Energy BBDO’s searingly powerful campaign The Final Exam has turned heads and won hearts—and now it’s taking home gold. The agency earned a Gold Lion in Media at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for its groundbreaking collaboration with gun safety nonprofit Change the Ref. The immersive gaming experience also scored a Gold and Bronze Lion in Entertainment for Gaming and a Bronze in Digital Craft, capping a week of global recognition.
Already a standout at The One Show, where Energy BBDO ranked #7 globally among the most awarded agencies, The Final Exam continues to prove that creative storytelling can drive urgent, real-world impact.
A Game With Consequences
At its core, The Final Exam is an unflinching video game that puts players inside a simulated school shooting—not for entertainment, but education. Unlike traditional shooters, there’s no violence to glorify. Instead, survival depends on discovering five real-world gun safety bills, including bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, secure storage mandates, background checks, and raising the minimum purchase age.
The goal? Escape the school alive—but only by collecting knowledge.
“With this campaign, we wanted to move past awareness and into action,” said Josh Gross, Chief Creative Officer at Energy BBDO. “By merging gameplay with real policy, The Final Exam becomes not just a warning—but a tool for change.”
Built in Unreal Engine in collaboration with Webcore Games, Druid Creative Gaming, and Flutu Music, the game debuted at TwitchCon, generating over 2.5 billion impressions, 120,000 hours of gameplay in 62 countries, and all through earned media alone.
Creative That Doesn’t Flinch
Every element of the game is built from real data—down to the timelines, sounds, alerts, and haunting visual cues left in hallways. Scattered throughout are pieces of factual information and sobering statistics sourced from decades of school shootings across the U.S.
The result is an emotional gut punch with a political engine: players don’t “win” unless they collect all five bills that, in the real world, could save lives.
A Moment for Meaningful Work
Energy BBDO’s work with Change the Ref is part of a broader push across the BBDO network toward socially responsible storytelling that balances cultural resonance with action. It also underscores the agency’s belief that advertising doesn’t have to live in a silo—it can push boundaries, educate, and mobilize.
As critics and gamers alike respond to the raw emotional power of The Final Exam, the campaign continues to serve a larger purpose: giving a voice to the victims of gun violence and a path forward for those determined to change the laws that failed them.
In a creative industry chasing authenticity, The Final Exam proves that purpose, when paired with bold innovation, can win minds—and Cannes Gold.
For full up-to-the-minute Cannes coverage, go to our sister publication, Reel 360 News.
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