General Mills’ Progresso Soup Drops Campaign Wins Gold and Silver Lions at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

The “soup you can suck on” takes top honors in the PR and Brand Experience & Activation categories

CANNES, France & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Progresso^TM Soup Drops – the first ever “soup you can suck on” – continued to dominate the cold and flu conversation this week, earning a Gold Lion for PR and Silver Lion for Brand Experience & Activation at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

While most folks flock to the cough drop aisle at the first sign of a cold, this past January, Progresso said, “Hold my spoon!” and moved out of the soup aisle to offer the classic, hearty flavor of Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup in a SOUPrising new format.

The savory, hard candy drops were available only during National Soup Month – the height of cold and flu season – to remind consumers of the comfort found in a bowl of Progresso Soup. And fans loved the creative approach, selling out the limited-edition drops in just minutes and generating more than two weeks of conversation across social media and from morning shows to late night talk shows.

“At General Mills, we’re focused on building iconic brands with bold, culturally relevant ideas,” said Doug Martin, chief marketing officer for General Mills. “Progresso Soup Drops were the spark of joy fans were looking for during cold and flu season, and while their response certainly showed we got it right, to be recognized among the top 1% of creative campaigns globally is an incredible honor.”

In addition to the Gold and Silver Lions, Progresso Soup Drops was shortlisted across the Creative Strategy, Direct, PR and Brand Experience & Activation categories. In partnership with an agency roster led by Edelman, alongside Knechtel Inc., Yaniv Consulting, The Social Lights and Promotion Management Center across product development, paid influencer and website development, Soup Drops and Progresso dominated sick season this year. The cheeky drops were conversation-drivers and attention-grabbers that served as an entry point to the Progresso Soup portfolio, driving an increase in top-of-mind awareness, brand association and ultimately sales for the brand.

About General Mills

General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to boldly build its brands, relentlessly innovate, unleash its scale and stand for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names like Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino’s, Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. General Mills generated fiscal 2024 net sales of U.S. $20 billion. In addition, the company’s share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1 billion. For more information, visit www.generalmills.com.