The winners of the Creative Data Lions at Cannes Lions 2026 have reflected a growing focus on using data to solve tangible human and societal challenges, according to Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Groupe South Asia and Jury President for the category.
The Grand Prix has been awarded to ‘SOS POS’ for Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), created by Circus Grey, Lima. The campaign has transformed payment terminals into emergency protection points by using complaint and location data to help people in vulnerable situations seek assistance discreetly.
Explaining the jury’s decision, Acharya said, “The Grand Prix winner stood apart for the beautiful simplicity of its idea and the imaginative use of data – data used to protect data! It turned an everyday payment terminal into a lifeline at a moment of real vulnerability. It solved a human problem, strengthened trust in a difficult-to-differentiate banking category, and showed how Creative Data can drive business impact while scaling meaningful protection for people and society.”
Reflecting on the broader body of winning work, Acharya identified three major trends that emerged from this year’s Creative Data winners.
The first trend was the use of sophisticated datasets to create practical and scalable solutions. Campaigns such as Suncorp Australia’s ‘Haven’ combined climate, property and peril data to generate personalised resilience plans for homeowners. ‘Fantasy Herd’ transformed live farm data into an entertainment platform, while ‘WireCar’ used mapping and race data to convert a local children’s tradition into an interactive global experience. Meanwhile, ‘600K Network’ leveraged smartphones and QR codes to create a real-time election dataset, turning citizens into active contributors to data infrastructure.
Discussing this trend, Acharya said, “One stream of winners showed brands using large and complex data sets with real ambition – not to show off complexity, but to solve meaningful problems.”
The second trend highlighted how relatively simple datasets can become powerful when paired with strong creative thinking. Campaigns such as ‘SOS POS’ and Skoda’s ‘DuoBell’ demonstrated how data can be used to address real-world challenges despite not relying on highly complex systems.
On this, Acharya said, “These ideas proved that great Creative Data is not about how much data you have, but what you do with it.”
The third trend focused on making invisible issues visible and building systems for action around them. Mastercard’s ‘Here to Stay’ used data on migrant underemployment to create career pathways and economic opportunities. Hyundai’s ‘Forests Without Names’ transformed fragmented kelp data into a shared environmental mapping standard, while Hospice NZ’s ‘Dying Reviews’ highlighted the needs of people at the end of life.
Summing up the impact of such work, Acharya said, “The best work did not just reveal problems; it created ways to act on them.”
Across the category, the strongest campaigns demonstrated how data can move beyond measurement and analysis to become a tool for solving business, social and environmental challenges.
