Last week’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity celebrated the cream of the industry’s creative crop, and this week’s Creativity Top 5 celebrates the best of the best: the most recognized campaigns from this year’s competition. Campaigns for ITV, Mastercard, Clash of Clans, Microsoft and the Government of Tuvalu comprise the list of multi-award winners.

5. CALM x ITV: The Last Photo

Agency: adam&eveDDB

In a powerful response to the U.K.’s rising suicide numbers, European broadcaster ITV and charity CALM displayed what appeared to be everyday images of 50 smiling people. However, all is not always as it seems—the photographs were the last taken of each subject before they committed suicide. “The Last Photo,” led by adam&eveDDB, inspired a 33% increase in conversations mentioning suicide, as well as a 400% increase in donations to CALM year over year.

In addition to the Grand Prix for Film, “The Last Photo” won numerous gold, silver and bronze recognitions across categories.

4. Mastercard: Where to Settle

Agency: McCann Poland

Work for Mastercard won the Grand Prix for Sustainable Development Goals that aided the millions of refugees fleeing Ukraine for Poland in finding new homes. The “Where to Settle” app, led by McCann Poland, combined insights from Mastercard transaction data, salary data from Poland’s Statistics Office and Polish real estate and job portal services to create guidance for families settling in the country after fleeing conflict.

The campaign was awarded the Sustainable Development Goals top prize for its close ties to Mastercard’s purpose and inclusion initiatives, but “Where to Settle” also collected a Titanium Lion and numerous gold, silver and bronze recognitions across categories.

3. The Government of Tuvalu: The First Digital Nation

Agency: The Monkeys Sydney, Part of Accenture Song

In the near future, the island nation of Tuvalu could lose its physical territories to rising tides caused by climate change. The loss threatens both Tuvalu’s culture and sovereignty. However, with agency The Monkeys, Tuvalu’s government created “The First Digital Nation,” an innovative use of the metaverse that recreates Tuvalu’s land masses virtually as well as logging documentation of its history, biota and government in the event of physical land loss.

The idea was presented to the United Nations and is in the process of formal recognition. The campaign also encourages government entities around the globe to make larger commitments to sustainability. “The First Digital Nation” was awarded the prestigious Titanium Grand Prix, which recognizes the festival’s most innovative ideas, as well as other awards across categories.

2. Clash of Clans: Clash From the Past

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland

Mobile game Clash of Clans took home two Grand Prix, one in Gaming and the other in Entertainment, for its expansive throwback campaign, from Wieden+Kennedy Portland. “Clash from the Past” imagined an alternate past in which the game was discovered in the ‘80s rather than the early 2010s. The campaign featured nostalgic nods, such as an arcade version of the game and a trading card set, as well as faux brand partnerships and a 20-minute documentary about its would-be history.

1. Microsoft: ADLaM—An Alphabet to Preserve a Culture

Agency: McCann, New York

The Pulaar language, native to West Africa and spoken by more than 40 million people globally, had never had its alphabet digitally logged, putting it at risk of extinction. From 2018 to earlier this year, brothers Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry, who created the handwritten version of the Pulaar alphabet called ADLaM, had been collaborating with Microsoft to create a usable font recognized by Unicode. 

The campaign, from McCann New York, won the Grand Prix in Design as well as the Grand Prix for Creative Business Transformation. Plus, “ADLaM—an Alphabet to Preserve a Culture” received numerous gold, silver and bronze recognitions across categories.