India’s creative industry made a powerful impact on day three of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025, winning 14 medals, its best single-day tally so far this year. The wins included a prestigious Grand Prix, four Gold Lions, two Silver Lions, and seven Bronze Lions, catapulting the country’s total to 26 metals, more than double the count at the same stage in 2024.
Leading the charge was FCB India, whose campaign, Lucky Yatra, earned the coveted Grand Prix, along with two Gold Lions and a Silver. The campaign, which encourages railway ticket purchases, was awarded in the PR and Direct categories. It was recognised not just for its storytelling but for real-world impact, cultural relevance, and consumer engagement.
“To win a Grand Prix, two Golds, and a Silver for Lucky Yatra is truly special,” said Dheeraj Sinha, CEO of FCB Group South Asia. “This campaign has travelled from a deeply local insight to global creative recognition. Huge applause to our phenomenal teams and our client partners who believed in bold, rooted ideas.”
Leo Burnett also picked up a Gold Lion in the Creative Data category for its campaign ACKO Tailor Test, which used tailors as health advocates, recommending heart check-ups when customers’ waist and hip measurements indicated potential health risks. Leo added a Silver in the Media category for Takeoff Takeover, a personalised flight data-based messaging campaign for Cathay Pacific.
“We believe the most powerful ideas come from deep human insight,” said Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Publicis Groupe South Asia. “With ACKO Tailor Test, we turned everyday behaviour into a tool for health awareness — creativity with purpose.”
Ogilvy won a Gold in the Social and Creator category for Erase Valentine’s Day, a playful campaign for Mondelez’s 5-Star chocolate bar. It introduced a fictional vessel that allowed people to skip the romantic holiday by manipulating time zones. The agency also earned a Bronze in the PR category for Box to Beds, which repurposed Amazon India’s delivery boxes into beds for visitors at the Kumbh Mela.
BBH India, another Publicis agency, entered the winners’ list with a Bronze in the Social and Creator category for Bassi Vs Men’s Face Wash, a campaign for Garnier that cleverly responded to a comedian’s criticism with a witty brand endorsement by actor John Abraham.
Independent agency Talented earned a Bronze in Media for Nature Shapes Britannia, featuring eco-friendly billboards designed around existing trees, highlighting the brand’s sustainability mission.
Dentsu Creative collected its first medal of the festival with a Bronze in the Media category for Garuda Rakshak. The campaign, developed with Falco Robotics, used drone technology inspired by Hindu mythology to help locate lost children during mass gatherings like the Maha Kumbh Mela.
Rounding off the day’s success, Havas added two Bronze Lions, in the Direct and Media categories, for Ink of Democracy, following up on its Gold win from day one.
