A record-breaking sixth edition for socially responsible advertising
On 8 July 2026, at the Palais des Glaces in Paris, the most ambitious edition yet of the Mlle Pitch Awards put its talent to work for the Fondation Villages d’Enfance Ensemble (formerly SOS Villages d’Enfants France), with a clear mission: to raise awareness of the plight of siblings separated when placed in care homes.
The work of the Villages d’Enfance Ensemble Foundation at the heart of the brief
This year, the competition highlighted the Fondation Villages d’Enfance Ensemble (formerly SOS Villages d’Enfants France), an organisation dedicated to helping people rebuild their lives.
Since its foundation in 1956, its core mission has been of paramount importance:to enable children in the care of child protection services to grow up with their brothers and sisters. Instead of suffering the double hardship of being separated, siblings are brought together in ‘children’s villages’, supported by dedicated professionals working with them over the long term. The aim is to provide them with the emotional security and educational guidance they need until they are fully integrated into society.
The foundation’s impact is tangible and far-reaching. In France, it currently cares for more than 1,600 children across 22 villages. Its reach also extends internationally to around twenty countries. Beyond its work on the ground, the foundation is actively involved in public debate to champion an approach centred on the effective realisation of children’s rights.
In a world saturated with advertising messages, some campaigns manage to make us stop in our tracks. They don’t sell anything, but they offer what really matters: raising awareness. The 2026 Mlle Pitch Awards, France’s major citizen-led creative competition, have once again proved that advertising can be a powerful force for good.
This sixth edition concluded with an unprecedented event in the competition’s six-year history: a single campaign won three Grand Prix awards in one evening. Behind this historic achievement were two Parisian students from Sup de Pub: Cécilia AUTAIN and Walia MAKDESSI. Here’s how“A break-up always leaves its mark” made its mark on this year’s competition.
A closer look at a list of winners that has shaped the history of the competition
To gauge the scale of our female students’ achievements, we need to look at the raw figures for the 2026 edition of the Mlle Pitch Awards:
- 1,647 participants from 61 French schools, including both freelancers and agency creatives
- 680 campaigns submitted across 13 categories
- 16 prizes awarded, with a total prize fund of 23,000 euros
- Just one campaign that has won three of the most coveted awards
This last point is an absolute first. Never before has a single project garnered so many awards. And this campaign is the work of Walia MAKDESSI and Cécilia AUTAIN, students at Sup de Pub Paris, supported by their tutor Hannah BEN MEYER, whose rigorous guidance helped raise the project to a professional standard.
They made this project possible
Cécilia AUTAIN
Walia Makdessi
“A break-up always leaves its mark”: an analysis of the winning concept
Faced with such a serious issue, many contestants opted for realism or drama. Walia and Cécilia took the opposite approach: absolute simplicity.
The idea: a brilliant invention born of a child’s metaphor
Their installation is based on a universal childhood object: modelling clay. Two pieces of different colours, intertwined, inseparable. Then they are separated. And there, the truth becomes glaringly obvious: each piece bears the traces of the other, forever. Blue within the yellow. Yellow within the blue. No lengthy explanation is needed to understand the inner turmoil of a child separated from their brother or sister.
Featuring three different visuals to represent various sibling configurations, the campaign establishes a visual style that is instantly recognisable as belonging to the world of childhood, with tremendous symbolic power.
She doesn’t just tell the story of the break-up; she shows it.
Babette AUVRAY-PAGNOZZI, Chair of Les Entremetteurs
The idea of using modelling clay is a brilliant stroke of genius.
Nicolas VALOTEAU, artistic director at Libération (a partner in this edition), explained how the campaign gradually won over the jury. Initially perceived as “conceptual”, it ultimately stood out for its ability to tap into our personal memories, reminding some people of the famous children’s book*Petit-Bleu and Petit-Jaune*.
Behind the scenes with the jury: the suspense of the turnaround
The deliberations were intense. Another campaign, “L’un et l’autre”(which won the People’s Choice Award and the Creapills Favourite Award), was in the lead with an idea based on iconic duos such as Mario & Luigi and the Daltons.
But “A break-up always leaves its mark”eventually won in the second round. The reason? Its complete freedom. Whilst the other entries relied on existing licences that were complex to utilise legally, the students from Sup de Pub created their own visual universe, one that could be adapted in infinite ways and bore a genuine ‘signature’.
The jury, chaired by Sylvain THIRACHE and comprising exclusively freelance creatives, reached a unanimous decision, awarding the campaign a haul of prizes.
Libération Jury Grand Prix
Display, Print, Media, Transport
Mediatransports DOOH Display
Nationwide distribution via Mediatransports and Libération
Cécilia and Walia’s work now extends beyond the realm of education to make a spectacular impact in the public sphere:
- A nationwide broadcast that will provide the Villages d’Enfance Ensemble Foundation with a platform to raise awareness amongst the French public about the plight of siblings in care.
- Print and digital (DOOH) advertising in the Paris metro and at France’s main railway stations via Mediatransports
- Extensive coverage in *Libération*: the last four pages and four front pages of the daily newspaper
The full list of winners for the 2026 edition
As well as this hat-trick, the 2026 vintage was marked by the notable integration of Artificial Intelligence into creative processes. Here are the big winners:
| Price | Campaign | Author(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jury Grand Prix , Print Grand Prix DOOH Grand Prix | A break-up always leaves its mark | Cécilia AUTAIN and Walia MAKDESSI |
| Film Grand Prix | The Best Landmark (created using AI) – The Bike | Aurélie GUILBEAU (freelance) – Lucas JEAN-ALPHONSE |
| Radio Grand Prix | Nicknames | Martin MAGNAN |
| Grand Prix 360 | Our little things | Mya HEDIN, Enzo PRATMARTY, Mar ENNAERT, Cerise QUEINNEC |
| Digital Grand Prix | Half | Eulalie LEROUGE, Joséphine TOCQUEVILLE, Dimitri MAQUIN, Laura THIBAUT, Dana BOBIN |
| Real AI Grand Prix | The Monster (created using AI) | Rémy PIANTONI (free agent) |
| Creapills’ Favourite Print Public Award | One without the other | Baptiste GLEIZER and Thibaud BERNET-BECUWE |
| DOOH People’s Choice Award | It’s not quite the same story anymore | Manon CHAUVEL, Martin RABADEUX, Celena DA SILVA CESAR |
| Internet Users’ Award | Home is where my brothers and sisters are | Lucie GUERBET |
The school would also like to extend its warmest congratulations toLucas JEAN-ALPHONSE, co-winner of the Grand Prix Film, whom we were delighted to count amongst our students and whose creative development we continue to follow with enthusiasm.
3 lessons for your future advertising campaigns
Walia Makdessi and Cécilia Autain’s performance is a masterclass for any communications professional:
- The simplest idea is often the most powerful.There’s no need to overcomplicate a message. A pure visual metaphor, such as modelling clay, makes a far stronger impact than a speech designed to make people feel guilty.
- Creative independence.By designing their own symbol from scratch, the winners freed themselves from any copyright restrictions, making their campaign immediately usable on a national scale.
- The importance of mentoring.The success of this campaign highlights the quality of the academic support provided at Sup de Pub.
The 7th edition of the Mlle Pitch Awards will be dedicated toToit à Moi, a charity that provides accommodation and support to homeless people in proper flats to help them get back on their feet. Whether you’re a student or a professional, the brief is waiting for you.
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Articles on the 2026 Mlle Pitch Awards
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