Warner Bros. Discovery, Critical Mass and Instacart are finalists for this year’s Digiday Awards

And Critical Mass is among the finalists in the Best Use of AI category. The agency reimagined how Starburst connects with consumers by developing a custom AI pipeline for its “Different Every Time” campaign. Instead of relying on new product launches, the brand tapped into Gen Z’s appetite for creativity, individuality and constant discovery by generating modular, ever-changing content tailored to different audiences and contexts. In just seven months, Starburst Gummies saw a 150% increase in dollar growth and a 65% rise in unit sales, while the overall portfolio achieved an 8% lift among Gen Z.

Among the nominees in the Technology Executive of the Year category is Instacart’s Ali Miller. As general manager of advertising at Instacart, Miller has transformed Instacart Ads into a unified, omnichannel retail media ecosystem that delivers measurable performance for more than 7,000 brands. Since joining in 2021, she expanded the platform from a single ad format to a full-funnel offering that spans on-site, in-store and off-platform media. In the last year alone, she launched new formats and introduced advanced self-serve tools. She also deepened partnerships with Google, Meta, NBCUniversal, YouTube and Pinterest, while scaling Carrot Ads to power retail media for major brands and retailers.

Altogether, the work the judges nominated in 2025 demonstrates how marketers are delivering tailored and personal brand experiences that drive growth and performance.

See the complete list of finalists below.

Agency Executive of the Year
Mike Treff, CEO of Code and Theory
Lauren Kushner, CEO of Kettle
Lee Newman, GSD&M
Oli Walsh, CEO of Invisible Dynamics
Phil Case, President of Max Connect Digital
Monica Tailor, McCann Content Studios

Best AI Tool – NEW
Adjust Growth Copilot: Your AI-Powered App Growth Partner
Keen Finds Additional Revenue for Seasonal Brand
NBCUniversal & Huge – OLI
Digital Culture Group’s AI-Powered Audience Resonance Index™
Pillar & Sprinklr AI Drive $1M+ for Regulated Brands
Flight Control Copilot: Agentic AI + Omnichannel Advertising

Best Audio Campaign
Sling TV’s Smart Audio Strategy for Subscriber Growth
Hennessy x iHeartMedia: Club520 Podcast & Arena Tour
Wondery Means Business
Pfizer’s Science Will Win Podcast – Season 4

Best Branding Campaign B2B
Amazon Ads & Anomaly NY – Media Envy
T. Rowe Price Relaunches Brand with The Power of Curiosity
IFS & Deviceful: Building a brand by creating a category
From Cocktails to Mocktails, Data-driven with a Twist by NCS
Palo Alto Networks – Product Launch of This is Precision AI™
“The Big Deal” presented by Front Office Sports x Nuveen

Best Branding Campaign B2C
Crunchyroll Wins Best B2C Branding Campaign from Digiday
Moose Toys & Gamefam: #1 Multigame Toy Campaign on Roblox
Healthy Paws, a Chubb Company – Protected. Like Family.
Mindgruve for First Horizon Bank – The Best of Big and Small
Tambourine’s “Lifetime of Islands” Campaign for The Bahamas
Pluto TV “Feel the Free”

Best Collaboration
Critical Mass, M&M’S & Kate Spade New York: Statement Candy
Netflix & Saylor – Bridgerton x Maxbone Collaboration
DIRECTV Bird Ballparks
State Farm x ESPN Full Court Press, ft. Caitlin Clark
Google Pixel x HBO MAX The White Lotus
Publicis & Shondaland Make Flonase Talk Of The Ton

Best Cookieless Identification Technology – NEW
Experian Sets New Standard for How Buy & Sell Sides Use ID
Yahoo ConnectID Reveals True Campaign Impact
Ogury One, the Next Era of Privacy-Driven Advertising
Spectrum Reach & Matter Brothers Case Study
Intent IQ: Empowering Buy-Side & Sell-Side Simultaneously

Best Creative
Sea-Doo – Find your water
Digiday Best Creative – State Farm® Batman vs. Bateman
Benefits of Hilton Grand Vacations: Room For Everyone
Palo Alto Networks – Product Launch of This is Precision AI™
Launch of Wells Fargo SEO Content Strategy
BBC StoryWorks x HONOR – Honor the Challenger

Best Data Management Platform – NEW
Freestar + Audigent Unlock Publisher Value with DMP
Nexxen Discovery: Redefining Data Intelligence
Revry & IndiCue – Launch of PrismRiot Multicultural DMP

Best E-Commerce Strategy
Carhartt x January Digital: Record Holiday Performance
A Cut Above: Peak Commerce Strategy 2025
theSkimm’s Holiday Unwrapped 2024
Kevel x MC Sonae: Powering Game-Changing E-Commerce Media

Best Event
Project Healthy Minds World Mental Heath Day Festival & Gala
FIFA & Gamefam Inspire Fandom with #1 Soccer Event on Roblox
H&M Hosts Surprise Charli xcx Concert in Times Square
Deloitte’s 2024 Climate Week: The Art of Sustainability
The Green Media Summit
Boardroom Talks Live with Bose

Best Experiential Campaign
Resy Rallies Diner Support During Slow Winter Months
H&M Hosts Global Event Series Celebrating Music and Fashion
The Dash Pad from Tripadvisor and DoorDash
Jack in the Box x Deadpool Launch Mini Chimi Bang Bangs
Paramount+’s The Lodge 2024
Avalanche9000 Marketing Campaign

Best Gaming/Esports Campaign
Pixels to Pies. Genshin Impact & McDonald’s Feed Fandom.
How OMEN Reclaimed Gamer Mindshare Across Amazon’s Ecosystem
Paramount & Gamefam: First Playable Story on Roblox
Scopely & Omelet – Friendship Pays in MONOPOLY GO!
Quest for the Impossible – Lenovo Legion, Intel, & Portal A
Ally – Tee Time Speedrun

Best In-Game Advertising Strategy
Sony Pictures & ShowHeroes – Venom In-Game Launch in Brazil
Sky City by Umi Games for Sky Broadband
Hearts & Science x Warner Bros: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Best Multi-Platform Campaign
SCS, Contobox & Mothers® – The Bugs Are Back!
Worth Fighting For
Peacock & Cosmo: Debut of the new series Apples Never Fall
Remezcla – El Béisbol Es Otra Cosa MLB Campaign
Made to Make You Think from BBC Studios
Hearts & Science x Warner Bros – Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Best Partnership
Pixels to Pies. Genshin Impact & McDonald’s Feed Fandom.
RAGÚ x Hot Ones: A Spicy Partnership
Dove Sports reIllustrated
JBL Power Partnerships with SXSW and Rolling Stone
Crayola Create x TheSoul: Reimagining Creativity
Moose Toys & Gamefam: #1 Multigame Toy Campaign on Roblox

Best PR Campaign
JBC & theSkimm: A 24-Hour Reproductive Rights Lifeline
The Home Depot – Getting InFront of the Right Audience
Juan Soto Joins Team CELSIUS
From Cocktails to Mocktails, Data-driven with a Twist by NCS
John Deere – The Search for Chief Tractor Officer
PEPPA PIG “PIG Changes”

Best Product Launch Campaign
Adobe Photoshop Mobile Launch
twelvenote/Lippe Taylor – 7UP Shirley Temple LTO Launch
Compass Media and Commonal – Launch of Compass TV
Hearts & Science x LOVESAC – PillowSac Accent Chair Launch
Lexus & Team One – Live Up to Life’s “What If’s” – Lexus GX
Palo Alto Networks – Product Launch of This is Precision AI™

Best Search Campaign
Critical Mass & BMW: Driving Discovery
Critical Mass & Mini: Shifting Gears
Roto-Rooter & DAC: Smarter Search, Local Impact
How LUUX Media Delivered 719% ROAS for Clinique La Prairie
SupplyHouse – Segmenting Audiences for Smarter Spend
Critical Mass & First Command: Winning the Content War

Best Use of AI
270B & Avocados From Mexico – Call Gronk on the Guacline
DDB, Critical Mass & Starburst: Different Every Time
NBCUniversal & Huge – OLI
BrandMatch: New GenAI solution by New York Times Advertising
TeqBlaze – Launch of TeqMate AI for Programmatic Ops
How Monks’ AI Helped Headspace Deliver Joy and Reduce Stress

Best Use of Emerging Tech – NEW
Ally – Rocket League Code Redemption
Paramount & Gamefam: First Playable Story on Roblox
Origin & Visit Maine – Zero-Code, Dynamic CTV Ad Overlays
Digital Culture Group’s AI-Powered Audience Resonance Index™
Sol de Janeiro on Roblox
Tripadvisor’s Doorway to Abu Dhabi

Best Use of Influencer Marketing
Ally – Talladega Rocket Racing Tournament
Audible – There’s More To Imagine When You Listen
Pollen Goes Fashion by Cure Media & Kronans Apotek
Current Global & Kingsford – King of the Grill
QYOU Media & Paramount Pictures
Google Pixel x HBO MAX The White Lotus

Best Use of Retail Media
Collective Measures + VTech: Full-Funnel Holiday Wins
OBB Media & Dick’s Sporting Goods – Speed Shopping
Hugo Boss – Hugo Boss XP
Monks & Orbit – Full-Funnel Strategy that Beat the Season
Wondersauce & Alta Dena – Fresh from Southern Cow-lifornia
Android In-Store Retail Media by T-Mobile

Best Use of Social
SharkNinja & Blue Hour Studios – Launch of Ninja SLUSHi
Remezcla – El Béisbol Es Otra Cosa MLB Campaign
Gap x Invisible Dynamics “Get Loose”
Made to Make You Think from BBC Studios
The Shade Room x Harris For President: My Black Job
John Deere – The Search for Chief Tractor Officer

Best Use of Video
Georgia-Pacific – Quilted Northern® – Keep It Quilted
Digitas & Sephora: Faces of Music
Fortune Brand Studio + De Beers Group: Talent Unearthed
AT&T x Hearts & Science x ATTN: Route to Connection
Crayola Create x TheSoul: Fostering Creativity
Hasbro/TheSoul – TRANSFORMERS ONE: NEW ADVENTURES

Campaign of the Year – NEW
Audible – There’s More To Imagine When You Listen
Coach ‘Unlock Your Courage’ Campaign
PEPPA PIG “PIG Changes”
Creed x Simon Beck – Silver Mountain Water Campaign
The Shelf & [yellow tail] – Launch of Real Talk Labels
billups for e.l.f Beauty’s Change the Board Game / SMD

Founder of the Year- NEW
Benjamin Billups, founder of billups
BoldHue Co-founder and CEO, Rachel Wilson
Crystal Foote, Digital Culture Group’s AI-Powered Audience Resonance Index™
Kindred Co-Founders, Tasneem Amina and Justine Palefsky
Myles Worthington – CEO and Founder of WORTHI
Ben Goodwin, Cofounder, CEO, and Formulator of OLIPOP

Leader of the Year
Detavio Samuels, REVOLT and Offscript Worldwide
David Krupp, billups
Shachar Scott, Meta Reality Labs
Joshua Alvernia, Clue Digital
Tom Nolan, Kendra Scott
Katherine Freeley, Boehringer Ingelheim

Marketing Executive of the Year
Red Lobster’s Comeback Campaign with CMO Nichole Robillard
Shannon Ryan, Disney Entertainment Television
Neil, VP Marketing at Kevel
Allison Stransky is CMO at Samsung Electronics America
Archit Mardia: Rebuilding Lenovo Yoga for Gen Z
Yin Woon Rani, MilkPEP

Most Committed to Sustainability
HorizonEco: Scaling Sustainability in Media
MobileFuse: Trailblazing Corporate Climate Action
How Every Man Jack Leveraged Sustainability to Drive Purpose
The Shelf x Natura – U.S. Launch via Creator-Led Campaign
Aquent / All in on Earth

Most Innovative Agency
Code and Theory
Huge – driving what’s next in digital.
Tripadvisor’s Wanderlab
Influencer-Moving the Industry Forward by Humanizing Brands
Deloitte Digital
Digiday Media & New Engen

Most Innovative Brand
It Pays To Corpay – Rebranding a Global Payments Leader
Seed: Innovation at the Intersection of Science and Culture
Manychat: Because Burnout isn’t a Business Strategy

Most Innovative Publisher
Minute Media
Morning Brew Inc.

Most Innovative Technology Platform
Wrango: The Essential Platform for Healthcare Marketing
Integral Ad Science
OpenXSelect, OpenX’s Advanced Supply-Side Targeting Platform
Kargo Delivers Unforgettable CTV Experiences for Brands
Waymark – AI Video Ad Creative That Drives Revenue
DeepIntent Cortex – The Next Generation Healthcare DSP

Technology Executive of the Year – NEW
Jarrod Martin, Global CEO of Acxiom and KINESSO
David Kostman, CEO, Teads
Instacart’s GM of Advertising, Ali Miller
Crystal Foote, founder of Digital Culture Group
Dave Bottoms, architect of Upwork’s AI-powered marketplace
Raina Moskowitz Ushers in New Era of Innovation at TKWW

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