Luma AI Puts $1M Behind Your Best Unmade Idea - If It Wins Gold at Cannes Lions
Luma AI has launched The Luma Dream Brief: a global competition for creatives to turn the idea you've always believed in into a fully finished commercial. The stakes are simple and bold - if work made with Luma AI wins a 2026 Cannes Lions Gold Lion, the creator gets $1 million.
The brief is built with DE-YAN and targets a common industry pain point: the boldest ideas often die in decks. This initiative removes the usual blockers - budget, risk, and production complexity - by giving you AI tools to ship the work and a path to eligibility.
What's on the table
- $1,000,000 if your Luma-made spot wins a Cannes Lions Gold Lion in 2026
- Create a commercial for Luma itself, using Luma AI tools
- Global entries welcome; submissions due by March 22
- Finalists receive paid media to ensure public launch and award eligibility
- Reviewed by a jury of leading voices in advertising and culture
Why this matters
"A lot of great advertising never gets made," said Caroline Ingeborn, COO of Luma AI. "The Dream Brief is about removing those constraints and letting creatives prove what's possible when ideas set the ceiling."
Jason Kreher, Chief Creative Officer at DE-YAN, added: "Almost everyone in advertising has an idea they loved that never saw the light of day. Rather than fearing how generative AI might change our industry, this is a chance to understand it, by using it to make something that previously had no path to being real."
How it works
- Make: Use Luma AI to produce a fully realized commercial for Luma.
- Submit: Enter via LumaDreamBrief.com by March 22.
- Legitimacy: Luma will provide a client brief aligned with Cannes Lions rules so your work qualifies.
- Launch: Selected finalists get paid media support to run publicly within the eligibility window.
- Awards Path: If your spot wins a Gold Lion in 2026 - and it was made with Luma - you earn $1,000,000.
What to make
Your task is to sell Luma - concept through craft. Treat it like a real client brief: insight, narrative, brand clarity, and polish. The output should be a complete commercial, not a mood film or prototype.
Tools you'll be using
Luma's platform includes Dream Machine for generating production-grade video and images, and Ray3 - a reasoning video model built to create physically accurate motion, animation, and visuals. The stack is already in use by major studios, agencies, and partners like Adobe and AWS, and is accessible via subscription or API.
Quick action plan for creatives
- Pick the "one that got away" - a brave idea that stalled due to cost, scale, or visualization.
- Refit it to Luma as the client: clarify the message, audience, and brand role.
- Storyboard fast, iterate in Luma, and pressure-test your narrative arc in 30-60 seconds.
- Stress-test believability: casting, motion, product moments, and sound design all matter.
- Ship before the deadline and prep assets for paid media if you're shortlisted.
Key dates and eligibility
- Entries open now
- Submission deadline: March 22
- Global participation; work must be created using Luma AI
- Finalists receive media support to meet Cannes eligibility requirements
About Luma AI
Luma AI is building multimodal general intelligence to generate, understand, and operate in the physical world. Its flagship platform, Dream Machine, powers creative production for teams across entertainment, advertising, and tech. In 2025, Luma released Ray3, a reasoning video model focused on physically accurate video and animation. The company is backed by HUMAIN, Andreessen Horowitz, Amazon, AMD Ventures, NVIDIA, Amplify Partners, Matrix Partners, and a network of industry angels.
Get started
- Read the rules and submit here: LumaDreamBrief.com
- Brush up on AI video tools and workflows: Generative Video Tools Guide
If you've got a bold idea sitting in a folder, this is your window. Make it real, ship it, and give it a shot at Cannes.
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