Cresta Awards has revealed its 2026 finalists with with Plan.Net. The company, part of Serviceplan Group, has 27 entries shortlisted, opening up a clear gap between the German agency and all other contenders.

Sheep Happens for longstanding retail client, Penny; The Roblox Unblox for Playmobil; Interactive Intermission for retailer, Otto; and Non-disclosure Austria for Austria Tourism top the Plan.Net finalists, with multiple nominations being scored by each. 

Also featuring strongly are two Middle East agencies. BigTime Creative Shop of Riyadh, the reigning Cresta Independent Agency of the Year, continues its strong work for Riyadh Season and The Ring magazine with 15 finalists.

Horizon FCB Dubai is close behind with 13 finalists, a success built on works for healthcare and wellness company, Centrum Multivitamin, as well as the WingSentry project for Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group.

Dentsu Creative Paris has its best showing yet at Cresta with nine finalists, all coming from work for the French Army recruitment. This is matched by Edelman London, where entries for Hellmann’s Mayonnaise and HP are among its strongest contenders. 

The highest performing office in the BBDO network, often the winner of the Network of the Year title, is BBDO Nordics, with eight finalists for The Bound Books Project for The Dawit Isaak Library.

Of newcomers to the competition, No Plan Inc. of Japan may be one of the biggest surprises, coming in with five finalists. It is one of the highlights of a strong first-year showing for work in the new AI categories. 

Riff Raff Films stands out as the production company best-placed to win more trophies with four finalists, as it goes about defending last year’s Production Company of the Year title. 

“There’s an incredible range of contenders this year,” commented Cresta CEO, Lewis Blackwell. “We have many terrific familiar names strongly represented but we also have many exciting new participants in the mix. They are spread across the range of categories, across media and crafts, but it’s notable that quite a few have come through in the new AI categories.”

Overall, 32 countries are represented across the finalists, with works ranging across all forms of digital and traditional media, with entries from agencies, production companies and an increasing showing directly from brands.

The winners will be announced on September 22.