WARC has released the Creative 100 Ranking for 2026, a global independent overview of the most awarded campaigns and companies for creativity in marketing. The ranking is based on the results of the most important international and regional creative awards from 2025.
Creative 100 represents one of the most relevant global indicators of creative excellence in the industry and is compiled by WARC using a methodology that aggregates the results of major festivals and awards. The selection of shows included in the ranking is determined in consultation with the WARC Rankings Advisory Board and through an annual global survey among industry experts.
Amy Rodgers, Head of Content, WARC Creative, said the ranking highlights how creativity continues to play a central role in the development of marketing: “The idea behind the Creative 100 ranking is to celebrate campaigns and companies that use the power of creativity as a driver of differentiation and change in the industry. It is an opportunity to reflect on exceptional work and the creative teams behind it, and to be inspired by their success.”
Three key creative trends
The analysis of this year’s Creative 100 highlights three dominant trends in contemporary creativity.
The first is creativity across media channels. The most successful campaigns demonstrate innovative use of different platforms and media, showing how creative ideas can connect with audiences and trigger strong emotional responses regardless of the communication channel.
The second trend is advocacy through creativity. A large number of awarded campaigns use creative concepts to address social issues such as support for people with visual impairment, advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, the destigmatization of the herpes virus, or protection for victims of domestic violence.
The third trend is the growing importance of creativity in B2B marketing. Two B2B campaigns appear among the ten best in the world, indicating that a creative approach is becoming a key differentiator in business marketing as well.
Most creative campaign: “Three Words”
At the top of the list of the most awarded campaigns of 2025 is “Three Words”, developed for AXA by Publicis Conseil Paris.
The campaign emerged after AXA in France added three words – “and domestic violence” – to its insurance policies, allowing victims of domestic violence to access immediate relocation support as part of their coverage.
Marco Venturelli, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Conseil and Global CEO of Leo, highlighted the simplicity of the idea as the key to its impact: “The idea resonated strongly because of the contrast between its simplicity and its enormous social impact. With just three words, we are changing millions of insurance policies and making them more inclusive of a risk that affects women more often than fires or floods.”
In second place is the B2B campaign “Spreadbeats”, developed for Spotify by FCB New York, while third place goes to “Lap of Legends” for Michelob Ultra, created by FCB New York and 160over90 New York.
Most creative agency and network
The title of the most creative agency in the world this year goes to LePub Milan, which moved up from second place in last year’s ranking. Among the campaigns contributing to this result are two projects created for Heineken.
Second place goes to Serviceplan Munich, while Publicis Conseil Paris ranks third.
Serviceplan Munich also takes first place among independent agencies, ahead of Rethink Toronto and Klick Health Toronto.
In the network category, Ogilvy has been named the most creative agency network in the world for the sixth consecutive year. A total of 15 campaigns from the network appear in the Creative 100 ranking, with contributions from seven offices around the world, including New York, Singapore, Mumbai and Lima.
Second place goes to DDB Worldwide, followed by VML in third. The Leo network, formed after the rebrand and merger with Publicis Worldwide, appears in the ranking for the first time.
Among independent networks, Serviceplan retains the top position, followed by Rethink and Klick.
WPP remains the leading holding company
Among holding companies, WPP retained the top position for the fourth consecutive year. Three networks from the WPP portfolio appear among the top 50: Ogilvy, VML and AKQA.
Second place goes to Omnicom Group, while Interpublic Group ranks third, based on performance prior to the announced merger.
Most creative brand and advertiser
For the first time in the history of the ranking, Heineken has been named the most creative brand in the world. The brand has two campaigns among the top 100, along with a further 19 campaigns in the expanded Creative 100 database, developed across 12 different countries.
Second place goes to Apple, while McDonald’s ranks third.
The title of the most creative advertiser this year goes to Unilever for the first time. The company is represented by 15 different brands in the Creative 100 database, with Vaseline and Dove appearing among the top 50 most creative brands.
Second place goes to Anheuser-Busch InBev, while Heineken ranks third.
The USA continues to lead global creativity
At the country level, the United States retained its first-place position, which it has held continuously since 2006, when the Creative 100 ranking was still known as the Gunn Report.
A total of 30 campaigns among the top 100 come from the United States, the same number as last year. The United Kingdom ranks second with 11 campaigns, while Brazil takes third place.
The full WARC Creative 100 list includes the 100 most awarded campaigns, 50 leading agencies, networks, brands, advertisers and countries, as well as the top holding companies.
WARC also announced that the Media 100 ranking will be published on March 13, followed by the Effective 100 on March 18.
