TBWA\RAAD has won two Bronze Lions at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with both campaigns earning recognition in the Cultural Engagement sub-category despite addressing vastly different challenges — one highlighting a global humanitarian crisis and the other celebrating a grassroots food trend in Saudi Arabia.
The agency’s winning campaigns, “Om Bdr – 12th Ingredient” for KFC Arabia and “Laws Under Attack” for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), demonstrate how culturally grounded ideas can create impact across both commercial and social causes.
The first campaign, “Om Bdr – 12th Ingredient,” won a Bronze Lion in the Social & Content category. It was inspired by a viral TikTok trend in which Saudi consumers sprinkled Srar Hail, a spicy seasoning created by local cook Om Bdr, over KFC chicken.
Rather than recreating the trend through traditional advertising, KFC Arabia and TBWA\RAAD partnered with Om Bdr to officially launch her seasoning as the brand’s “unofficial 12th herb and spice,” transforming an organic social media phenomenon into a limited-edition menu item while preserving its authenticity.
The campaign relied on real KFC outlets, local reporters and more than 35 Saudi creators instead of polished commercial productions. Om Bdr herself remained at the centre of the campaign, appearing as herself throughout.
The collaboration sold out in under three weeks, delivering KFC Saudi Arabia’s highest-ever sales mix at 15%, 120% above target. Om Bdr’s own seasoning also sold out, while the campaign significantly outperformed TikTok advertising benchmarks, recording a click-through rate 91.25% above category averages and a view-through rate 14% above benchmark. The campaign also received TikTok’s highest creative honour, the G.O.A.T. Award.
Commenting on the recognition, Ahmed Arafa, Chief Marketing Officer, KFC Arabia, said:
“Having Om Bdr recognized at Cannes Lions is a proud moment, not just for KFC Arabia, but for the community that created this campaign in the first place. Cannes celebrates work that makes a dent in culture, and that’s exactly what this was: a real behavior, from real people, that we had the privilege of making official. The Bronze Lion belongs to every Saudi who poured Om Bdr’s seasoning over their KFC bucket and shared it with the world.”
The agency’s second Bronze Lion came in the Media category for “Laws Under Attack,” a campaign created for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The campaign draws attention to growing violations of international humanitarian law amid conflicts around the world. According to the campaign, more than 1,600 attacks on healthcare facilities were reported globally in 2024 alone.
As part of the initiative, the text of the Geneva Conventions was spray-painted word by word onto the walls of bombed hospitals and damaged ambulances, visually demonstrating how the laws had been violated. The campaign later expanded by marking operational hospitals and ambulances with the message “This is not a target,” designed to be visible from the air, before culminating in advocacy efforts at the United Nations urging governments to recommit to the Geneva Conventions.
Roy Al Chidiac, Communication Manager, ICRC Lebanon, said: “The global recognition helps amplify an urgent humanitarian message far beyond the headlines. It is an opportunity to continue reminding the world that civilians, healthcare personnel, and medical facilities must be protected under international humanitarian law. It is also a reminder that communication, when placed at the service of humanity, can do more than raise awareness, it can help protect lives. Every message shared, every story told, and every image seen has the potential to reinforce respect for the law, humanize those affected by conflict, and remind the world that behind every attack on healthcare are people fighting to survive, heal, and save others.”
Reflecting on the agency’s performance at Cannes Lions, Reda Raad, Group CEO, TBWA\RAAD, said: “TBWA\RAAD’s Cannes Lions wins this year are proof that the stories, the people, and the culture of this region have something meaningful and universal to say. Two Bronze Lions for two campaigns rooted in the Arab world: one born from a kitchen in Hail, one from the walls of hospitals in Lebanon. When local truth is told with enough courage and craft, it travels. The world isn’t discovering Arab culture. It’s finally catching up to it.”
