The Gerety Awards has announced its 2025 winners, recognising work from across the world with a jury of 270 judges spanning 52 countries. This year’s results include four Grand Prix, alongside 36 Gold, 80 Silver and 65 Bronze awards, with Paraguay and Kazakhstan securing their first ever recognition at the show.
The awards, which assess advertising through what they describe as a “powerful perspective,” have positioned themselves as a barometer of campaigns that balance creativity with cultural resonance. With advertising conversations increasingly dominated by AI-driven production and efficiency, this year’s Grand Prix winners stood out for craft, storytelling and emotional connection.
The enduring weight of words
McCann Paris took home a Grand Prix in the Entertainment Cut, Online Video category for The Final Copy of Ilon Specht for L’Oréal Paris. The work revisited the copywriter behind the brand’s long-lasting tagline, “Because I’m worth it,” first penned in 1971.
Grand Jury member Vuyo Henda, chief marketing officer at Spur Corp, South Africa, described the project as more than just a retrospective. “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht unveils the indomitable woman behind the words that reshaped beauty advertising. Her line for L’Oréal — ‘Because I’m worth it’ — not only captured the spirit of its time, but it also transcended it, becoming a mantra for women around the world,” Henda said.
Henda noted the campaign’s resonance against today’s backdrop of automated expression: “In an era where large language models dominate conversations and AI-assisted expression floods our feeds, The Final Copy is a testament to the enduring might of words that come from the heart — and ideas powerful enough to reverberate across generations. Ilon’s story is not only worth telling but worth celebrating.”
Precision editing as narrative
From Buenos Aires, Monks secured a Grand Prix in the Craft Cut, Editing category for Senna’s Cut, created for Netflix. The film centres on the late Ayrton Senna’s record-breaking Formula 1 lap, with its impact resting almost entirely on its editing.
“Senna’s Cut is all about great editing,” said Menaka Menon, president and managing partner – Growth & Strategy at DDB Mudra, India. “The entire idea here hinged on the edit, on getting it down to exactly the right secondage of his record-breaking lap, on syncing the footage with the sound design, while also ensuring the narrative of the show came alive. And doing it all so well, that one was hooked from start to finish.”
The decision to award the campaign reflects an industry acknowledgement that technical execution can itself carry emotional weight when done with precision.
Packaging empathy under pressure
Another Grand Prix went to ServicePlan Germany for Price Packs created for retailer Penny, which won in the Communication Cut, Product & Packaging Design category. At a time when inflation and financial strain are reshaping consumer priorities, the campaign resonated with jurors for its socially grounded approach.
“As a marketer on the African continent, I can honestly say that this campaign touched me deeply,” said Waithera Kabiru, Africa digital hub lead at Diageo Africa and a Grand Jury member. “In these tough economic times, when people are overwhelmed and brands are under pressure, it reminds us that marketing can still connect through empathy, truth, and courage. It’s soft yet powerful—feminine values we need more of in our industry. It doesn’t shout, it speaks. It doesn’t sell, it moves. In a world full of noise, this campaign chose meaning—and that’s why it deserves the Grand Prix.”
The recognition underscores how design and packaging — traditionally seen as functional — are increasingly being used to reflect social commentary and brand empathy.
Visual storytelling on taboo topics
The fourth Grand Prix went to Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London, for Never Just A Period for Bodyform/Libresse. The campaign, awarded in the Craft Cut, Art Direction category, explored menstruation with a narrative approach designed to challenge stigma.
Rifah Qadri, executive director—marketing at easypaisa in Pakistan, highlighted its layered execution: “Never just a period is a masterclass in storytelling, every frame amplifies emotion, wit and urgency of the message. The pacing, the transitions and the visual juxtapositions pull you in and make it unforgettable, turning a sensitive subject impossible to ignore.”
In a landscape where women’s health remains underrepresented in mainstream advertising, the campaign demonstrated how art direction can elevate uncomfortable themes into unavoidable conversation.
Reading the results
The wider results — with 181 awards in total — reflect a continued globalisation of creative recognition, with first-time wins for Paraguay and Kazakhstan adding to the mix of established advertising markets.
Founded to ‘honour creativity that is both timely and timeless’, as its organisers describe, the Gerety Awards differentiate themselves by emphasising the perspective of women and under-represented voices in creative evaluation. While its jury is not exclusively female, the award positions itself as a corrective to historic industry imbalance.
This year’s winners collectively show a pivot away from technological novelty towards craft and cultural resonance. Whether through the rediscovery of Ilon Specht’s words, the editing of Senna’s lap, the empathetic design of Penny’s packaging, or the bold art direction for Bodyform, jurors highlighted campaigns that balanced execution with meaning.
The significance of these results lies in what they say about the industry’s priorities. At a time when generative AI, automation and performance-driven creative are reshaping advertising workflows, the projects awarded at Gerety emphasise human perspective, lived experience and emotional connection.
The Gerety Awards continue to function as both a celebration and a critique of global advertising trends. The campaigns honoured this year underscore that while technology shapes process, audiences still reward craft, empathy and originality.
For agencies and brands navigating an environment increasingly dominated by efficiency metrics, the 2025 results suggest that effectiveness also lies in depth of storytelling and clarity of execution. In that sense, the awards provide less a victory lap for winners than a reminder to the industry of what audiences value most.
