FMCG giant Procter & Gamble, sportswear firm Nike and automaker Volkswagen have been named the top three brand marketers of the decade by Cannes Lions, in recognition of the world’s largest advertiser’s sustained creative performance.

Topping the ranking is P&G: the owner of brands including Always, Tide, Old Spice and Ariel, P&G has raked in seven Grands Prix, one Grand Prix for Good, three Creative Effectiveness Lions, two Titanium, 49 Gold, four Glass, 77 Silver and 100 Bronze Lions since 2010, according to an announcement during this week’s Lions Live.

Though it’s only fair to acknowledge the company’s position as, by some counts, the world’s largest spender on advertising with a vast reach to markets around the world, P&G’s achievement is to have created work to maintain its position of leadership almost everywhere the company trades.

To name a few of its award-crushing campaigns since 2010, there was #LikeAGirl, by Leo Burnett for the feminine hygiene brand Always, which questioned the stereotypical depiction of women and girls.

In 2017, detergent brand Ariel showed how a powerful idea, #ShareTheLoad, could create a movement over the course of years to deliver ongoing effectiveness.

Meanwhile, in China, P&G-owned Japanese skincare brand SK-II won over consumers used to buying prestige European skincare brands with an emotional multichannel campaign to challenge the stigma toward women who had resisted pressure to marry.

Second place goes to Nike, which had consistently strong performances in the first half of the decade, along with more recent successes in 2017 and 2019. The Oregon-headquartered sportswear firm has brought in a total of five Grands Prix and two Titanium Lions.

Volkswagen, the German auto group, takes third place, having consistently ranked in the top ten between 2010 and 2015.

In a statement recognising the accolade, P&G’s Chief Brand Officer, Marc Pritchard noted how “it’s important now, as ever, to continue to use our voice and creativity to be a force for good, a force for growth and a force for change.

“On behalf of all of our P&G brand builders and creative partners, P&G is so humbled and honoured to be recognised as the Lions Brand Marketer of the Decade.”

This and more rankings of the decade feature in the Lions Creativity Report of the Decade, by Cannes Lions with editorial commentary from WARC. The report will be available later today.

Sourced from Cannes Lions; additional content by WARC staff