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Social & Creator Lions

The Social & Creator Lions celebrate creative social thinking and strategic influencer marketing solutions.

Introduction

The history of the Social & Creator Lions

The Social & Influencer Lions were introduced in 2018, evolved from the Cyber Lions to recognise the growing impact of social media and influencer marketing within the creative industry.

In 2025, to reflect the evolution of the creator economy within the marketing landscape, it was redefined and renamed the Social & Creator Lions.

The new Creator & Influencer Marketing category features five subcategories that provide a dedicated space to champion the world’s best-creator-led marketing and celebrate the pivotal role creators play in shaping and amplifying brand messages.

What kind of work can be entered?

Eligible work may include social media campaigns, creator partnerships, and user-generated content, as well as creator led strategies and innovative uses of platform features like AR filters, live streams, and gamified experiences.

Social or Creator-led work that fosters online communities, encourages meaningful engagement, alongside efforts that demonstrate agility through real-time content or cross-platform storytelling is also eligible.

What’s the Jury looking for?

Campaigns that stand out for doing something different in a social space or use platforms to do something in a new way. The work should demonstrate how levels of engagement, social reach and the creative use of social media, brand ambassadors, creators and influencers led to commercial success.

MALEKUS. THE LAST 600. | RAINFOREST LAB
 | HAVAS COSTA RICA, SAN ANTONIO | BRONZE, SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS | 2024

The categories

A. Social & Creator: Sectors

The same entry can be submitted only once in this section.

B. Social Insights & Engagement

Work in these categories will be judged on how successfully social was used to engage with online communities and deliver measurable and meaningful results for a brand.

C. Creator & Influencer Marketing

The work in this category should demonstrate how a social campaign was enhanced through the use of social influencers and content creators.

D. Social Content Marketing

Work in these categories will be judged on how successfully content was used to engage with consumers and target audiences.

E. Excellence in Social & Creator

F. Culture & Context

Work that is brought to life through cultural insights and regional context.

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 Social & Creator as long as the categories chosen are relevant.

Exceptions:

  • The same piece of work may only be entered once in ‘A. Social & Creator: Sectors’.

THE NATIONAL SPORT OF KAZAKHSTAN | RUH FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP | GFORCE, ALMATY | GOLD, SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS | 2024

Previous Winners

Michael Cerave

Cannes Lions 2024 Grand Prix CeraVe / Ogilvy PR, New York / 2024

Skincare brand CeraVe embraced a Reddit thread claiming that it was developed by Michael Cera, then used the Super Bowl to make its message clear: CeraVe is developed by dermatologists. It resulted in 32bn earned impressions and a 2200% increase in search for CeraVe.

MICHAEL CERAVE | CERAVE | OGILVY PR, NEW YORK | GRAND PRIX, SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS | 2024

Why the work won

The Social & Influencer Jury awarded this work the Grand Prix for capitalising on meme culture and committing to a bold creative idea. Jury member Rob Mayhew said “it was an original use of a creator to tell a story, done brilliantly”.

MICHAEL CERAVE | CERAVE | OGILVY PR, NEW YORK | GRAND PRIX, SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS | 2024

Inside the Jury Room: Social & Influencer Lions

To hear more from the Jury and how they decided on the winning work, check out the video below.

Entries & Judging

What are the judging criteria?

A number of criteria will be considered during judging, weighted as follows: 30% idea; 20% strategy; 20% execution; 30% 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 Social & Creator Lions, 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

Category Specific Questions

STRONGER | THE RIKY RICK FOUNDATION | TBWA\HUNT\LASCARIS, JOHANNESBURG | SILVER, SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS | 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.

Information and advice on how to enter

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