The 2026 National Creativity Awards, organized by the Creativity Club, have already revealed their winners. In the Innovation section, 9 trophies have been awarded, among which the Gold awarded to “PainVisible” stands out, created by VML The Cocktail and VML New York for Aritium, a company specialized in the technological transformation of hospitals and healthcare centers.
As the c of c explains, the Innovation section rewards a case in terms of the use of technology, format, creation of new products or services, always in relation to its contribution to the development of a brand. New independent technological solutions that include tools, products, models or platforms applied to communication or creative campaigns are also valued.
This year, in addition, the section has had a new subcategory dedicated to the Best Use of AI, which is part, along with Content Creators (in Content) and Data visualization (in Craft), of the new divisions introduced by the organization in this edition of the contest with the aim of reflecting the transformation of the sector. Thus, the best use of AI (in Innovation) focuses on projects that integrate artificial intelligence to generate solutions, experiences, tools or processes applied to communication. But none of the campaigns registered in this edition have collected a metal related to the newly released subcategory.
>> See Interactive Reports of c de c 2026
“PainVisible”, a tool to make pain visible
Designed by the agencies VML The Cocktail and VML New York for Aritium, it has achieved the only Gold awarded in the Innovation section, and it has done so in the Product Innovation category. The campaign will also have three mentions in the Creativity Yearbook, for its Creation of new technologies and Better use of artificial intelligence, as well as in the Health section, for its Use of technology in health.
“PainVisible” is, as the company explains, the first medical tool in the world that uses thermal images and artificial intelligence to visualize, analyze and quantify pain objectively, in real time and without the need for words. Its intention is to provide a new way of identifying pain that, until now, has been based exclusively on verbal communication, and thus break down communication barriers in healthcare and ensure that no patient suffers in silence.
It is the result of a collaboration between Aritium, VML Health and the AI start-up WideLabs, and its objective is to make the invisible visible. To do this, it has a highly sensitive thermal camera, compact, portable and connected to a smartphone, which is capable of capturing heat patterns on the patient’s skin. These are the result of physiological changes associated with pain.
The captured images constitute the basis for subsequent analysis, along with contextual variables such as time, ambient temperature or anatomical area. As the company explains, they are automatically compared with a knowledge base built from thousands of clinical studies. In this sense, the system compares heat maps with information, such as the patient’s age and pre-existing conditions or pain levels previously recorded in similar profiles.
With all of this, a structured evaluation can be generated that includes, as detailed by Aritium, location of the origin of the pain, classification by type or quantification of intensity. It also helps with treatment recommendations, all collected in a format that can be interpreted by healthcare professionals.
The company assures that the tool is applied in hospitals in Spain, such as in the Pain Unit of the MIVI Hospital in Barcelona.
With this Gold in the National Creativity Awards, “PainVisible” expands its history of recognition, which includes the awards obtained in 2025 at Clio Health, El Sol and Cannes Lions. In this last festival he also obtained a Bronze Lion in Innovation and another of the same metal in Pharma.
For its part, VML The Cocktail appears, along with Oriol Villar, LLYC, Fuego Camina Conmigo and Ogilvy, among the agencies that have achieved the best performance in this edition of the festival and that currently stand out for their creative proposals to the market. It is also the advertising company with the most awarded client portfolio thanks to the work it has done for brands such as Movistar, Aritium, Heinz and Federópticos.
Silver Winners in the Innovation section
In addition to “PainVisible”, 8 other campaigns have also been recognized in the Innovation section. Below we collect the works that have been awarded a Silver:
“Love”, the video clip by SpecialGuestX for OK Go
The musical group OK Go, known for its experimental videos, explored the connections between art and technology in the video clip for the song “Love”, created by the agencies SpecialGuestX, SpecialGuest and the production company 1stAveMachine. The production involved the coordination of 29 robotic arms and 60 mirrors synchronized with music and movements, as well as the development of a unique robotic programming system, to create a kaleidoscopic spectacle that was recorded in one sequence shot.
In addition to this Silver in Innovation, for its use of technology, the video has been recognized in 2026 with two great awards at the Clio Music Awards, in the Design Craft and Music Film & Video categories; and at Cannes Lions, where he received a Silver Lion in Entertainment Lions for Music. He also earned a nomination for this year’s Grammy Awards in the Best Video Clip section.
“The best connections are forever”, by CyW for Movistar and Netflix
The strategy devised by the CyW agency for Movistar and Netflix has received a Silver in the Innovation section for the creation of a specific action. “The best connections are forever” was carried out within the framework of the promotion of the fifth season of the series “Stranger Things” and featured telecommunications boxes.
Thus, the Telefónica brand replaced 42 sewers made of cast iron with an exclusive design inspired by the series in 18 cities in Spain. The action was communicated with a spot directed by filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés, in which consumers were invited to take a photo next to the sewers. If they published it on their Instagram profile with the hashtag “Stranger Things 5 on Movistar” they would enter the draw for a trip to London to attend the play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”.
This campaign has collected a total of 4 awards in the contest, among which a Gold in Ideas stands out. For their part, Movistar and Netflix are part of the group of advertising companies that currently lead Spanish creativity, along with Banco Sabadell, Cervezas Alhambra and Jumpers, which stand out in this edition of the contest for the advertising proposals offered to the market.
On the other hand, in Innovation 6 campaigns have been recognized with a Bronze:
- “Happy 2026”, by Andtonic for Netflix
- “Jimmy Jump”, by Fuego Camina Conmigo for Jumpers
- “Libragas”, by Pingüino Torreblanca for Women’Secret
- “Unvelling Lux”, by Esta Pasado for Rosalía
- “The Mind Guardian”, by Cheil España, Somos5 and Pé Grande, for Samsung
- “Air Raid Alarm Clock”, by Officer & Gentelman and Arriba! for Razom for Ukraine
