Apple’s decade-old Shot on iPhone series has bagged the 2025 Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Creative Effectiveness, crowning a user-generated marketing idea that began as a billboard experiment and grew into one of advertising’s most recognisable platforms. The prize was announced on Thursday, June 19, during the fourth day of the festival in Cannes, France.
A Decade of Crowdsourced Creativity
Launched in early 2015 to show off the iPhone 6’s camera, “Shot on iPhone” broke with smartphone advertising norms by swapping slick studio shots for real-world images captured by everyday users. Apple and agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab curated the best submissions and plastered them across global billboards, transit posters, and magazine spreads before expanding into short films, music videos, and themed contests. That simple call-to-action, “share your best photo with #ShotOniPhone,” has since generated more than 31 million Instagram posts, dwarfing rival brand hashtags such as Samsung’s #withGalaxy.
Festival jury president Andrea Diquez, global CEO of agency GUT, called the work “a masterclass in elevating user-generated content,” praising its power to “democratise creativity, turning everyday moments into art.” The judges said Apple built “a platform, not just an ad,” proving that authentic voices can sustain commercial impact long after launch buzz fades.
Effectiveness That Outlasts Hardware Cycles
While Cannes often celebrates flashy one-offs, the Creative Effectiveness category rewards campaigns that keep moving products years down the line. Analysts cited by the festival note that mobile photography remains a primary reason the iPhone continues to top global sales charts, and Apple’s decision to let customers do the talking has been central to that dominance. For Apple, each new handset update becomes fresh source material for millions of would-be photographers, reinforcing the idea that the best camera is the one already in your pocket.
Apple’s latest win adds to an overflowing Cannes trophy cabinet (the original 2015 “World Gallery” outing also collected a Grand Prix) and provides timely momentum ahead of the expected iPhone 18 launch this autumn. With rumours pointing to further leaps in computational photography, TBWA\Media Arts Lab is expected to stick with its proven formula: hand the newest phone to real users and let their images sell the upgrade.
A decade on, “Shot on iPhone” shows no sign of fatigue; if anything, Thursday’s Grand Prix suggests that crowdsourced creativity—backed by ever-better hardware—can stay fresh for the long haul, turning everyday snapshots into a marketing engine no studio shoot can match.