They call it the Oscars of advertising. Among the many international advertising awards, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is clearly the most prestigious. As advertising executives from around the world gather today at the Palais Des Festivals to honour the best creative work, the Indian contingent has its hopes pinned on work from agencies such as Leo, FCB, VML, Talented, Ogilvy, Havas, tgthr and dentsu, among others.
A total of 982 entries have been sent in from Indian agencies, up from 826 last year. The one question on everyone’s mind is: Can India outdo its best performance of 2022, when it picked up 47 Cannes Lions? FCB India has already been shortlisted in the Titanium Lions, so the mood among the ad fraternity is upbeat.
Brandwagon asked industry leaders, among them Anupama Ramaswamy, joint MD & chief creative officer, Havas Creative India, and Aalap Desai, CCO and co-founder, tgthr — two metal hopefuls — to list the top contenders from India at the 72nd edition of the festival. Here they are, in no particular order.
Campaign: Lucky Yatra
Agency: FCB India
Brand: Indian Railways
Aimed at reducing ticketless travel by transforming train tickets into lottery tickets, this campaign incentivised ticket purchases instead of penalising ticketless travellers.
Desai says that the cause is correct, the brand is ideal and the idea is so simple, it makes you smile. That makes it the right mix for a win. The campaign has already picked up a Titanium shortlist, so expectations are high.
Campaign: Guardian Beads
Agency: Ogilvy
Brand: Vi (Vodafone Idea)
This campaign addressed a critical problem at the Maha Kumbh Mela, where thousands go missing, especially children and the elderly without phones or memorised numbers. Ramaswamy notes that it leveraged a deeply rooted cultural practice to provide a practical, protective solution, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to community welfare.
Campaign: Avani’s Gold
Agency: Talented
Brand: Britannia Marie Gold
To recognise Avani Lekhara’s achievements in picking up a Gold at the Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the brand released a special edition biscuit and packaging reflecting the dimensions of her shooting target. Desai observes that the campaign had just the right balance of product and narrative.
Campaign: LullabAI
Agency: Havas Life Mumbai
Brand: Alembic CSR
Babies need to hear their mother’s voice when they have to be soothed. The campaign addressed the challenge that speech-impaired mothers face by turning to generative AI to create lullabies in these mothers’ voices. Ramaswamy points out that rather than using AI as a gimmick, LullabAI used it as a human amplifier to help speech-impaired mothers build an emotional bridge with their babies.
Campaign: Pink Star Safety Rating
Agency: ^atom
Brand: Reliance General Insurance
With the objective of tackling safety concerns that women travellers face, the Pink Star Safety Ratings platform uses real-time data and AI algorithms to rate over 50,000 locations worldwide on safety parameters. Considering safety is a concern for women globally, Desai expects the campaign’s universal appeal to resonate well with the Cannes Lions jury.
Campaign: Eye Test Menu
Agency: Ogilvy
Brand: Titan Eyeplus
To address the poor vision of truck drivers in India and the subsequent road accidents, this initiative replaced regular menus in roadside ‘dhabas’ with eye test menus. Drivers with limited eye care access could get a quick eye check-up and free glasses if prescribed. Ramas-wamy lauds it as a great example of design used intelligently and locally.