Grand Awards Go to FCB Health New York “Skip the Drama” and Tessa Films/Fearless Mortals “Let’s Change the Norm”: IPG Named Holding Company of the Year, IPG Health Earns Network of the Year, and FCB Health New York Named Agency of the Year
New York Festivals Health Awards has announced the Tower winners for the 2025 competition.
Selected from this year’s Shortlist, the award-winning work was rigorously evaluated by two Executive Jury panels in focused, face-to-face sessions. Leading the deliberations were Jury Chair Allison Ceraso, Chief Creative Officer of Digitas Health, guiding the Health & Wellness Executive Jury, and Kathleen Nanda, Chief Creative Officer of FCB Health New York leading as Jury Chair for the Pharma Executive Jury.
This year’s winners reflect the most forward-thinking, influential campaigns in the industry, earning global agencies top honors including 2 Grand Awards, 9 Gold Towers, 13 Silver, and 12 Bronze awards.
NYF Health’s Grand Award, the Best of Show designation that honors the highest-scoring Gold, spotlights the most exceptional work of the year. In 2025, both a Health & Wellness and a Pharma campaign earned this prestigious recognition.
2025 Pharma Grand Award
FCB Health New York earned the prestigious 2025 NYF Pharma Grand Award for “Skip the Drama” for client Exact Sciences/Cologuard in the Direct-to-Consumer: Film category.
The campaign reimagined colon cancer screening by disguising health messaging as the next binge-worthy TV drama with humorous executions titled “White Knight” and “Blizzard.” Recognizing that colonoscopies are often perceived as invasive and intimidating, the team leveraged Cologuard’s at-home, non-invasive test to flip the conversation. Teaser films mimicked prestige television genres, from fantasy epics to westerns, misleading viewers before revealing the true message: screening for colon cancer doesn’t have to come with drama.
Cinematic tension, humor, and storytelling, combined with high-end production designed to mirror entertainment culture, extended across TV and social. “Skip the Drama” cut through stigma and delivered real-world impact, driving double-digit growth for Cologuard each quarter following launch, transforming an essential health message into a cultural moment.
In addition to the Grand Award, the campaign earned 3 NYF Gold Towers, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze.
“This is such a huge win, not just for us, but for all the teams who work hard to elevate brand work, day in and day out. This campaign shows us all that we can make great work, and it can move brands, regardless of being in a highly regulated market. That’s good for us, good for the industry, and of course, good for the brand.” —Kathleen Nanda, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Health New York
2025 Health & Wellness Grand Award
Tessa Films/Fearless Mortals “Let’s Change the Norm” for Smartphone Free Childhood US was honored with the 2025 NYF Health & Wellness Grand Award.
The campaign sparked a global conversation about the impact of early smartphone use on children’s development and mental health. Targeting parents of kids ages 7–13, it addressed the tension between cultural pressure to give a child a phone and growing concern over its developmental effects. Launched in the U.S., the PSA quickly spread worldwide, translated into multiple languages, and was shared across parenting, education, and mental health communities.
Using humor to expose an uncomfortable truth, the campaign reframed the casual handling of adult technology to children through comedy rather than fear. Relatable scenarios from a Russian hacker asking for social security numbers to a box of porn and mean girls in the corner criticizing used absurdity and wit to make viewers laugh first, reflect immediately, and reconsider what should be considered normal. “Let’s Change the Norm” also earned an additional Gold NYF Health Tower making it eligible for its consideration for the Grand.
“Every parent I know struggles with the role smartphones play in our children’s lives. Smartphone Free Childhood US is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to changing the norm around this growing mental health crisis. Our spot used empathy and humor to bring attention to their cause, and the overwhelming response shows that honest, simple, comedic storytelling has the power to attract attention and spark real change. This recognition means a lot, and we couldn’t be more honored to be awarded the New York Festivals Grand Tower for Health.” —Tim Mason, Creative Director, Tessa Films and Fearless Mortals.
This year’s two Grand Award winners also reflected a broader creative shift within NYF Health: using humor to communicate complex or sensitive topics. Across the competition, judges saw an upswing in work using levity to disarm, engage, and connect with audiences. In response to this emerging momentum in the collective conversation, NYF Health introduced a new category in 2025 —the NYF’n Funny, category which celebrates campaigns that pushed comedic storytelling forward in healthcare communication.
Top-tier agencies were recognized with NYF Health Gold Towers for boundary-pushing campaigns. Klick Health earned Golds for “18 Months” for Second Nurture and “Voice 2 Diabetes” for KVI Brave Fund INC. Other Gold-winning work included 21Grams’ “Forbidden Fantasies” for Nexplanon, EVERSANA INTOUCH’s “No More Hippocrites” for Wisp, and Grey Health NY’s “Louder than Cancer” for Amazon Music.
New York Festivals Health Awards honors the world’s best healthcare advertising, celebrating creative achievement beyond language and cultural barriers. This year’s Gold Tower winners delivered high-impact campaigns that elevated brand visibility, engaged audiences, and produced meaningful market results. Health & Wellness highlighted human-centered ideas promoting everyday well-being, while top-performing Pharma campaigns celebrated brands advancing scientific innovation and improving patient lives.
“Congratulations to all this year’s bold and inventive campaigns,” said Jennifer Vizina, Executive Director, New York Festivals Health Awards. “This year, nearly one-third of all award-winning work leveraged humor as a strategic tool to deliver healthcare messaging with impact. Special congratulations to both of our Grand winners who used humor to break through and demonstrate its power in creating memorable, effective healthcare campaigns.”
2025 Industry Awards
Interpublic Group | IPG continues its position as a consistent creative powerhouse at the 2025 Health Awards, once again demonstrating leadership across the industry with a trifecta of major wins. IPG has been named Holding Company of the Year. IPG Health celebrates a repeat win as Network of the Year, and FCB Health New York takes home the esteemed title of Agency of the Year.
2025 New York Festivals Health Awards Holding Company of the Year
Interpublic Group | IPG, with employees in all major world markets, specializing in advertising, digital marketing, communications planning, media, public relations, and specialty marketing earned the prestigious title of 2025 Holding Company of the Year. The Holding Company of the Year is awarded to the holding company whose advertising networks earn the highest score for the highest caliber of work entered in all mediums across all competitions.
2025 New York Festivals Health Awards Network of the Year
IPG Health is in the spotlight again this year for the third consecutive year, securing the celebrated title of Network of the Year. The Network of the Year is awarded to an advertising agency network with the highest score for entries across all mediums and competitions.
The network’s standout companies include FCB Health London, FCB Health New York, FCB Health Vybe, Humancare, McCann Health London, Mosaic Group, Neon, Rise & Run, and Weber Shandwick earned awards including the prestigious NYFHealth® Grand Tower, 3 Golds, 3 Silvers, 3 Bronze, and 76 Finalist Awards.
2025 New York Festivals Health Awards Agency of the Year
FCB Health New York has been honored with the distinguished title of 2025 Agency of the Year for their standout work in this year’s competition. The award recognizes the advertising agency with the highest scoring entries across all mediums and competitions. FCB Health New York showcases an impressive lineup of industry honors including the prestigious NYFHealth Grand Tower, 3 Gold Towers, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze, and 23 Finalist Awards.
“We are thrilled to celebrate IPG, its network and global agencies for raising the bar for creativity in healthcare. For the third year running, their work has stood out for its excellence in breakthrough work. We acknowledge and honor the legacy of the IPG family and are grateful for their contributions to the healthcare communications landscape.” –Jennifer Vizina, Executive Director, New York Festivals Health Awards
The results of NYFHealth’s Shortlist and Executive Jury sessions determine the overall points earned for winning entries. The New York Festivals Special Industry Awards provide an account of the highest-ranking companies and agencies within this year’s competition.
View the 2025 NYF Health Awards winner’s gallery: HERE.