New York, N.Y. — The New York Festivals Advertising Awards announced its winners for 2025, showcasing the industry’s most innovative campaigns and creative excellence. Under the leadership of executive jury president Javier Campopiano, a panel of esteemed global leaders in marketing evaluated this year’s submissions to recognize outstanding work across multiple categories.
The awards ceremony highlighted notable achievements, including the prestigious Best of Show Award, eight Grand Awards, 57 Gold Tower Awards, 68 Silver Towers, and 114 Bronze Towers. A complete list of winners is available in the 2025 showcase provided by the festival.
Every year, the Best of Show award is granted to a singular campaign that exemplifies cutting-edge creativity. This year’s honor went to Dentsu Digital Inc. for its campaign titled “Sato 2531,” part of the Think Name Project. The initiative aims to promote gender equality in Japan by addressing the challenges that many women face due to the country’s law mandating married couples to share surnames.
Research spearheaded by Asuniwa, a gender equality advocacy group, and Tohoku University Professor Yoshida revealed that if the current surname law remains unchanged, the diversity of names could dwindle to nearly all individuals being named “Sato” by the year 2531. The campaign garnered international attention, being featured by over 1,500 media outlets across 102 countries. It also caught the eye of the United Nations, which encouraged Japan to reform the law within two years.
Dentsu Digital’s campaign mobilized 40 organizations to temporarily adopt the surname “Sato,” illustrating the momentum for change. “We envisioned a future where everyone would carry the surname ‘Sato,’ prompting a series of rebranding initiatives across Japanese companies and sports teams,” said Kei Ishizuka, a creative director at Dentsu Digital.
This year’s Grand Awards were presented to outstanding campaigns, including McCann XBC’s “From Fan to Featured” for Mastercard in the category of Branded Content/Entertainment, and Klick Health’s “47” for Café Joyeux, highlighting innovative narratives in film craft. Dentsu Digital also secured multiple honors for its work on the “Sato 2531” campaign, recognized in collaborations, public relations, and purposeful advertising.
The Festival’s Industry Awards revealed leading companies that have excelled in creative achievements. Klick Health was named Agency of the Year, standing out as the first health agency to earn this honor. Their film “47” not only won a Grand Award but also embodied an impactful story catered to the Down syndrome community.
VML was recognized as the Network of the Year for its impressive, consistent creative output, reflecting high scores in various categories. Debbi Vandeven, VML’s global chief creative officer, acknowledged the role of collaboration with clients like Ford and Coca-Cola in achieving this accolade.
For the third consecutive year, WPP was named Holding Company of the Year, while Zombie Studio took home the title of Production Company of the Year for its distinctive animation work, further setting high industry standards.
Café Joyeux earned the distinction of Brand of the Year for its mission to promote workplace inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, exemplifying social responsibility in the business landscape.
The judging process for the awards involved over 350 professionals from across the globe, ensuring a rigorous selection of work that stands as a benchmark for quality in the advertising industry. As the winners are celebrated, there are also plans to reveal the NYFAI global competition results, an initiative focused on innovative storytelling through artificial intelligence.
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