Javier Campopiano, worldwide chief creative officer at McCann Worldgroup and McCann, is to chair the judging panel at the Campaign Big Global Awards 2026.
Campopiano has been worldwide chief creative officer at McCann Worldgroup and McCann for two years, with responsibility for the creative leadership and ambition of a network spanning around 100 countries and around 13,000 people.
He was worldwide chief creative officer at Grey Group beforehand, and previously CCO at FCB Mexico. He also worked at Saatchi & Saatchi New York between 2016 and 2018, and Saatchi & Saatchi in Latin America from 2014.
Campopiano is known in adland for his “It’s a Tide ad” work, which won a Cannes Grand Prix in 2018 and a D&AD black Pencil, created when he worked at Saatchi & Saatchi New York.
He said he will be looking for “meaningful brand ideas” from entrants to the Campaign Big Global Awards 2026. “I mean ideas that genuinely build the brand, even if they’re a one-off execution,” he said.
“We can all agree that too often we end up awarding ideas that are highly celebrated within our own bubble, but fall short of actually creating a real connection between people and brands. I really need to feel that connection in the idea itself.”
Entries for the Campaign Big Global Awards 2026 will be judged by a panel of leading creatives.
There are also new categories added for the 2026 awards under “Creative excellence”, which include Best Brand Repositioning, Best Idea for a Social Purpose, Best Use of an Influencer/Creator or Celebrity, Branded Content, Creative Idea for a New Brand and Original Idea. Find out more about the categories here.
The awards are returning for a third year, and celebrate the most impactful and innovative creative work from around the world. The online announcement of the winners will take place on 26 February 2026.
Campopiano shared that judging and awarding work “carries such a big responsibility, and why I get so frustrated when we fail to meet the level the industry demands”, adding that the industry must “award work that builds brands, outstanding ideas with a clear purpose. Not just creativity for its own sake. Creativity means nothing when it isn’t connected to building the brand, which should be obvious, shouldn’t it?”
He said he is seeing a trend of dark humour in campaigns. “That makes me happy because I still love writing that kind of stuff, and because I truly believe humour is a sign of intelligence. As an industry, if we can take the heaviness and darkness people deal with every day and turn it into entertaining content, it shows we’re still in touch with popular taste.
“Awards are about the most relevant skill we need to keep as an industry, and that is taste. Taste is what gives us relevance, no matter how technology evolves or reshapes our job. It is what separates the good from the great.”
The early bird deadline is 25 September, with the standard deadline set for 16 October, and the final entry deadline on 23 October. Entries can be submitted here.
Campopiano added: “Every time I’m asked to chair a jury, I still pinch myself. For me, it’s the highest honour in our industry outside of the work we do for our clients each day. It’s also the opportunity to listen to people you might not ordinarily share a room with, hearing their perspectives on work you may already have seen and considered.”
Aaron Starkman, global chief creative officer of the Canadian creative shop Rethink, chaired the Campaign Big Global Awards in 2025. It received entries from four continents, with UK shop Uncommon Creative Studio bagging the most wins with six prizes, half of which came for its work with British Airways.