Everyone walks away from Cannes Lions with their own favourites. For me, it’s never just about the most polished work or the biggest names—it’s about the ideas that get under your skin. The ones that stay with you quietly, long after the lights go down and the chatter fades. These are the pieces I know I’ll keep coming back to—for comfort, for inspiration, and sometimes just to remind myself why we do this work in the first place.
- Missed Birthdays – ITV
This one caught me off guard. Because at first it did seem like just another fancy installation. So beautiful that its sadness hits ten times harder. The way it used something as universal as a birthday to highlight the quiet invisibility of children in distress - it broke me. It reminded me how sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones told in silence and absence.
- ‘The Count’ – SickKids
I still get chills thinking about that moment when the count stops. Everything just… pauses. “When every birthday is a fight, every year is a gift.” That line—it hit me like a punch to the chest. What started as this almost adrenaline-fueled rally cry suddenly became deeply personal. That emotional switch, so seamless and sharp, reminded me how craft and compassion can coexist so beautifully.
- Nike ‘Winning Isn’t Comfortable’ – Outdoor
I’ve always loved Nike, but this campaign felt different. It felt like it spoke to me. Because I hate running, I hate working out, I hate the feeling when my legs are sore. But, I also love all of it. Nike brought that feeling to life, without preaching it. Just living it with headlines that make you smile and words chosen carefully. I wish I could write something like this one day, I found myself thinking.
- Captions with Intent
This one felt like a quiet revolution. Reimagining captions not just as a necessity, but as a storytelling tool in their own right. The care in the typography, the intentionality behind every word—it made me rethink how we design for people, not just users. It reminded me that accessibility isn’t just function. It’s empathy, made visible.
- L’Oréal Ilon Specht Documentary on ‘I’m Worth It’
I’ve only watched the case study of this and have made a note to go back and watch the actual documentary. But it touched all the right parts in me - the quiet feminist, the wannabe writer and the fangirl of iconic brands. Even in the glimpses they played during the ceremony, Ilon Specht is so raw, so unassuming my inspiring and so powerful, it just takes me back to being a hopeful little girl who knows that writing can change the world. That advertising can change the world.
These ideas didn’t just impress me—they moved me. They’ll echo in my work, my thinking, and probably my heart for a long time to come.
