Bon Voyage! A trip around the world to see the Top 10 countries in our Global Rankings

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Happy New Year, everyone! We at The One Club for Creativity are ringing in 2026 by looking back at the year that just wrapped up, courtesy of our famous Global Creative Rankings. The official numbers were unveiled today, and are a fantastic way to dive in and see where every agency, studio, creative, and brand fared on the world stage.

It has become an annual tradition here at The One Club to shine a spotlight on how the various competitions — The One Show, the ADC Annual Awards, the TDC Annual Competition, the ONE Asia Creative Awards, the ADCE Awards and its various affiliate European competitions, and our local chapters in Denver, Miami, and San Diego — shake up the country rankings. After all, everybody from a multinational network to an individual designer can have an effect on their country’s score.

Don’t believe us? Check out #9 and #10 on this year’s list — they’re separated by just 11.83 points! A One Show or ADC Bronze and a Merit won by anybody in that #10 country would’ve moved the whole nation up to #9. And a Gold and a handful of Merits are all that separates #2 and #3 this year.

But hindsight is 20/20, so let’s turn that “I coulda been a contender” talk into better planning for your 2026 entries. In the meantime, let’s celebrate 2025’s Top Ten countries!

 

SEE COMPLETE 2025 COUNTRY RANKINGS

 

#1. UNITED STATES

LAST YEAR: #1, —

 

 

The country rankings list is always a battle for #2, due to the sheer dominance of the United States. This is by no means a knock to the rest of the world, it’s just that the US enters awards on a scale that dwarfs just about every other country, and when you submit that much work, even the points from “mere” Merit wins add up considerably.

This year, FCB New York’s “Spreadbeats” for Spotify was an absolute juggernaut for the ol’ Stars and Stripes, with an astonishing 28 Gold Pencils, eight Gold Cubes, ten Best of Discipline honors between The One Show and ADC, and the Best of Show in both competitions. Simply put, if “Spreadbeats” declared independence and started its own country, it would be #2 on this list.

In a world of slick, digital production, the hand-painted frames of “Impossible Journey” by Area 23, An IPG Health Company for ASTER stood out amongst the juries. The animated story of two storks delivering babies was raw and moving, and eventually won three Gold Cubes, two Gold Pencils, and the sole ADC Fusion Cube foe 2025.

2026 might be the year that the World Cup comes to America, but 2025 was when American soccer came to our award shows. This was most evident with Gretel and Frere-Jones Type’s brand identity for New York City FC., which wowed the TDC71 judges enough to name it Best of Discipline for Brand Communication. This same project also won Silver and Bronze Cubes in ADC104.

The US is also where you’ll find our three chapters' award shows, whose winners also contribute to the overall country rankings. This year, we’d like to shine a spotlight on Karsh Hagan, who won Best of Show at this year’s One Club Awards Denver for “Protect Our Parks,” which gives a big middle finger to the powers that be who look to diminish Colorado’s famed natural beauty.

The United States’ numbers mean that it’s unlikely to ever drop out of the top spot on our country list, but it’s good to know that there is plenty of quality to come with the quantity.

 

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED STATES ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED STATES ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED STATES TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED ONE CLUB DENVER WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED ONE CLUB MIAMI WINNERS

 

#2. CANADA

LAST YEAR: #3, +1

 

 

With the United States with a permanent #1 spot, it has been interesting to see Canada and Germany trade places each year for the silver spot on the podium. After dropping behind Germany in 2024, the Great White North is once again in second place to close out 2025.

The most awarded project coming out of Canada this year — and the third-most awarded in the entire world — was “Voice 2 Diabetes” by Toronto’s Klick Health for KVI Brave Fund INC. This revolutionary tech won three Gold Pencils, four Gold Cubes, and two Best of Discipline honors: a Best of Pharma for The One Show, and a Best of Product Design.

Another big winner that helped pushed Canada back up the list was Ogilvy’s “Most Likely To,” the latest in a long line of socially conscious work created for Dove. This campaign won two Gold Pencils, two Silver Pencils, and a Bronze Pencil from The One Show.

The US might be getting most of the attention, but don’t forget that the World Cup is also coming to Canada this year, and like its neighbors to the south, Canadian soccer brand identities were represented in our 2025 awards. Cossette Montreal and GRDN’s brand identity for Les Roses FC de Montreal won a Best of Discipline and a Gold Cube in ADC104, as well as a spot in the TDC71 Annual.

“Roses” wasn’t the only Canadian entrant recognized by TDC. Among the many submissions that made it into the Annual, we’d like to highlight Underline and the work they’ve done for the 75th anniversary of our friends at the Advertising & Design Club of Canada, which earned them three honors in 2025.

All in all, another fantastic year for Canada! Will they hold onto the #2 position in 2026?  A betting person would not count them out.

 

SEE ALL RANKED CANADA ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED CANADA ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED CANADA TDC WINNERS

 

#3. GERMANY

LAST YEAR: #2, -1

 

 

As mentioned above, Germany has been battling it out with Canada for a few years now, switching positions on the country rankings. And this year was the closest they’ve been, with Germany falling short by just under 58 points.

But even a bronze finish can have a silver lining, and this year that comes courtesy of of Serviceplan, who finished as the #3 ranked agency in the entire world. The perennial powerhouse’s stellar showing included PENNY’s “Price Packs,” which won two Gold Pencils, two Gold Cubes, a Gold ADCE award, and both a One Show and ADC104 Best of Discipline honor. Meanwhile, Serviceplan’s “Rainbow Wool” for Shäferei Stücke won two special awards: a One Show Fusion Pencil and an ADCE Equal Star.

Scholz & Friends is another German agency that continues to shine in our awards. It’s haunting "The 100th Edition” for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung won ADC’s Designism Cube, an award specifically for work that champions positive societal or political change. Meanwhile, Germany also stood out in all disciplines within TDC71, with Kilotype’s “Lofi Forest” making it into the Annual for Type Design.

 

SEE ALL RANKED GERMANY ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED GERMANY ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED GERMANY TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED GERMANY ADC EUROPE WINNERS

 

#4. PORTUGAL

LAST YEAR: #25, +21

 

 

Every so often, a country comes along that simply skyrockets up the list on the strength of an exceptionally strong idea. This year, Portugal is such a country — leaping up 21 spots from the year before — and UZINA’s “Hidden Tags” campaign for IKEA is that idea. While merely eking out a Bronze Pencil and a Merit in The One Show — and being completely absent from ADC104 — “Hidden Tags” did exceptionally well in Europe; ADCE awarded the campaign three Gold honors, while the Clube da Criatividade de Portugal Festival netted UZINA eight Golds and two Grand Prix.

As impressive as “Hidden Tags” has been, it wasn’t the only project that helped to push Portugal higher up the rankings than ever before. d the charge in 2024, finding itself as the #6 agency on the global rankings. Dentsu Creative Iberia’s sobering “History Outnumbered” print campaign for the History Channel won Gold in both ADCE and the CCP Festival; “Carnation, Word & Melody,” by Silvia Matias and NON-OFF for KIÔLO made it into the TDC71 Annual; and Lisbon’s Bro Studios picked up sdome points as a collaborator on Area 23’s “Magnetic Stories” for Siemens Healthineers, which won four One Show Gold Pencils, two ADC Gold Cubes, a Gold at the CCP Festival, and a One Best of Radio & Audio First.

Now that Portugal has had a taste of the Top Ten, will they go all out to repeat in 2026? That will cerytainly be a challenge, but at the very least they know they have what it takes.

SEE ALL RANKED PORTUGAL ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED PORTUGAL ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED PORTUGAL TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED PORTUGAL ADC EUROPE WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED PORTUGAL CCP FESTIVAL WINNERS

 

#5. UNITED KINGDOM

LAST YEAR: #6, +1

 

 

The United Kingdom has long been an industry powerhouse when it comes to award shows. In fact, 2024 was the first time that the UK fell out of the Top Five since The One Club started ranking countries 25 years ago. And what did they do in 2025? Why, they jumped up a spot and found themselves in the Top Five once again!

McCann London’s “The Everyday Tactician” for Xbox has shone in award shows all over the world, including The One Show, where its five Gold Pencils and two Best of Discipline racked up a ton of points. Meanwhile, Edelman London won a Sustainable Development Goal Pencil for “The Move to -15” for DP World. 

Over in ADC104, “In Hot Water,” NOMINT’s stop-motion project for WWF that was shot entirely with thermal cameras, won two Gold ADC Cubes, as well as Best of Non-Profit. And inside the TDC71 annual, you’ll find that Pentagram’s “Haraka Baraka” for SkatePal was recognized twice.

Congrats to the UK for making it back into the Top Five! Now let’s see if you can cement yourselves there once again in 2026.

 

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED KINGDOM ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED KINGDOM ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED KINGDOM TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED UNITED KINGDOM ADC EUROPE WINNERS

 

#6. CHINA

LAST YEAR: #7, +1

 

 

China has been in the Top Ten every year since 2018, and it moves up a spot this year to #6, due in no small part to the country’s visual work continuously excelling in the ADC Annual Awards. This year, Chinese entrants won a total of seven Gold Cubes, with Fengkun Bai’s “ShiQi’s Calligraphy” for the Beijing Times Chinese Press also winning Best of Discipline honors for Book Design.

The TDC Competition has also looked favorably on Chinese work; the country’s 26 appearances in the TDC71 Annual puts them in the #2 spot for those awards. Jumping He’s Innumerable exhibition was recognized twice; once for Poster Design and a second time for Evironmental Design Installations.

2025 also marked the first year that China topped the ONE Asia Rankings ever since it became a region-wide competition. Grey Hong Kong was one of the biggest reasons for this, with “Pentene Pet Pit,” a crazy campaign that capitalized on a very specific social media trend, winning a Gold, a Best of Discipline, and the coveted Best of Show.

And where is The One Show in all of China’s success? Surprisingly, this was a quiet year for China in that particular competition, with TBWA\Group China’s “Yoga Village” for adidas winning the country’s lone Gold Pencil.

Looking ahead to 2026, China is likely to remain a Top Ten country in our Global Rankings, and a stronger outcome in The One Show this year would help cement this.

 

SEE ALL RANKED CHINA ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED CHINA ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED CHINA TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED CHINA ONE ASIA WINNERS

 

#7. BRAZIL

LAST YEAR: #11, +4

 

 

After dropping from the Top Ten Country Rankings list the year before, Brazil made its return in 2025, jumping up four spots to #7. And unlike in China, where The One Show wasn’t a major factor it their success, Brazil had the oppotunity to sharpen many, many Pencils this past year. Droga5 São Paulo took home a very rare Fusion Pencil in 2025 for Seda/Sunsilk’s “The Princess and the Crown,” while the weight of LePub and New Balance’s “The Heaviest Jersey” now includes a Gold Pencil and a Best of Disccipline honor to go with all of that São Paulo FC history.

Over in the world of the ADC Awards, Brazil played more of a supporting role, collaborating with other companies and studios around the world to scoop up recognition. Brazilian animation house Zombie Studio played an integral part in bringing Klick Health’s heartstring-pulling “47” to life for Café Joyeux, sharing in five Gold Cubes.

After an outstanding 2024, Brazil only recured a single spot in the TDC71 Annual — but oh, what a spot it was! Designer Bernardo Sek added extra color to the city of Belo Horizonte with “Letraço,” a project that mixes graphic design and grafitti using every letter of the alphabet.

While it’s fantastic to see Brazil back in the Top Ten, a stronger showing in the upcoming ADC105 and TDC72 will help ensure they stay there in 2026.

 

SEE ALL RANKED BRAZIL ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED BRAZIL ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED BRAZIL TDC WINNERS

 

#8. AUSTRIA

LAST YEAR: #19, +11

 

 

How does a country make it into the Top Ten without really denting the global competitions? By being an absolute creative powerhouse in their part of the world, enough to rack up just enough little points to strt a creative tsunami. This year, that country is Austria.

With a single ADC104 Gold Cube awarded to Atelier Andrea Gassner and Christian Schmoelz Architekt for their Family Center Allesamt wayfinding system; two TDC71 annual appearances — one for Gerhard Kirchschlaeger’s website and another for Bruch—Idee&Form’s brand identity system for the Zum Hirschen Hotel — and no One Show Pencils to speak of, it took incredible wins in both the ADCE and the Creativ Club Austria Venus to climb the list. Wien Nord Serviceplan was the big winner in the former, winning two Gold ADCE honors for “AUTfluencers,” created for Österreich Werbung, while over at the Venus, while Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann was a big winner; their “RosaLilaLand” campaign for Wiener Städtische won a Venus for Equality Award and a Gold.

Because it’s such an anomaly for countries to make the Top Ten list based almost entirely on nationsl and regional points, consider this an opportunity to explore all of the amazing work coming out of Austria that you likely haven’t seen before!

 

SEE ALL RANKED AUSTRIA ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED AUSTRIA ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED AUSTRIA TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED AUSTRIA ADC EUROPE WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED AUSTRIA CCA VENUS WINNERS

 

#9. NETHERLANDS

LAST YEAR: #18, +9

 

 

After a three year absence, it’s wonderful to see the Netherlands back in the Top Ten, jumping up to #9 from #18 in 2024. 

One of the big winners coming out of the Netherlands in 2025 was AKQA’s “Pink Chip,” created for DIGIRO and UN Women NL. This campaign won a Gold Pencil and a Sustainable Development Goals Pencil in The One Show, and two Gold Lamps and a Best of Show at the ADCN. Meanwhile, Amsterdam-based design studio Kossmanndejong won an ADC Gold Cube and a Best of Discipline honor for “Health First,” an exhibition created for Swiss-based Stapherhaus.

The Dutch also showed up in a big way for TDC71, where twelve entries were deemed worthy of being immortalized in the Annual. Renowned foundry Typotheque can lay claim to five of these spots, imcluding Mongolian and Tibetan versions of their November fonts. And over in ADCE, Happiness Amsterdam got a Green Star — and more than a few laughs — for “Nothing As Lovely As Another Child’s Toy,” created for Marktplaats.

Welcome back into the club, Netherlands! We hope you’ll stay a while as our 2026 awards continue to accept entries.

 

SEE ALL RANKED NETHERLANDS ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED NETHERLANDS ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED NETHERLANDS TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED NETHERLANDS ADC EUROPE WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED NETHERLANDS ADCN WINNERS

 

#10. JAPAN

LAST YEAR: #4, -6

 

 

The Land of the Setting Sun? Let’s not go that far, but this is the first time that Japan has fallen to the #10 spot. That said, they were only a One Show or ADC Bronze and a Merit away from jumping ahead of the Netherlands. And, of course, the work that did win is very, very good.

Year after year, Dentsu Inc. has created phenomenal print and poster campaigns for The Hokkoku Shimbun and its sponsorship of the Kanazawa High School Sumo Tournament. 2025 was no exception, with “Move Forward” winning a Gold Pencil, a Gold Cube, and a coveted Best of Discipline Pencil for Design. R/GA Japan also got some Best of Discipline love, winning an ADC104 Gold Cube and a Best of Gaming Cube for “Cat God Helpline,” an offbeat campaign for popular mobile game The Battle Cats.

Unfortunately Japan’s score was hampered by a less than stellar showing in TDC71, its lowest TDC score since that competition came under the One Club umbrella. It’s hard to make it into that Annual, and we are glad to have some Japanese representation in it, courtesy of DIGRAPH’s brand identity system for ComPotte.

But if Japan’s #10 spot has you feeling a little down, why not check out Tsuzuku’s  “Little Monster,” a beautifully dreamy video for HYBE and K-Pop stars ILLIT. This was one of Japan’s most awarded projects in ONE Asia 2025, winning two Golds and a Best of Discipline for Moving Image and Sound Craft.

Any country can have an off-year, but it’s how you bounce back from it that matters most. Knowing Japan’s record, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them climbing up the list again this time next year.

 

SEE ALL RANKED JAPAN ONE SHOW WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED JAPAN ADC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED JAPAN TDC WINNERS

SEE ALL RANKED JAPAN ONE ASIA WINNERS

 

Now with Portugal, Brazil, Austria, and the Netherlands making their way into the Top Ten for 2025, this regretably means that four countries have been nudged off the list.

After a phenomenal 2024 that included 17 Gold Pencils, two Best of Disciplines and a  Best of Show, France fell out of the Top Ten, from #5  to #12. Regardless, the country still had numerous successes, including “Olympic Curry,” a social media campaign for McDonald’s that netted DDB Paris a Gold Pencil, a Silver Cube, and two Bronze Cubes. Meanwhile, Paris-based production studios Stim and Wobbly Way teamed up with US-based Hornet and Warner Records to create “Balloonerism,” a posthumous music video for Mac Miller that won a Gold Cube and Best of Discipline for Motion and Film Craft in ADC104. And with five projects in the TDC71 Annual, all from different studios, France was certainly displaying variety in 2025.

Australia’s drop from #8 to #14 appears to be a case of not necessarily having a bad year in 2025, but rather having an exceptionally good year in 2024. The “36 Months” campaign to raise the age of social media access won a Sustainable Development Goal Pencil, while Bear Meets Eagle on Fire’s “Better on a Better Network” for Telstra won Gold, Silver, and Bronze in both The One Show and ADC104. And with two Golds in ONE Asia — one for Droga5 and Meat & Livestock Australia’s “The Comments Section,” and another for Ogilvy Australia’s “Meet Me at the Coke Sign” — the Land Down Under proves that it’s in good shape to come up over the Top Ten threshold in 2026.

Colombia has had a rollercoaster of a journey on the Country Rankings list over the years, alternating in and out of the Top Ten each year. 2025 was one of those drops, falling from #9 down to #28. The most significant win came from Ogilvy Colombia, whose “Filter Caps” for Filsa won a Green Pencil and for Bronzes in The One Show. Unfortunately, a massive drop in points in the ADC Awards — going from four Gold Cubes and two Best of Disciplines in 2024 to a single Merit in 2025 — sealed Colombia’s fate on the list. But hey, at least Sumotype Foundry got Colombia into the TDC71 Annual with “Davivienda!”

And finally, Spain had the shortest fall from the Top Ten, moving down a single spot to #11. Its biggest successes came courtesy of DAVID Madrid, whose “Meet Marina Prieto” for JCDecaux won an impressive five Gold Pencils and a Best of Discipline in The One Show. Other big winners included “The Cause of the Accident That Started the Fire,” by CANADA for ICEX/Audiovisual from Spain, which won Gold in both ADC and ADCE; and Madrid-based type foundry 29LT, whose “Idris Flat + Sharp” and “Azahar Text + Display” both made it into the TDC71 Annual.

 

Congratulations to all of the countries that made it into the Top Ten! And for all of the others, what opportunities can you see that would help you move up the list, even just incrementally? Does that TV spot you’re working on make use some original hand lettering for the tagline? That just might translate to a TDC win! Did that print poject of yours employ some absoluely stunning portraiture? The ADC Awards has an entire discipline devoted to photography! Did your client's sales numbers blow away expectations after your latest campaign? Maybe it’s time to check out The One Show’s fully revamped Creative Effectiveness discipline! Whatever it takes to move your country — and your company — further up the list.

 

 

SEE COMPLETE 2025 COUNTRY RANKINGS