In a decisive move to maintain the credibility of what is considered the world’s most prestigious creative awards, Cannes Lions has unveiled a new framework of integrity standards, set to take effect from 2026.
At the 2025 Cannes Lions festival, some winning entries were removed after concerns about manipulation and the use of artificial and manipulated media. In response, Cannes Lions has introduced new measures to bring more accountability, transparency, and oversight to the entry process.
The five-tiered integrity framework introduces stringent standards around authorship, fact-checking, AI use, misrepresentation consequences, and governance transparency. These include mandatory entry approvals by senior brand leaders, a hybrid manual-AI verification process, clear AI disclosure rules, and the formation of an independent Integrity Council.
The announcement brought varied reactions from ad experts in India. Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officers, Ogilvy India, welcome the proposed 2026 Cannes Lions framework, as they believe it to be taking multiple steps in the right direction.
“Another big factor that goes beyond the jury room is the establishing of the independent ‘Integrity Council’ made up of legal, ethical, and industry experts. This body seems like an independent Supreme Court of sorts, where entrants will have the right to respond and appeal. The awards that emerge through this degree of filtration will certainly not raise doubts about the worthiness of the winners,” they convey.
Azazul Haque, Group Chief Creative Officer, Creativeland Asia, shares that it’s important Cannes clarify whether they’re awarding creativity, effectiveness, or work that truly helps brands. He believes that over time, the criteria seem to have blurred.
“Initially, Cannes was creativity-first, which made some brands hesitant to participate. Later, they leaned toward brand-first work for revenue, which further blurred the line. I believe the core issue lies in how work is judged—there seems to be a regional bias. For instance, work from countries like India or Brazil often gets recognised only when it fits a particular narrative. To truly fix this, the judging approach itself must change, not just the written framework,” he notes.
According to Aalap Desai, Founder of Tgthr — the youngest Indian agency to win a Cannes Lion, this was a much-needed correction. He adds that the most significant impact of the new standards will be on how campaign results are presented and verified.
“The biggest impact this will have will be on the results section. The letters and the ban will make sure that case study claims are cleaner,” he elucidates. However, he believes the core of Cannes Lions — celebrating creative ideas — remains untouched. The awards celebrate creative thinking so that's the extent of its impact. “So many of us skip the result section when we are watching winning cases but remember a beautiful idea for years. That's what the Lions are for,” he says.
Abhik Santara, Director and CEO, ^atom network and Founding Partner, by The Network, doesn’t mince words in his assessment. “This new integrity framework isn’t exactly a seismic shift. It feels more like the same playbook with a shinier cover,” he says. While he acknowledges that the guidelines may help weed out inflated hype and artificial creativity, he warns that without bold, consistent enforcement, “This so-called overhaul risks being little more than window dressing.”
According to him, many of the outlined principles are already second nature to agencies that play the game right. “Let’s not pretend these principles weren’t already part of the DNA of any agency worth its salt,” he remarks. Still, he sees the framework as a positive nudge. “If anything, this framework should be seen as a tailwind; it is a push for all of us to play harder, smarter and cleaner.”
Both Rajadhyaksha and Karmakar state that despite the numerous cases that have understandably fallen under the shadow of doubt recently, they would like to believe that there is still enough and more integrity in the majority of the advertising industry. “Nothing substitutes the feeling of winning fairly on brilliant work that actually ran with utmost client approval and partnership. It is a lot like the more stringent scrutiny that came into Cricket after the whole wave of match-fixing controversies in the past. The sport still thrived and grew despite the new stringent measures, because the majority of teams loved the sport enough to play fairly and win. Just like that, our industry too has a majority that wants to play and win fairly,” they add.
A senior advertising agency head, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasised the importance of the timing. “The last few weeks have been an egg on the face of the Indian advertising ecosystem because of allegations and fraudulent campaigns. Such things kill the aspirations of young advertising professionals to work and dream big in the ecosystem,” he says.
Following the introduction of the framework, agencies may need to adopt a more grounded perspective rooted in day-to-day ethics. On how his agency ensures campaign accuracy before submitting to awards, Haque says that even before this framework, his team has always ensured that any work submitted under his supervision—whether at his former organisations or now at his current one, was never created solely for awards. “We don’t create superficial entries like mock hoardings that scream ‘award bait.’ We only enter mainstream work that solves real marketing problems and delivers measurable effectiveness,” he adds.
Experts believe that it is essential to establish ethical boundaries that align with both industry expectations and their own values. These internal guidelines are often aimed at maintaining authenticity, avoiding manipulation, and ensuring transparency in how AI-generated content is integrated.
Abhijat Bharadwaj, Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Creative, says that AI is an important technology in today’s times and reduces turnaround times and multiplies output. “Since ethical boundaries must be respected, we have guardrails in place so it is not used to misrepresent facts or infringe copyrights or hurt sentiments,” he says.
Santara also points to the high stakes involved and says no agency enters Cannes on a whim. Instead, it’s a year-round engineering that shapes teams, budgets, efforts and influence. With entry numbers down 38% since their peak in 2016, he adds, “There’s simply no room for shortcuts.”
On whether the new rules will significantly thin the field, Santara is unconvinced. “It might make a few brands and agencies think twice before bending the truth, but in the end, it will only sharpen our collective edge. And that’s how it should be.”
As the advertising industry evolves, creative excellence is no longer judged on craft and innovation alone. Responsibility—both ethical and social is increasingly emerging as a defining benchmark.
When asked whether creative responsibility is becoming central to how the industry recognises great work, Bharadwaj points to a clear shift already underway. He notes the growing presence of clients in jury rooms and a heightened focus on work that delivers real effectiveness.
“We are in the business of creative problem-solving. It has to solve problems, not whitewash reality,” he adds.
