The Advertising Club (TAC) has announced the introduction of new categories for the Abby Awards 2026, further aiming to strengthen the Awards’ commitment to creative excellence while also continuing its partnership with The One Club and The One Show. 

The edition introduces two new network-level honours: Creative Network of the Year and Media Network of the Year.

The 57th edition also adds Creative Client of the Year and Media Client of the Year awards, recognising clients whose brands secure the highest cumulative points across the Creative and Media Abby categories.

Another addition is the Independent Agency of the Year award.

Abby Awards 2026 has also introduced new Creative Abby categories, including Social Content & Influencer Marketing, Creative Commerce, Use of Data and B2B.

Additionally, the existing Green Abby, Red Abby and DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity) categories have been merged under Sustainable Development Goals within Creative Abby. 

Dheeraj Sinha, president, The Advertising Club, and CEO, McCann India, said, “Abbys are the most definitive creative and media awards platform in India, now in their 50th year. This is the only award show by the industry and for the industry. This year, we’ve made several upgrades to the award platform, we’ve brought in a Big Four as a process consultant, and introduced new categories to align the awards to modern marketing. And most importantly, introduced trophies for the client and the client of the year trophy. I am excited about the Abbys 2026 and look forward to a great awards season.”

Ajay Kakar, chairperson, Abby Awards 2026, added, “As the industry grows more global, our benchmarks must evolve too. This year’s updates to the Abby Awards Powered by The One Club and The One Show bring a more inclusive and internationally aligned framework. We look forward to celebrating work that competes at the highest level.”