The Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity 2026 has announced its winners at the awards gala held at the Capitol Theatre in Singapore on March 12, with India emerging as one of the leading markets at the regional creative awards.
Leo India has been named APAC Creative Agency of the Year, while Leo South Asia has also won APAC Network Creative Agency of the Year, marking the second time in four years that the agency has secured the top honours.
The agency has won a total of 13 metals, including two Grand Prix, one Glass Grand Prix, four Gold, two Silver and four Bronze Spikes for campaigns created for brands including ACKO, Mountain Dew, Whisper, Lenovo, Sting, Lay’s, Flipkart and Gatorade.
The Grand Prix wins have come for work created for ACKO and Mountain Dew, while Whisper has secured the Glass Grand Prix. Additional metals have been awarded across campaigns created for Mountain Dew, ACKO, Sting, Lenovo, Lay’s, Flipkart and Gatorade.
Among the Grand Prix wins, Leo Mumbai has secured the Brand Experience & Activation Grand Prix for ‘Darescore’ created for Mountain Dew. The campaign has introduced a data-driven index ranking Himalayan peaks by difficulty, turning the brand’s ‘dare’ positioning into a real-world exploration platform.
The agency has also won the Direct Grand Prix for ‘Acko Tailor’ created for Acko General Insurance, a campaign that has used the language of bespoke tailoring to highlight the idea of personalised insurance products.
In the Glass: The Award for Change category, Leo Mumbai has won the Grand Prix for ‘Project Early Periods’ created for Whisper, a campaign focused on menstrual awareness among young girls.
Another Indian win has come in the Print & Publishing category, where Juice, Gurgaon has won the Grand Prix for Air India Express’ ‘Inglish Dictionary’ campaign.
Independent agency Fundamental Mumbai has also secured recognition, winning a Gold Film Spike for ‘WhatsApp – Baatan Hi Baatan Mein (Love in a few words)’.
India’s creative production ecosystem has also been represented among the winners, with Studio Eeksaurus named among the recipients of the Spikes Palm, which recognises production companies.
Across the Asia-Pacific region, several other markets have also secured top honours. Ogilvy Singapore has won multiple Grand Prix for ‘Vaseline Verified’, including wins across Creative Commerce, Healthcare, PR and Social & Creator categories.
Australia has also featured among the winners. VML Sydney has won the Outdoor Grand Prix for ‘Commuter Camo’ created for KitKat, while Leo Sydney has secured the Digital Craft Grand Prix for ‘Haven’ for Suncorp Insurance.
New Zealand has secured the Grand Prix for Good for ‘The Māori Roll Call’ created by Motion Sickness Auckland for Whānau Ora.
The awards have also marked a milestone for Uzbekistan, which has recorded its first-ever Spikes with a Silver and Gold in Film Craft for ‘The Weight of Pain’, created for the National Agency for Social Protection.
Beyond the winners, the awards have reflected broader shifts across the Asia-Pacific creative industry. Brand participation has increased 18% year on year, with 46% of entries in the Creative B2B category submitted directly by brands.
Awards for independent agencies have also increased 44%, including recognition for first-time entrant Fundamental Mumbai.
In the Special Awards, Leo has been named Network of the Year, followed by Ogilvy and HAKUHODO, while Motion Sickness Auckland has been recognised as Independent Agency of the Year.
The Spikes Asia Creativity Report and full rankings are scheduled to be released on March 30, 2026.
“Clinching the Creative Agency of the Year and Network Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia is an incredibly proud moment for all of us at Leo. It celebrates exactly the kind of belief we live by Impacting A Billion Lives capable of creating real change for brands and society. From purpose-led platforms like Whisper Early Periods, innovation-first brand ideas such as Mountain Dew and Lenovo to culture-forward work for Acko and Sting, this body of creative work reflects the ambition and craft of our teams and the trust of our partners. Leo will always doff its hat to our clients who continue to believe in bold ideas and to our teams whose relentless pursuit of creative excellence keeps pushing the boundaries of what creativity can do.”
— Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe – South Asia & Chairman, Leo South Asia
“Winning Creative Agency of the Year and Network Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia is an incredible moment for Leo South Asia and a reflection of the momentum our teams and client partners have built together. The fact that this win comes on the back of multiple pieces of work across several brands shows that we are an agency where doing great work is institutionalised and is core to our DNA. I am proud of our work more so because it is effective creativity, demonstrated across work that has impacted people, communities, the planet and both – our clients and brands, at scale. This win belongs to the amazingly talented women and men at Leo and to our incredible client partners with whom we ask the toughest questions and build the boldest answers.”
— Amitesh Rao, CEO, South Asia – Leo, Publicis Health & Publicis Business
“Spikes Asia continues to spotlight the exceptional creativity emerging from APAC, and this year’s winners demonstrate the power of ideas that are both culturally resonant and commercially effective. We’re seeing a clear evolution in the work – brands are stepping forward as creative partners, while agencies and independents are increasingly focused on measurable impact. Together, they are raising the bar for what creativity can achieve for businesses and society.”
— Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS
“The growth we’re seeing in areas like Creative Data and Creative Effectiveness shows how the region is embracing creativity that is not only bold, but also accountable. At the same time, the rise in brand participation and continued strength in Design reflects an industry that is expanding who creates great work and how that work drives real results. This year’s winners represent the very best of that evolution.”
— Melanie Speet, Director, Spikes Asia
