Special US has been named Independent Agency of the Year – Engagement at the 2026 Cannes Lions.
The award recognises performance across approximately 8,000 entries – around 40% of all Cannes submissions – spanning some of the festival’s largest and most competitive categories, including Direct, Media, PR, Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce, Creative Data and Social & Creator.
Special’s LA office also won the Cannes Lions Media Grand Prix for ‘Make your own Super Bowl’ for Uber Eats, along with a Gold Lion in Direct and a Silver Lion in Brand Experience & Activation.
The agency added another Silver Lion in Creative Effectiveness for Uber Eats’ Super Bowl campaign, ‘Football is for food’.
Huge achievement for the entire team
The Independent Agency of the Year win comes just a week after Special LA was named Global Independent Agency of the Year by Campaign in the global awards show in London.
Kelsey Hodgkin, CEO and partner at Special US, says: “At Special US, we’ve always tried to make work people want to spend time with – work that earns attention by being generous, entertaining and culturally rewarding.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our clients and partners for believing in that ambition and helping prove that effectiveness and entertainment are not opposing forces, but can really supercharge each other in the most wonderful ways.”
Tony Bradbourne, Special founder, says: “To be recognised across the largest track by far, which spans the disciplines that are arguably the most important to marketers today, is a huge achievement for the whole Special US team.”
