El Sol, the Ibero-American Festival of Advertising Communication, has announced that it is withdrawing the four awards awarded to “The shooting” this 2026, “after detecting a previous registration of the piece by another company in the 2025 edition“, as explained by the organization. Thus, he is stripped of the Grand Prize for Production, his two Golds and his Silver.

“Shooting” was entered in this year’s edition of the contest, held on May 28 and 29 in Malaga, by the production company Oriental Films for its work for Article 19, the international organization that promotes and defends the rights of freedom of expression and access to information for all people.

It is a four-minute short film that denounces violence and attacks against journalists in Mexico in an effort to silence them, while making visible their fight for truth and justice to protect freedom of expression. It was launched in March 2025 on the occasion of the International Day of the Right to the Truth.

The piece is part of a campaign designed by the agency Gray México for the organization, which also included an outdoor advertising piece and creatives for the printed press. “The Shooting” has won this year the Grand Prize in Production, as well as the two Golds and the Silver obtained in that same category, but they will be withdrawn in accordance with the decision made by El Sol.

The festival organization has determined this when realizing after the fact that the piece was already entered by Gray México in the 2025 edition of the contest. What’s more, it was awarded at the time by the jury with a Gold in Production-Craft, a Gold in Branded Content and a Silver in Film.
In addition, it should be noted that the piece was also awarded at Cannes Lions 2025, with two Silver Lions, one in Film and the other in Entertainment.

The situation, as explained by El Sol to reason.Whyis not allowed in the operation of the contest and, therefore, they have determined the withdrawal of recognition for “The Shooting” to Oriental Films online, as they express, with ““its commitment to the application of the festival’s rules”.

As explained in the bases of the Production category corresponding to 2026, the material to be registered “It must have been exhibited during the years 2025 and the period corresponding to 2026 until the date of the Festival and must not have been presented in previous editions.“The text also points out that in the event that a piece or advertising campaign fails to comply with the provisions of the regulations, “the Festival organization will proceed to withdraw the prize or declaration of
finalist, if said distinction had already taken place“.

The decision represents a technical adjustment in the score obtained by Oriental Films this year, but which, as the organization of El Sol points out, does not affect its status as Producer of the Year, a recognition obtained thanks to the sum of the trophies collected for all of its works, among which include “Disappeared”, for the International Committee of the Red Cross; and “Aeroméxico Hermanos”, for Aeroméxico. They have taken a Gold and a Bronze; and a Silver and a Bronze, respectively, in the Production section.

In a LinkedIn post made by the producer, he expressed his pride at the recognition. “It is the direct result of the trust of the agencies and clients who choose us to enhance their projects.“, he explained. “A huge thank you to our entire production team and directors for demonstrating, piece by piece, the technical and creative strength that defines us in the region.”.

For its part, as confirmed by reason.Whythe movement will not mean the withdrawal of the awards obtained by Gray México with “The Shooting” last year.

However, the withdrawal of the awards is not the only sanction to which Oriental Films could be exposed: according to the rules, it could not have the possibility of submitting works to future editions of the festival. “If it is proven that the participating company has deliberately violated the regulations, the organization reserves the right to prohibit its participation for the period of time it deems appropriate.”; exposes the text.

The festival’s decision, which was communicated almost a week after the trophies were awarded, could have been motivated by a review of the awards by the organization itself or by the presentation of a complaint or claim by third parties, a mechanism contemplated by the regulations. In these cases the organization undertakes to carry out “an investigation”, as indicated in the bases.

When consulted about this by this means, from the Sun they explain: “The organization detected an incident related to the eligibility of the piece ‘Shooting’. He immediately verified the background of the piece and confirmed that it had previously participated in the festival, so it did not meet the participation rules.”.

And they add: “The registration of a piece implies the acceptance of all the requirements and conditions of the festival by the candidates, including the eligibility criteria established in the rules. Therefore, once the possible incident was detected, the corresponding checks were carried out and the festival regulations were applied.”

From reason.Why We have contacted Oriental Films to get their point of view on the situation. The news will be updated when we receive more information.

The value of the prizes

The decision taken by El Sol adds to that taken by Cannes Lions in the 2025 edition after detecting the manipulation of a case with the use of artificial intelligence. In June of last year, the organization chose to withdraw the Creative Data Grand Prix from the DM9 agency, from the DDB network, upon identifying that it had used AI-generated content to simulate real events and campaign results.

“This violates Cannes Lions’ entry rules on factual representation and undermines the trust placed in the work by our juries and the broader community. “Cannes Lions exists to celebrate authentic, representative and responsible creativity.”the festival said in a statement at the time.

The situation led, among other things, to a tightening of the selection criteria and the implementation of new global standards of integrity and responsibility that will be applicable to all this year’s entries. Among other things, each piece presented must now have the formal approval of the leader of the participating agency and a senior marketing manager of the advertising brand, and a dual verification system will also be applied that will combine manual (human) analysis with tools powered by artificial intelligence.

Both cases, added to others that have occurred over the years, increase the scrutiny and distrust of the sector towards the bad practices of the profession itself when it comes to awards and festivals; and they aggravate a perception problem that has put their value at the center of the debate. Among other things, its transparency, authenticity and rigor when accepting entries are questioned, as well as the work of the juries in granting recognition or even its relevance beyond the niche.