The 2025 EPICA Awards celebrated bold global creativity, with INNOCEAN winning South Korea’s first Grand Prix for Hyundai’s “Night Fishing.” Multiple Grand Prix honoured standout work across film, innovation, responsibility, digital, print and PR, highlighting creativity that blends storytelling, technology and social impact.
The 2025 EPICA Awards marked a defining moment for global creativity, celebrating work that not only pushed the boundaries of craft and storytelling but also demonstrated how ideas can meaningfully engage with culture, technology and society. This year’s winners reflected a striking breadth of approaches, from cinematic imagination and meticulous craftsmanship to bold experiments in innovation and purpose-driven communication. At the heart of the celebrations was a historic win for South Korea, as INNOCEAN secured its first-ever EPICA Awards Grand Prix, signalling a significant milestone for Asian creativity on the global stage.
INNOCEAN’s Innovation Grand Prix for Hyundai Motor Company’s “Night Fishing” campaign stood out as one of the most talked-about wins of the year. The project was shot entirely using the cameras of the Hyundai IONIQ car, transforming a functional automotive feature into the backbone of a cinematic storytelling experiment. More than a traditional advertisement, “Night Fishing” blurred the line between branded content, film and technological exploration, inviting audiences to experience a new visual language shaped by the vehicle itself. For the EPICA jury, composed of journalists from around the world, the work represented a genuinely fresh way of thinking about how brands can tell stories. For South Korea, it marked a breakthrough moment, as the country claimed its first EPICA Awards Grand Prix. Reflecting on the win, Na Ri Moon, Creative Director at INNOCEAN Korea, said the recognition was particularly meaningful because the project was seen not just as advertising, but as a bold technical experiment and a new approach to storytelling.
Film continued to command a central place at the 2025 EPICA Awards, even as the industry navigates an increasingly fragmented media landscape. This year, the jury made the rare decision to award two Film Grand Prix, acknowledging two very different yet equally compelling approaches to cinematic advertising. HeimatTBWA\ Berlin’s “No Project Without Drama” for Hornbach in Germany transformed a simple home improvement scenario into an operatic spectacle. With handcrafted sets, dramatic choreography and a theatrical sensibility, the film elevated a leaky pipe into an epic “plumbing opera,” celebrating both the drama and the satisfaction inherent in DIY projects. Guido Heffels, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of HeimatTBWA, described the film as being made with bare hands, passion and the best materials, embodying Hornbach’s brand ethos in its purest form.
The second Film Grand Prix went to “We Need to Talk About Eli” by Norwegian agency Morgenstern for Maxbo. In stark contrast to Hornbach’s grand theatricality, this film leaned into humour and relatability, portraying a young girl who has picked up some decidedly inappropriate language from her father. The jury praised it as pure entertainment, perfectly pitched in tone and execution. For Morgenstern, a small independent agency, the recognition carried particular weight. Creative team Bjørnar Buxrud and Torkild Jarnholt described the honour of being recognised by top industry journalists from around the world as a huge milestone, underscoring EPICA’s unique role in spotlighting creative excellence beyond the biggest global networks.
Purpose-driven creativity was equally prominent among this year’s Grand Prix winners, particularly in the Responsibility category, where the jury again chose to honour two projects. Publicis Conseil’s “AXA – 3 Words” in France was recognised for its groundbreaking approach to addressing domestic violence. The initiative went beyond awareness-raising, introducing a new insurance coverage that allows victims to access protection simply by uttering three words. The AXA team at Publicis Conseil emphasised that the project was more than a campaign, describing it as an initiative that engaged the entire company and redefined what insurance could mean in moments of crisis.
Alongside AXA’s work, “Miniatur Warmland” from Grabarz & Partner for Deutsche Telekom offered a very different but equally powerful response to a global issue. By combining advanced technology with the world’s largest model railway in Hamburg, the project illustrated the potential impact of global warming in a way that was accessible and engaging for younger audiences. The miniature world, gradually affected by climate change scenarios, served as a vivid and emotional educational tool. Ralf Heuel, CCO and Partner at Grabarz & Partner, noted that while recognition from fellow creatives is always rewarding, receiving a Grand Prix from journalists places the work in an entirely different league.
The PR Grand Prix highlighted the enduring power of ideas rooted in cultural insight and social conversation. McCann Paris and L’Oréal Paris won for “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht,” a campaign centred on a documentary about the copywriter behind L’Oréal’s iconic line, “Because I’m worth it.” Launched on International Women’s Day, the film became a catalyst for a broader discussion about the phrase’s role in empowering women and its significance in the ongoing fight for equality. Charlotte Franceries, McCann Global Business Leader for L’Oréal and Ferrero and President of McCann Paris, described the win as an exceptional honour, noting that the campaign’s recognition as a meaningful PR platform was shared with the entire McCann Paris team.
Digital innovation also took centre stage, with INNOCEAN once again making its mark through the Digital Grand Prix-winning “Camdom: The First Digital Condom” for Billy Boy in Germany. Designed as a mobile application, Camdom blocks devices from filming intimate encounters, addressing the growing problem of non-consensual recording and revenge porn. By framing privacy and safety as shared responsibilities in a connected world, the project transformed a simple technological intervention into a powerful social statement. Creative Directors Jose Suaid and Sebastian Pattis of INNOCEAN Berlin emphasised that Camdom was not just a product, but a necessary response to a real and escalating crisis, made all the more meaningful by recognition from journalists who value impact over hype.
Print, often seen as a more traditional discipline, proved its enduring relevance through the Print Grand Prix-winning “IKEA – Made For Life” campaign from TRY in Norway. The series of print ads paired different IKEA products with touching or humorous narratives, using elegant art direction and thoughtful copywriting to create emotionally resonant stories. The campaign demonstrated how simplicity, when executed with craft and insight, can still captivate audiences. Creative team Caroline Riis and Eirik Sørensen expressed their pride in receiving the prestigious award, noting how gratifying it was that the work resonated far beyond Norway.
The Grand Prix debates took place in Paris under the leadership of jury president Claire Bridges, founder of the Now Go Create consultancy, podcast host and author. Reflecting on the winners, Bridges highlighted the dynamic contrast that defined the year. On one hand were projects like the digital condom and AXA’s domestic violence initiative, which used creativity as a tool for protection and problem-solving. On the other were the Film Grand Prix winners, which embraced imagination and storytelling to bring life and emotion to categories often considered dry. For Bridges, this balance between system-changing ideas and painstaking craft decisions was what made the 2025 EPICA Awards particularly exciting.
Together, the 2025 EPICA Awards Grand Prix winners painted a vivid picture of an industry in motion. From South Korea’s historic first Grand Prix to campaigns that reimagined technology, challenged social norms and celebrated the artistry of storytelling, the awards underscored creativity’s evolving role in shaping both brands and society. In recognising work judged by journalists rather than peers, EPICA once again affirmed its distinctive perspective, honouring ideas that not only impress within the industry but also resonate in the wider world.
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