A total of 137 awards were presented at this year’s Golden Drum International Festival of Creativity, with the winners selected from 187 shortlisted entries. The juries presented 43 Bronze Drums, 46 Silver Drums and 34 Golden Drums, alongside 14 Grand Prix awards. Entries from 30 countries competed at the festival, which concluded on October 13 in Portorož with an awards ceremony powered by Mastercard.
Leading the winners was LePub Milan, which claimed the Agency of the Year title, while the LePub network was named Network of the Year. Heineken received the Brand Grand Prix, while Silvia Oton, Valentino Borghesi, Peter Dobbyn and Geo Joseph, the creative directors from LePub behind the campaign The Pub That Refused to Die, were named Creative Directors of the Year.
The Independent Agency of the Year award, supported by NLB, went to Helsinki-based hasan & partners. CARAT Italia secured the title of Media Agency of the Year, while the Czech Republic’s PunkFilm was named Production Agency of the Year.
The special award for the Adriatic region went to North Macedonia. McCann Skopje received the Adriatic Agency of the Year title, supported by Zavarovalnica Triglav, as the region’s most successful agency at this year’s festival.
Among the awards connecting creativity with social impact, the UNFPA Inclusion Excellence Award stood out. hasan & partners received the recognition for the campaign How a non-profit fought the social media giants, armed with a bunch of t-shirts, created for Naisten Linja. Supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the award recognizes work that actively contributes to gender equality and social inclusion.
Two awards were presented in the Best of Social Good category. Saatchi & Saatchi Ukraine was recognized for The Healing Stage, a project for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Psychological Center ‘4Help’, while Warsaw-based McCann Poland received the award for Here to Stay, created for Mastercard. The Game Changer award, supported by Telemach Slovenia, went to LePub Milan for its Tocayos initiative, developed for Heineken.
Joining this year’s award recipients was Mihnea Gheorghiu, Global Chief Creative Officer at the LePub network, who was inducted into the Golden Drum Hall of Fame, an honour reserved for creatives whose work and influence have left a lasting mark on the industry.
Commenting on this year’s winners, Mojca Briščik, President of Golden Drum, said: “Golden Drum brought together some of the most visionary minds and creative talents from across the region. From these inspiring exchanges emerged exceptional work defined by originality, bold thinking, and masterful execution – work that reflects the ideas, innovation, and creative excellence driving our industry forward. To all our Winners and Finalists, congratulations. Your talent, dedication, and passion for creativity are at the heart of what makes Golden Drum a celebration of creative excellence. Thank you for inspiring us, challenging the boundaries of what is possible, and continuing to raise the bar for our industry.”
A new generation of creatives also celebrated its winners. In the Young Drummers competition, organized in partnership with Mastercard Slovenia, Ilona Zdravkova and Neli Kirova from Sofia-based HUMAN took first place with their poster series Travel Like a Tourist. Pay Like a Local.
The jury also awarded two special mentions: Olga Ricart from VML Czechia in Prague for the series Seamlessly Different, and Gesui Mirzo and Andrea Cabajova from Zaraguza CZ for Trip happens.
All winning entries are available in the official Golden Drum 2026 gallery.
