign maximised reach vs expenditure
- the significant impact this adjustment had on the campaign's effectiveness.
We recommend providing as much context as possible to understand the budget spend. However, we understand that different cases will have different types of results.
- (Any confidential information should be entered in the confidential information field)
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E06.
Please tell us about the specific cultural insight that drove the nuanced engagement behind this work.
The word limit for this section is 150 words.
This question is compulsory for E07.
LA ARGENTINA HOTEL | TYC SPORTS | MERCADO McCANN, BUENOS AIRES | BRONZE, ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT | 2024
Contact us
Everything you need to know to enter
For more detailed information on how to use the entry site, craft a compelling submission or submit your work we have a whole range of resources.
From Entry Guides that give you a step-by-step overview of the entire process to the Entry Kits that provide all the detailed rules and requirements for each and every category.
We are here to help
As Awards Experts, we know the Lions inside out. We can help with:
- Sharing the updates to the Awards for 2025
- Offering best-practice advice on how to craft a compelling entry
- Discussing your work and relevant categories
- Scheduling regular catch-ups to answer any questions that arise throughout the entry process.
Whether you have a specific query or would like expert advice, get in touch today.
Email: awards@canneslions.com Helpline: +44 0 20 7046 1155