The winners of The Creative Moment Awards 2026

For many pregnant women and disabled passengers, every journey on London’s transport network comes with an invisible challenge: standing while others, heads bowed to their phones, fail to notice they need a seat. Determined to change this, Earnies launched a simple but powerful idea. A sticker placed at commuters’ feet reading, “LOOK UP, give this seat to anyone who needs it more.” Shared on LinkedIn, the idea struck a nerve, sparking widespread support and prompting TfL to install the signage on the DLR. What began as a simple observation became a movement, encouraging kindness and consideration.

The judges said: Given her talents as a singer-songwriter and pianist, perhaps it’s no surprise that Lucy Baker found exactly the right note, transforming a simple observation into an inspiring campaign that delivered real impact and genuinely connected with Londoners.

Every five minutes, a vulnerable child runs away, many using the rail network. At Christmas, when passengers’ distraction is heightened, Avanti West Coast partnered with Railway Children to help people notice what is often missed. ‘Your Presence Is Presents Enough’ was a national safeguarding campaign built around a symbolic five-minute short film. The campaign delivered real world awareness with child tannoy announcements, priority-style seating for runaways and posters across every Avanti station on the network. The impact? 91% of passengers are now more likely to look up, recognise and report (96%) the signs of a vulnerable child.

The judges said: This was a very striking campaign with brilliant assets and results.

The Home Age was a creative, content-led b2b and corporate campaign to highlight the transformative potential of battery storage to tackle fuel poverty. We were tasked with engaging hard-to-reach audiences including the business leaders, MPs, SpAds, civil servants, thinktanks and academics who define the UK’s energy policy agenda. ​To reach them, we blended earned media with experiential and digital activations, using E.ON’s groundbreaking trial in the city of Coventry as evidence. A local story was thrust into the national spotlight.

The judges said: The campaign addresses its objectives with clarity and confidence. The quality of the activation and execution is particularly noteworthy, demonstrating strong strategic thinking and effective implementation throughout.

While over-55s spend £11bn a year on adult products to reignite their spark - they ignore their hearing health, which is key to connection. Yet one in three hearing aid users report more physical intimacy with their partner - so Specsavers & MAF'S Paul Brunson anonymously seeded a mysterious 'couples intimacy device' through romance influencers, styled like a luxury sex toy launch, before revealing on Valentine's Day the device was… a hearing aid. The nation reacted: mass coverage, 17.4M earned film views, a national conversation on hearing loss, soaring searches, a 69% sales uplift and reduced stigma.

The judges said: Started from a really interesting insight and the craft was exquisite. Reframed the ordinary. Loved everything about this idea.

“Change Starts in the Changing Room” transformed an overlooked facilities issue into a national conversation about girls’ participation, confidence and wellbeing, driving tangible policy influence and unlocking long-term funding for systemic change. Working with the Sweaty Betty Foundation.

The judges said: Given the number of campaigns altering sports kit for girls / women, this is a really nice way to own a different aspect of the sporting experience. Love that this is more than just "research to policy"; it's change in the real world.

In autumn 2024, the Gallagher brothers announced their reunion tour after 15 years apart, instantly becoming the cultural moment every brand wanted to tap into. Aldi seized the opportunity with “Aldeh”; a Britpop-inspired rebrand of its store closest to Manchester’s Heaton Park, home to the band’s comeback shows. The supersonic stunt generated more than 1,000 media articles across print, online, broadcast and social, sparked a local petition to make the signage permanent, earned over 10 million social views, and even secured a repost from Liam Gallagher himself. Aldi also dominated supermarket share of voice around Oasis, achieving a huge 37.5%

The judges said: A brilliantly simple, low cost idea that read the cultural moment perfectly and kept finding new life across several stages, all the way to Liam Gallagher sharing it himself.

Hawala is a culturally embedded, informal money transfer system widely used across British-Pakistani communities. But its reliance on trust, not regulation, makes it a breeding ground for scams. For Remitly, the challenge was clear: raise awareness without alienating an audience distrustful of traditional financial messaging. Instead of lecturing, Remitly changed the messenger. Chabuddy G: a cult character and self-proclaimed hustler, was reimagined as a reformed scammer, exposing the real-life tricks he once profited from. This came to life through Don’t Get Scammed.FM, a pirate radio show blending Bhangra, humour and real scam case studies.

The judges said: There is a lot to love about this campaign. The insight, strategy and creative execution were clever, funny and, most importantly, culturally fluent. It walked a fine line with confidence, and that's exactly what earned it cultural cut-through.

We created a campaign that amplified Carlsberg’s global “access” platform in the context of football. We surprised cabbies – who normally miss the communal experience of a football match because they’re driving fans to the game – and enabled them to come together and enjoy the UEFA Nation’s League final. The global campaign reached 13.2mn people through earned social and 560mn through earned editorial. The campaign reached 54% of the Carlsberg audience.

The judges said: This is creative rooted in clear consumer insight.

The biggest reunion in rock and roll for a generation. Two brothers, serious legacy, a feud, and history in the making as they were rumoured to reunite...but what’s that got to do with a supermarket? Well, just in time for the live shows, we launched a new brand called Lidl by Lidl - a riff on the 'Little by Little' classic - and one jacket to rule them all: a parka purpose built for live music experiences. It was constructed from a beer proof performance polyester, with a bottle opening zip tie and cooler pockets for those essential roadies.

The judges said: Such a fun campaign with some fantastic copy and reactive pieces of marketing delivered in a social-first way. This campaign put a budget supermarket next to Adidas and Burberry. Great work.

Mind the Grab shows what modern PR can do when creativity is applied to real-world problems. 

With phone theft in the UK at epidemic levels, Currys set out to change behaviour where risk is highest by reimagining the UK’s most familiar safety cue, Mind the Gap, for the street. On London’s Oxford Street, a purple line marked the reach of a phone snatcher’s arm, prompting people to instinctively stand back from the kerb. Backed by police, councils and criminology experts, the campaign delivered real-world impact, with 37% of UK adults saying they will change their behaviour due to the campaign.

The judges said: The campaign addresses its objectives with clarity and confidence. The quality of the activation and execution is particularly noteworthy, demonstrating strong strategic thinking and effective implementation throughout.

When Butterfly Conservation declared a national butterfly emergency, Pic PR turned a local conservation story into a national news event for Horwood House Hotel. The agency built what the press billed as the UK's first Butterfly Resort, a miniature luxury retreat decorated by local schoolchildren and brought to life by the hotel's gardener. For a hard cost of just £350 and no paid media, the  campaign earned more than 80 pieces of coverage, including a live feature on ITV's This Morning, BBC News and The Times. It lifted summer family occupancy by 10.8% and helped protect a £600,000 corporate contract.

The judges said: Amazing, joyful, purposeful, cuteness off the charts. Fantastic results for such a little budget.

We created a campaign that amplified Carlsberg’s global “access” platform in the context of football. We surprised cabbies – who normally miss the communal experience of a football match because they’re driving fans to the game – and enabled them to come together and enjoy the UEFA Nation’s League final. The global campaign reached 13.2mn people through earned social and 560mn through earned editorial. The campaign reached 54% of the Carlsberg audience.

The judges said: A really strong sports campaign built on a simple, human and globally relatable insight. The idea of celebrating taxi drivers who usually miss the match while helping other fans get there is emotionally clear, easy to understand and very ownable for a football moment. The execution had a strong reveal, a warm human story and results that link back well to the brand and business objectives.

Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign, devised and executed by Lansons, transformed football’s cultural influence into a nationwide movement for lifesaving action. Inspired by Tom Lockyer’s on-pitch cardiac arrest, the campaign used the rituals and reach of football to drive CPR awareness through disruptive moments, including delayed kick-offs and a Wembley-wide live CPR demonstration. The results were unprecedented: 500,000+ fans completed CPR training, far exceeding targets, while the campaign generated thousands of media placements and hundreds of millions of impressions. It also delivered record highs in brand consideration, trust and affinity for Sky Bet.

The judges said: A powerful and genuinely useful campaign that used football culture to turn awareness into action. The scale of the CPR training result is exceptional, and the work feels both authentic to the brand and meaningful to fans.

While over-55s spend £11bn a year on adult products to reignite their spark - they ignore their hearing health, which is key to connection. Yet one in three hearing aid users report more physical intimacy with their partner - so Specsavers & MAF'S Paul Brunson anonymously seeded a mysterious 'couples intimacy device' through romance influencers, styled like a luxury sex toy launch, before revealing on Valentine's Day the device was… a hearing aid. The nation reacted: mass coverage, 17.4M earned film views, a national conversation on hearing loss, soaring searches, a 69% sales uplift and reduced stigma.

The judges said: Such a simple starting point (hearing is essential to romantic connection) and brought to life in a powerful and multi-layered way that actually brought about PROPER perception and behaviour change.

While over-55s spend £11bn a year on adult products to reignite their spark - they ignore their hearing health, which is key to connection. Yet one in three hearing aid users report more physical intimacy with their partner - so Specsavers & MAF'S Paul Brunson anonymously seeded a mysterious 'couples intimacy device' through romance influencers, styled like a luxury sex toy launch, before revealing on Valentine's Day the device was… a hearing aid. The nation reacted: mass coverage, 17.4M earned film views, a national conversation on hearing loss, soaring searches, a 69% sales uplift and reduced stigma.

The judges said: A genuinely disruptive creative idea that challenges category conventions while remaining firmly rooted in audience insight. The strategic repositioning of hearing aids from a medical device to a relationship enhancer is original, memorable and consistently executed across every campaign touchpoint.

Every five minutes, a vulnerable child runs away, many using the rail network. At Christmas, when passengers’ distraction is heightened, Avanti West Coast partnered with Railway Children to help people notice what is often missed. ‘Your Presence Is Presents Enough’ was a national safeguarding campaign built around a symbolic five-minute short film. The campaign delivered real world awareness with child tannoy announcements, priority-style seating for runaways and posters across every Avanti station on the network. The impact? 91% of passengers are now more likely to look up, recognise and report (96%) the signs of a vulnerable child.

The judges said: The film doesn’t reveal where it’s heading straight away, which keeps you engaged. The positive ending also provides a sense of hope and reinforces the message in a memorable way.

Most online harms happen where parents can't see them. So for NSPCC's Shift/Ctrl, we asked a simple question: what if those dangers didn't stay behind the screen? The result was a film that dragged online threats into the physical world through practical effects, 35mm cinematography, seamless VFX and a haunting blend of sci-fi and social realism. Directed by Ethan & Tom and conceived by House of Oddities, the film transformed everyday teenage moments into something unsettling, emotional and impossible to ignore. It reached 48 million people and helped reshape the national conversation on online safety.

The judges said: A powerful film that made online harm feel visible, urgent and real.

Fly-tipping is a serious rural crime. But its systemic enabler - a waste remover licensing system that approved criminals with no background checks - was unknown to the public. The CLA had the policy argument. What we needed was to expose the flaw in a way the public would care about. So we applied for a license on behalf of a cow: "Bea Vine". Seconds later, she was approved. The story landed across The Today programme, ITV, BBC and more. Within a month, government announced it was reforming the system, with the Waste Minister crediting Beau by name.

The judges said: Great 'pick-a-fight' single-issue campaign focus, played through with all the chutzpah (plus a smart media strategy) that makes this go so much further than the op-ed or letter-to-the-editor. Genuinely shows the power of an idea.

Mind the Grab shows what modern PR can do when creativity is applied to real-world problems. With phone theft in the UK at epidemic levels, Currys set out to change behaviour where risk is highest by reimagining the UK’s most familiar safety cue, Mind the Gap, for the street. On London’s Oxford Street, a purple line marked the reach of a phone snatcher’s arm, prompting people to instinctively stand back from the kerb. Backed by police, councils and criminology experts, the campaign delivered real-world impact, with 37% of UK adults saying they will change their behaviour due to the campaign.

The judges said: This was a really nice stunt with purpose behind it - tackling a real issue and being a brand that actively wants to help the nation rather than just highlighting a problem.

The biggest reunion in rock and roll for a generation. Two brothers, serious legacy, a feud, and history in the making as they were rumoured to reunite...but what’s that got to do with a supermarket? Well, just in time for the live shows, we launched a new brand called Lidl by Lidl - a riff on the 'Little by Little' classic - and one jacket to rule them all: a parka purpose built for live music experiences. It was constructed from a beer proof performance polyester, with a bottle opening zip tie and cooler pockets for those essential roadies.

The judges said: This one went the extra mile, instead of just reacting to a 'news moment' or 'social media trend', the team created a campaign sparked with authenticity and something which goes beyond traditional supermarket marketing.

Columbia Hike Society made "underground music" literal. To get to the rave, you had to hike there. For HikeFest 2026, Brandnation sent 300 music fans deep into the Peak District with nothing but GPS coordinates. Miles of moorland. A hidden cave. A DJ waiting at the bottom. No phone signal. No shortcuts. The hike was the only way in. The event sold out in minutes and travelled internationally leading measurable business impact.

The judges said: This is pure hustle and an unbelievable use of budget. You absolutely nailed the intersection of outdoor community and underground culture. Making the hike the ticket and forcing that physical effort made the IRL payoff so much sweeter.

A campaign that cost just £44. The Weetabix Dunkables campaign (co-developed with US creator Courtney Cook, dunking a Weetabix in chocolate and letting it set) was a true social media moment, proving influence doesn't need big budgets and months of planning. By organically partnering with the leading US voice on British food trend, we landed Weetabix Stateside first and watched it travel home. It delivered millions of views (organic!) a 25% increase in TikTok followers, copycat moments, a Cadbury collab and commentary that went from TikTok to Taxis. Oh, and Amazon ran out of Weetabix in the US.

The judges said: Flawless in its simplicity, with the 'recipe' designed to leverage TikTok's looped viewing and 'you have to try this' replication mechanics. A model for pure, gifted creator resourcefulness, creating a benchmark that shows a gifted creator partnership can completely outmaneuvere a six-figure paid media plan.

Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign, devised and executed by Lansons, transformed football’s cultural influence into a nationwide movement for lifesaving action. Inspired by Tom Lockyer’s on-pitch cardiac arrest, the campaign used the rituals and reach of football to drive CPR awareness through disruptive moments, including delayed kick-offs and a Wembley-wide live CPR demonstration. The results were unprecedented: 500,000+ fans completed CPR training, far exceeding targets, while the campaign generated thousands of media placements and hundreds of millions of impressions. It also delivered record highs in brand consideration, trust and affinity for Sky Bet.

The judges said: Proper impact and a sustained campaign I've seen over and over out in the real world.

The biggest reunion in rock and roll for a generation. Two brothers, serious legacy, a feud, and history in the making as they were rumoured to reunite...but what’s that got to do with a supermarket? Well, just in time for the live shows, we launched a new brand called Lidl by Lidl - a riff on the 'Little by Little' classic - and one jacket to rule them all: a parka purpose built for live music experiences. It was constructed from a beer proof performance polyester, with a bottle opening zip tie and cooler pockets for those essential roadies.

The judges said: Really clever, especially as Lidl wasn't an official sponsor. A reactive that is as multi-layered as is impressive.

When the brief is to make potato brand Golden Kings attractive to Gen Z then who better than an actual real-life potato to take social media by storm? Kingsley - the handpicked potato - is the down-to-earth star of Stakked's creative campaign that has gone viral. Packed with authenticity, personality, and humour - and tapping into cultural moments - Kingsley's videos have quickly engaged the target segment, plus shoppers, retailers, and journalists. His tough decision on whether to bare some skin and flash the flesh for a calendar photoshoot got people talking… and the campaign has delivered exceptional growth.

The judges said: Excellent understanding of social media culture (particularly TikTok) and audience behaviour.

41% of names given to UK children are deemed ‘wrong’ by the technology we use every day. And every autocorrect or red squiggly line is a reminder that you don’t belong. I Am Not A Typo is a voluntary collective with a simple mission. To Correct Autocorrect. With no ‘client’ and no fee – just donated time and media assets – we achieved systemic change. Helping persuade Microsoft to update its dictionaries to be more inclusive. Making millions of people feel seen. And - in the UK at least - stopping them being treated as mistakes.

The judges said: I'm obsessed with this campaign and how it was created "by the typos, for typos". The fact that it drove genuine change with Microsoft changing its definition is testament to the idea and the brilliant people behind it. Bravo.

Our mantra is simple: Great Work. Great Workplace. It’s why we want everyone on our team to feel belonging. Our approach should reach interns; those trying to become parents; those going through menopause (with paid consultancies); those struggling with mental health. But we also want to be admired for the work. We think we do outstanding work. From tackling true crime with Missing People to getting Rankin to take “school” photos of Great Ormond Street patients, to opening IKEA on Oxford Street. Our team still deliver industry-leading work for a client list that any agency would be proud of.

The judges said: The agency's objective of being an admired agency is admirable because it isn't just about winning, but being respected.

In just two and a half years Earnies has changed domestic homicide law for femicide campaigners, improved the commute for pregnant women and people with disabilities, fought for funding for children's cancer treatments, and signed John-Lewis to John Lewis ahead of the World Cup. Earnies is an agency that puts creative storytelling right at the heart of the business. And the launch of it's qualitative insights tool, DEEPER, builds on Earnies’ track record of creating campaigns rooted in human experiences and meaningful insight. Achieving £2.4m+ revenue, 86% YOY growth, global expansion, and behaviour-changing work, through the power of earned.

The judges said: Super-impressive how quickly they’ve built a reputation for creating brave, earned-first ideas that genuinely get people talking.

Axe + Saw is a global earned-first creative storytelling agency, built on a simple belief: attention should be earned, not bought. We're deliberately industry-agnostic, and that's the point, not a gap in focus. Consumers don't live in one lane, so we don't organise ourselves that way either. Working across categories lets us bring an outsider's eye to every brief, spotting the cultural tension a sector specialist is too close to see, and uncovering the story beneath it - the human truths that make people genuinely care

The judges said: Axe + Saw has built a distinctive proposition around earned-first storytelling and cultural intelligence. The entry successfully demonstrates that independence is not simply about size, but about having the agility and perspective to find opportunities larger agencies may miss.

Our mantra is simple: Great Work. Great Workplace. It’s why we want everyone on our team to feel belonging. Our approach should reach interns; those trying to become parents; those going through menopause (with paid consultancies); those struggling with mental health. But we also want to be admired for the work. We think we do outstanding work. From tackling true crime with Missing People to getting Rankin to take “school” photos of Great Ormond Street patients, to opening IKEA on Oxford Street. Our team still deliver industry-leading work for a client list that any agency would be proud of.

The judges said: Some great policies, really strong year of integrated work. And an integrated offering, shown particularly through the social media revenue.

HelloFranses! was founded on a simple belief: influencer marketing had become over-engineered and under-human. As brands chased scale and efficiency, creativity gave way to dashboards and culture to metrics. Founded by Chloe Franses and Hayley Stevens-Shaw, the agency set out to reverse that through social-first creativity, cultural intelligence and a disruptive tech stack that understood how influence now travels. In its first year, HelloFranses! created one of the UK’s biggest pop-culture moments with Pop Mart’s Labubu phenomenon, proving that the most effective creator campaigns aren’t built for algorithms alone, but for relevance, conversation and genuine cultural impact.

The judges said: HelloFranses! stood out as a breath of fresh air in this category, proving that in modern creator marketing, intelligence beats scale and relevance beats reach. In under 12 months, the agency achieved phenomenal momentum.