NYF Advertising Awards announces winners for 2025

New Delhi: The New York Festivals (NYF) Advertising Awards has announced the winners for 2025, recognising campaigns across categories for creative and executional excellence.

Dentsu Digital, received the Best of Show award for its campaign SATO 2531 – Think Name Project, which aimed to highlight gender inequality linked to Japan’s surname law. The project featured a collaboration with Professor Yoshida of Tohoku University and predicted that if the current law continued, most of Japan could end up with the surname “Sato” by the year 2531. It gained coverage from over 1,500 media outlets in 102 countries and was presented at a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare press conference, as well as to UN Women. As per the organisers, 40 organisations temporarily adopted the surname “Sato” to draw attention to the issue. The campaign also coincided with the election of a Prime Minister supportive of legal reform.

“We imagined a future where everyone ends up with the surname 'Sato'…so we rebranded companies and sports teams across Japan to reflect that. We even wanted to change the Onitsuka Tiger to ‘Sato Tiger’—and turn car brands like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki into ‘Sato’ too. Only Nissan would survive!” said Kei Ishizuka, Creative Director / Copywriter, and Shiho Kurihara, Art Director, Dentsu Digital Japan.

In total, the Executive Jury awarded eight Grand Awards, 57 Gold Tower Awards, 68 Silver Towers, and 114 Bronze Towers across a range of creative disciplines.

Industry Honours

Klick Health was named Agency of the Year, marking the first time a health-focused agency has received this recognition. Their campaign 47 for Café Joyeux, a stop-motion film co-created with individuals from the Down syndrome community, was one of the Grand Award winners.

"We are proud to be named New York Festivals Advertising Awards Agency of the Year. To be the first health-focused agency ever to receive this distinction and join the ranks of the greatest consumer agencies of all time is a huge honour and milestone. On behalf of our entire team, thank you to the festival, its esteemed jury, and the entire industry for recognising our work and acknowledging the important role health plays in the world," said Rich Levy, Chief Creative Officer, Klick Health.

VML was recognised as Network of the Year, while WPP received Holding Company of the Year for the third consecutive year. The award is based on the overall points accumulated by agencies within each holding company or network.

Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer, VML, said: “Being named Network of the Year is a tremendous honour for VML, and it wouldn’t be possible without the partnership and commitment from our exceptional clients like Ford Motor Company, Tennessee Tourism, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and The Coca-Cola Company.”

Additional Recognition

Zombie Studio was named Production Company of the Year for its work with Klick Health. The studio contributed to the 47 campaign and received praise for its storytelling and visual execution.

“Zombie just got named Production Company of the Year at the New York Festivals — and we’re honestly over the moon. This festival has been around forever, so seeing our name up there feels pretty wild,” said Paulo Garcia, Director and Co-Founder, Zombie Studio.

Café Joyeux was named Brand of the Year. The French café chain employs individuals with cognitive disabilities and has grown to over 25 locations since its launch in 2017.

The Grand Award winners for 2025 included:

• Branded Content/Entertainment: McCann XBC for Mastercard’s From Fan to Featured
  

• Collaborations & Partnerships: Dentsu Digital Inc. for SATO 2531
  

• Film Craft: Klick Health for 47 – Café Joyeux
  

• NYF Cristal Village Award: MullenLowe MENA for The Art Of Stains – OMO
  

• Outdoor: VML for Coca-Cola’s Thanks for Coke-Creating
  

• Public Relations: Dentsu Digital Inc. for SATO 2531
  

• Purpose: Dentsu Digital Inc. for SATO 2531
  

• Social Media & Influencer: Serviceplan Germany for Rainbow Wool – Schäferei Stücke

Watch the New York Festivals Advertising Awards 2025 Winners' reel :