TBWA/Sydney has won its second Lion at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, winning Silver for the Sunburnt Car campaign for mycar Tyre & Auto.
It follows its first win on day one when it took home the Gold Lion in the Outdoor category for the same campaign.
The campaign, produced alongside Eleven and BOLT Sydney/ODD STUDIOS, was recognised in the Industry Craft Lions category for its creative approach to raising awareness of the dangers of UV exposure for Australian drivers.
The category attracted 649 entries globally, with just two Gold, five Silver and 10 Bronze Lions awarded. The win adds to the Outdoor Gold Lion awarded to Sunburnt Car on day one of the Festival.
Other Australian agencies recognised include Special Australia and Special US, who continue to feature in newly announced shortlist categories, securing four nominations for Uber Eats across Film, Creative Strategy, Creative Commerce and Creative Effectiveness.
Droga5 ANZ, were also shortlisted in Film for the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) campaign, ‘The Ad That Can Only Be Seen On SBS’.
The campaign was a provocative 60-second commercial celebrating the 50th anniversary of Australia’s public broadcaster, SBS, in May 2025.
The M-rated, un-censored commercial featured full-frontal nudity throughout the entire spot, tracking a fully naked streaker as he gatecrashes various SBS television properties.
The naked man is seen running through a major World Cup football match, the wilderness survival show Alone Australia, a Nordic Noir drama set, a French erotic movie and the set of the topical studio debate show Insight.
And they weren’t the only ones. The Glue Society & Revolver, were also shortlisted in Film for their work on StreetDoctors’ ‘No Safe Place to Stab’.
At a time when knife crime had surged 81 per cent over the past decade, the campaign tackled the chilling belief among young people that you can stab someone without risking their life.
Teenagers were invited to test the theory out on a life-sized sculpture, set up in a secondary school, only to be confronted with powerful projections of real stories showing how single wounds to those “safe” areas had killed.
The shock of those stories, told through the voices of news reports and family members, forces young people to face the realities of knife crime. The installation – including the sculpture and projections – were developed specifically for the project.
Meanwhile, VML ANZ, Leo Australia and +61 picked up additional shortlist nominations in Brand Experience & Activation and Creative Data.
On day two, a whopping nine Grand Prix were awarded, with the adidas campaign Original Forever by Johannes Leonardo, New York, taking the first double Grand Prix of Cannes Lions 2026 across Film Craft and Entertainment.
Keep your eyes peeled, as more winners will be announced in the coming days.
