The race for Asia-Pacific’s top creative honours is well underway, with Spikes Asia unveiling its final round of shortlists ahead of the Spikes Asia award gala, set to take place in Singapore on March 12. Shortlisted categories for the Glass award for change and Integrated Spikes have now been announced.
The finalists move into the final round of judging for the region’s premier creative awards. The contenders for the Innovation Spikes were revealed earlier in February.
The 2026 edition reflects a dynamic creative geography. This year’s jury line-up has the highest-ever representation from Central Asia, including jurors from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan after Kazakhstan swiped its first Grand Prix in the Media and Music Spikes categories in 2025. A broader mix of brand-side jurors have joined for the first time, with representation from Boost, FairPrice Group, Godrej Consumer Products, Hyundai Motor Company, The Lego Group, Oppo, and Samsung Electronics.
The ongoing Spikes Asia Week in Singapore culminates with the Creative Campus on March 12, followed by the Spikes Asia Awards Gala at Singapore’s Capitol Theatre. Campaign's team on the ground is collating live updates in a rolling column. The event will celebrate all winners, including the Young Spikes Competition, and bring together the industry’s top talent for an evening of recognition and celebration.
“With entries from 27 markets across the region, the shortlists really highlight the depth and breadth of creativity emerging from across APAC, and we’re proud to see such a diverse range of work being recognised at this year’s Awards," said Melanie Speet, director at Spikes Asia.
Entries for the 2026 awards opened in October 2025 with the introduction of a new Creative B2B Spikes category, expanding recognition for business-to-business creativity across the region. At the awards ceremony this year, McDonald's will be recognised as Advertiser of the Year.
The shortlists for all 25 categories are now live.
March 12: shortlists
| Category | Jury President | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Glass: The Award for Change | Atiya Zaidi | Shortlist announced |
| Integrated Spikes | Reed Collins | Shortlist announced |
Previously announced shortlists
| Category | Jury President | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Creative B2B | Wendy Walker | Shortlist announced |
| Creative Data | Maurice Riley | Shortlist announced |
| Creative Effectiveness | Shilpa Sinha | Shortlist announced |
| Digital Craft | Barbara Humphries | Shortlist announced |
| Entertainment | Britney Pai | Shortlist announced |
| Industry Craft | Atiya Zaidi | Shortlist announced |
| Audio & Radio | Reed Collins | Shortlist announced |
| Brand Experience & Activation | Lisa Fedyszyn | Shortlist announced |
| Creative Commerce | Lisa Fedyszyn | Shortlist announced |
| Creative Strategy | Shilpa Sinha | Shortlist announced |
| Design | Atiya Zaidi | Shortlist announced |
| Direct | Anupama Ramaswamy | Shortlist announced |
| Film | Reed Collins | Shortlist announced |
| Film Craft | Wuthisak Anarnkaporn | Shortlist announced |
| Gaming | Britney Pai | Shortlist announced |
| Healthcare | Rohini Miglani | Shortlist announced |
| Innovation | Maurice Riley | Shortlist announced |
| Media | Josh Gallagher | Shortlist announced |
| Music | Britney Pai | Shortlist announced |
| Outdoor | Anupama Ramaswamy | Shortlist announced |
| PR | Tomoko Tagami | Shortlist announced |
| Print & Publishing | Reed Collins | Shortlist announced |
| Social & Creator | Barbara Humphries | Shortlist announced |
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
