The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced AB InBev as the 2026 Creative Marketer of the Year. The honorary accolade is presented to a marketer that has amassed a body of iconic, Lion-winning work over a sustained period of time. 

AB InBev is the first company in Cannes Lions’ history to be honoured with the award for a third time. Since 2021 the global brewer has embarked on a journey of inorganic to organic growth, betting on creativity as a key competitive advantage that has contributed to strong performance and increased revenues, according to Lions. The brewer’s continued commitment to using creativity as a growth lever across its portfolio resulted in it winning an impressive 37 Lions at last year’s Festival.

Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said: “AB InBev has embedded creativity into how it operates, not just how it leverages marketing, and it is consistently outperforming as a result. By prioritising creativity at a C-suite level and implementing an internal creative effectiveness system, it continues to demonstrate the clear and compelling link between creative excellence and commercial performance. This is a historic win, recognising a company that has made creativity scalable, measurable and sustainable across hundreds of brands globally.”

AB InBev’s published Q1 2026 business results demonstrate strong momentum across its global footprint, achieving all-time high revenues and increased beer volumes. Its focused and consistent consumer-centric strategy builds brands to drive sustainable long-term growth – with 20 ‘one+ billion-dollar’ brands, stated Lions.

Marcel Marcondes, global chief marketing officer, AB InBev, said: “Creativity is always in service to driving growth. To be named Creative Marketer of the Year for the third time in the last five years reflects our consistent and sustainable approach to building brands people love. It’s also a credit to the amazing teams and agency partners we have around the world that are delivering all-time high revenues. Cheers to everyone that helped make this history-making recognition possible.” 

AB InBev will open the 2026 Cannes Lions programme, delivering a keynote on 22 June. It will be honoured as Creative Marketer of the Year at the final awards show of the festival on 26 June.