Indian contingent’s tally of metals remained unchanged at five on day three of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The tally of shortlists though climbed to 24 with entries into categories like film, creative strategy and sustainable development goals.
Though Indian agencies got off to a decent start on day one, the next couple of days have been nowhere near the success of 2025 when the country’s contingent had already picked up 26 Lions by the third day. While the lower number of entries is one reason for India’s relatively subdued performance, experts say the time has now come for the advertising industry to use technology and AI as more than just cost and time saving tools.
Operational Traps
“Most Indian shops have adopted AI for execution. Faster production, quicker iterations and cheaper visuals. That is the easy layer, and almost everyone is there. What global leaders are doing is building proprietary AI systems and data infrastructure that produce a structural creative advantage. The global winners at Cannes this year are using AI to find cultural insights at scale,” observed Ambika Sharma, founder and chief strategist, Pulp Strategy.
Leading advertising firms today own the audience and cultural signal data that offers insights competitors cannot see. Sharma says that India either outsources this or skips it.
That said, experts agree that the country has a clear edge in its advertising that cannot be manufactured – cultural depth. The industry has excelled in cultural insight and human-centred creativity.
“Our strongest work often stems from a deep understanding of people, communities and social realities, which has helped Indian campaigns succeed locally and globally. Where we have an opportunity to grow is in the integration of creativity with technology, data, platforms and product innovation,” points out Santosh Kumar, COO of Innocean India, noting that the next phase will be about using technology to create entirely new consumer experiences, products and business solutions.
Resonant Truths
Most successful campaigns globally today are blurring the lines between advertising, technology, commerce and customer experience, he adds.
Amit Shankar, co-founder and chief creative officer at Hashtag Orange notes that some of the winning campaigns this year such as Sting’s The Unofficial Sound of F1 and Colgate’s Indianis Dentris have proven that success doesn’t always need technology or scale. “We have a long tradition of turning local truths into emotionally resonant storytelling, and the world continues to recognise it. Where leading global agencies are raising the bar is in combining creativity with product innovation, service design, and genuine business transformation,” he explains.
The most celebrated Cannes work this year has been the creation of unique consumer experiences and behaviours. Experts say that Indian advertising will need to move in this direction to continue to shine globally in the future.