On May 15 this year, the ADwards festival brought together professionals from Latvia’s advertising, design, and broader creative industries to identify the most outstanding work in the field under the guidance of an international jury. This year marked a significant step forward for the festival, as agencies from Lithuania and Estonia were invited to submit entries for the first time.
The most awarded campaign of this year’s festival was “Failing at the Finish”, also known as “School as a Marathon”, created by advertising agency McCANN Riga in collaboration with the education NGO Mission Possible. The campaign received six awards across categories including Use of Influencers, Creative Business Excellence, and PR Events, as well as the festival’s highest honor—the Grand Prix in the Impact & Influence category—making it the top-rated work of the festival.
In addition to this achievement, McCANN Riga received a total of 15 awards across various categories at this year’s ADwards, demonstrating strong and consistent creative leadership in the region.
“This campaign is particularly meaningful to us, as it proves the power of ideas and their ability to engage audiences through a clear and compelling creative solution. It shows that the work created at McCANN Riga can consistently stand out and gain recognition across different creative disciplines. At the same time, Riga is more than just a location for us—it is a place where ideas with international potential can emerge, and we are deliberately working to strengthen it as one of Europe’s creative hubs,” says Sintija Popena, Creative Director and Head of Creative Export at McCANN Riga, who was named Best Creative Director in the Baltics at the ADwards festival.
“Thinking about a marathon requires courage. Thinking about change in education requires even greater courage. This campaign dared to talk about education in a completely unconventional way and reminded us that behind every society’s future are students who need inspiring teachers. It is precisely this human, universal, and unexpected perspective that, in my opinion, resonated with the international jury. In this sense, language does not matter—the story of students’ opportunities, burnout, and the need for talented people in education is understood everywhere in the world. It is important for us to attract talented individuals to education, especially in STEM fields, because students’ opportunities and self-belief will shape our future,” says Ramona Urtāne, Head of Mission Possible.
This year, McCANN Riga has also gained particularly broad international recognition, being shortlisted 38 times across various categories. Awards were received for projects developed in collaboration with clients and initiatives such as Pupkultūra with the campaign “Pink Oath”, SSE Riga Alumni Association with “Aluminati”, and Entrepreneurs for Peace with “Take Me Along.”
A total of 21 international jury members evaluated the entries at the festival, awarding McCANN Riga one Grand Prix, five Gold, four Silver, and six Bronze awards. In total, 37 creative agencies and studios from across the Baltics participated.
“The large number of awards confirms our team’s ability to stand out in strong Baltic competition. It is an important validation that we have strengthened our creative position in the region. At the same time, it provides additional momentum for the development of our creative export—we continue to systematically grow the volume of international projects together with the Neverending platform and strengthen the competitiveness of Latvian creativity,” emphasizes Valters Jonāts, Partner and Creative Lead at McCANN Riga.
