The Cairns Crocodiles Awards is officially open entries, calling on agencies, brands and creative teams from across Asia-Pacific to put their best work forward.
The Cairns Crocodiles Awards will return as part of the festival from 25–27 May 2027, celebrating campaigns and ideas that deliver commercial and cultural impact across the region.
Two new categories will join the line-up for 2027, with Advocacy and Pet Care added to the awards program.
See the 2026 winners here and enter the 2027 Cairns Crocodiles Awards now!
The Advocacy category will recognise work created to champion a cause, issue or movement and drive meaningful awareness, conversation or action, spanning areas such as social impact, sustainability, equality, public health and behavioural change.
Pet Care, meanwhile, will recognise creativity across the rapidly growing pet economy, including food, healthcare, insurance, retail, services and technology.
“The Crocodiles Awards have always been about celebrating ideas that have real bite, work that is brave, effective and makes an impact beyond the industry bubble,” said Rosie Oakshott, managing partner, The Misfits Media, B&T & Cairns Crocodiles.
“As we head into 2027, we want to see even more of the incredible creativity coming out of every corner of Asia Pacific represented on that stage in Cairns.”
See the 2026 winners here and enter the 2027 Cairns Crocodiles Awards now!
Last year’s awards attracted close to 350 entries from across Asia-Pacific, with submissions spanning markets including Australia, Japan, India and Thailand.
Dentsu Inc. Japan emerged as one of the biggest winners of 2026, taking home the Grand Prix and 15 Crocodile Awards, while Grey Thailand’s ‘Fertilizer 2.5’ collected six Crocodiles.
Work from Coca-Cola, Uber, HBO, Suntory, Droga5 and Special was also among the entries as the awards recorded their strongest regional presence to date.
Cairns Crocodiles is now looking to accelerate that APAC growth in 2027. Co-founder David Hovenden and Oakshott recently travelled to Singapore and Tokyo, while content director Pippa Chambers travelled to South Korea, with all three markets generating strong interest from agencies and brands.
“Asia Pacific is producing some of the most exciting creative work in the world, and we want Cairns to be the place where more of that work is seen, debated and celebrated,” said David Hovenden, CEO of The Misfits Media Company and co-founder of Cairns Crocodiles.
“The awards have evolved enormously alongside the festival. We’re going bigger across the region in 2027 and we want the work on our awards stage to reflect the extraordinary breadth of creativity coming out of Asia Pacific.”
See the 2026 winners here and enter the 2027 Cairns Crocodiles Awards now!
The awards are judged by a hand-selected jury of brand CMOs and industry leaders, with Gold, Silver and Bronze Crocodiles awarded across Campaign and Craft categories.
Campaign categories for 2027 include Advocacy, AI Innovation, Automotive, B2B, Beauty, Lifestyle & Fashion, Entertainment, Film, FMCG, Food & Beverage, Healthcare & Wellness, Inclusivity, Out of Home, PR, Print & Publishing, Public Service Announcement, Pet Care, Radio & Audio, Retail, Retail Media, Social & Content Creator, Technology and Travel & Leisure.
Craft categories include AI Craft, Branded Content, Design, Direct, Effectiveness, Experiential & Activations, Film Craft, Integrated, Media, Radio & Audio Craft and Strategy.
Early-bird entries close on 11 March 2027, with on-time entries closing on 18 March. Finalists will be revealed on 21 April ahead of the Cairns Crocodiles Awards ceremony on 27 May.
Entries can be submitted via the submission portal HERE.
Enter the Cairns Crocodiles Awards now!
In case you missed it, Cairns Crocodiles also unveiled its bold new creative identity for 2027, alongside refreshed advisory boards and a new regional ambassador program.
Check out the full story here: Cairns Crocodiles Marks Next Chapter With New Brand Identity, Refreshed Advisory Board & Ambassador Program.
Also revealed this week, leaders from ŌURA, Grab and IKEA Korea are among the first wave of speakers confirmed for Cairns Crocodiles 2027.
Keep an eye out for more on Cairns Hatchlings, launching next month. The program gives emerging creative talent from across Asia Pacific the chance to tackle a real-world brief, with finalists heading to Cairns to take on a live brief and showcase their thinking in front of the industry.
For more on Cairns Crocodiles Awards head to the site HERE.
Cairns Crocodiles Presented by Pinterest takes place from 25–27 May 2027 at the Cairns Convention Centre. Buy your tickets now right HERE.
