Creative Marketer of the Year named
AB InBev is the Cannes 2026 Creative Marketer of the Year, and the first company in Cannes Lions’ history to be honoured with the award for a third time.
AB InBev is the Cannes 2026 Creative Marketer of the Year,. Pictured: Corona has been named the world’s most valuable beer brand for the third consecutive year in the annual Kantar BrandZ report (Image source: © Tasting Table Tasting Table
The honorary accolade is presented to a marketer who has amassed a body of iconic, Lion-winning work over a sustained period of time.
About the award, Marcel Marcondes, global chief marketing officer, AB InBev, says, “Creativity is always in service to driving growth.
“To be named Creative Marketer of the Year for the third time in the last five years reflects our consistent and sustainable approach to building brands people love.”
Creativity as a key competitive advantage
Since 2021, the global brewer has embarked on a journey of inorganic to organic growth, betting on creativity as a key competitive advantage that has contributed to strong performance and increased revenues.
In that same year, AB InBev won its first Cannes Lions Grand Prix for its Tienda Cerca campaign.
In 2022, it went on to win a whopping 49 Lions – one Grand Prix, 10 Gold, 19 Silver, 19 Bronze – across 10 brands from seven countries.
The Grand Prix came in the form of a Creative Effectiveness award for Michelob Ultra and its
In 2023, its creative work from 10 countries won 15 different Lion Awards.
Last year, AB InBev’s continued commitment to using creativity as a growth lever across its portfolio resulted in it winning an impressive 37 Lions at last year’s Festival.
Additionally, the Global Effie Index ranked AB InBev as the World’s Most Effective Marketer for the fourth year in a row, and in the Kantar BrandZ rankings, AB InBev brands lead the world’s most valuable beer brands, taking eight of the top 10 places, with Corona ranked number one for two years in a row.
All-time high revenues
AB InBev’s published Q1 2026 business results demonstrate strong momentum across its global footprint, achieving all-time high revenues and increased beer volumes.
Its focused and consistent consumer-centric strategy builds brands to drive sustainable long-term growth – with 20 “+1 billion-dollar” brands.
It’s also a credit to the amazing teams and agency partners we have around the world that are delivering all-time high revenues. Cheers to everyone who helped make this history-making recognition possible,” says Marcondes.
Opening the Cannes 2026 programme
AB InBev will open the 2026 Cannes Lions programme, delivering a keynote on the Lumière Theatre stage at 10 am, Monday 22 June.
Following this, it will be honoured as Creative Marketer of the Year at the final Awards Show of the Festival on Friday, 26 June.
About the honour, Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, says, “AB InBev has embedded creativity into how it operates, not just how it leverages marketing, and it is consistently outperforming as a result.
“By prioritising creativity at a C-suite level and implementing an internal creative effectiveness system, it continues to demonstrate the clear and compelling link between creative excellence and commercial performance.
“This is a historic win, recognising a company that has made creativity scalable, measurable and sustainable across hundreds of brands globally.”
Cannes Lions will run from 22 to 26 June in Cannes, France. To view the full programme and see the range of Festival passes available, visit www.canneslions.com