The culmination of ADFEST 2026 is the announcement of Lotus Special Awards. A new Special Award has been added to the line-up this year with Independent Network of the Year joining the line-up.
The ADFEST 2026 Special Award winners are:
NETWORK OF THE YEAR
Dentsu has retained the title of Network of the Year. The group of 11 offices that entered the ADFEST Lotus Awards included Dentsu Inc., Tokyo,
Dentsu Creative, Gurugram
Dentsu Creative Thailand, Bangkok
Dentsu Creative Taiwan, Taipei,
Dentsu Digital Inc., Tokyo,
Frontage Inc., Tokyo
Dentsu Creative Philippines, Manila
Dentsu Indonesia, Jakarta,
Dentsu Live Inc., Tokyo
Dentsu East Japan Inc., Tokyo,
Dentsu Creative Manila, Manila
Following on, the second to fifth place runners up were:
2. Leo
3. Hakuhodo
4. Ogilvy
5. BBDO
INDEPENDENT NETWORK OF THE YEAR
Innocean was awarded Independent Network of the Year 2026.
Following on, the second to fifth place runners up were:
2. Gigil
3. Good People Network
4. Edelman
4. Special Group
5. FSN
AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Dentsu Inc., Tokyo was awarded Agency of the Year 2026.
The second to fifth places were allocated to:
2. Dentsu Creative, Gurugram
3. Leo Australia, Sydney
4. Ogilvy Singapore, Singapore
5. Shiseido Creative, Tokyo
INDEPENDENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Independent Agency of the Year went to Shiseido Creative, Tokyo.
The second to fifth positions were taken by:
2. Fundamental, Mumbai
3. Studio Eeksaurus Productions, Mumbai
4. Choojai and Friends, Bangkok
5. DMINUSONE, Seoul
DIGITAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Ogilvy Singapore, Singapore was awarded Digital Agency of the Year.
The second to fifth places were allocated to:
2. BBDO Guerrero, Manila
3. Leo Australia, Sydney
4. Gigil, Manila
5. Good People, Jakarta
MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Media Agency of the Year was awarded jointly to Dentsu Creative, Gurugram and Starcom Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
Following on, the third to fifth place runners up were:
3. Hakuhodo DY One, Tokyo
4. Innocean, Seoul
5. H+, Jakarta
5. Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc., Tokyo
5. Initiative Thailand, Bangkok
5. Starcom Taiwan, Taipei
PR AGENCY OF THE YEAR
PR Agency of the Year was MSL Philippines, Manila.
The second to fifth positions were taken by:
2. Brilliant & Million, Bangkok
3. Material Inc., Tokyo
4. Ogilvy Singapore, Singapore
5. PR Consulting Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
5. SOUR Bangkok, Bangkok
5. Verve Bangkok
PRODUCTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR
Production Company of the Year was shared by Chrome Pictures, Mumbai and Crastos Studios, Mumbai.
In the ranking below, the third to fifth positions were given to:
3. Studio Eeksauraus Productions, Mumbai
3. Canaries Post Sound, Mumbai and
5. Ducktape Studios, Mumbai
ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR
Advertiser of the Year was won by DSP Mutual Fund.
The second to fifth positions were taken by:
2. Unilever
3. Suncorp Group
4. WhatsApp
5. Centre for Pastoralism
5. McDonald’s
REGIONAL AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Regional Agency of the Year is now a part of ADFEST Special Awards line-up. Awards are given to agencies with the highest score from East Asia, Middle East, Oceania, South Asia and South-East Asia
Dentsu Inc., Tokyo was awarded East Asia Agency of the Year.
The second through fifth position were allocated to:
2. Shiseido Creative, Tokyo
3. Innocean, Seoul
4. Hakuhodo Inc, Tokyo
5. Leo Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Middle East Agency of the Year went to Impact BBDO, Dubai.
Leo Australia, Sydney was awarded Oceania Agency of the Year.
South Asia Agency of the Year was won by Dentsu Creative, Gurugram.
In the ranking below, the second to fourth positions were given to:
2. Fundamental, Mumbai
3. Studio Eeksaurus Productions, Mumbai
4. DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai
Ogilvy Singapore, Singapore was retained its title of Southeast Asia Agency of the Year.
In the ranking below, the second to fifth positions were given to:
2. VML Thailand, Bangkok
3. BLKJ Havas, Singapore
4. Wolf BKK, Bangkok
5. Choojai and Friends, Bangkok
LOTUS GRANDE FOR HUMANITY
The Lotus Grande for Humanity recognises creative excellence in the Public Services & Cause Appeals categories. Gold Lotus winners in Brand Experience, Commerce, Creative Strategy, Design, Digital & Social, Direct, Effective, Entertainment, Film, Media, Mobile, Outdoor, PR, Press, Radio & Audio (Except Audio Craft Lotus sub-categories), Sustainable, INNOVA and Lotus Roots are eligible to win the Lotus Grande for Humanity.
The Grande of Humanity was not awarded this year. Yasuharu Sasaki, Global Chief Creative Officer for dentsu, Tokyo was Grand Jury President for Creative Strategy, Effective, Sustainable Lotus, Lotus Roots and Grande for Humanity Awards.
He explained, “Unfortunately, we were unable to select a Grande winner in this category this year. While each nominee was a wonderful Gold-winning entry, we believe there must be even more creativity out there that truly embodies the “Human+”, is applicable worldwide, and represents the APAC region. We look forward to next year’s submissions.”
