India started its campaign at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with a bang this year. On Day 1, it scooped up nine metals and by Day 3 it had crossed the 18 medal haul of 2024 and also 2023’s 24. The contingent ended the 5-day festival with 32 metals in the bag and FCB leading the table with nine (1 Grand Prix, 6 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze), followed by Leo India with 3 (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze) and Ogilvy with seven (1 Gold, 6 Bronze).
Overall, India’s tally at Cannes Lions 2025 stood at 1 Grand Prix, 9 Gold, 9 Silver and 13 Bronze Lions. “India has done better than it has in the last couple of years in terms of both the number and quality of metals won, which is good news. At the same time this needs to be tempered by the fact that India continues to punch below its weight on the global stage, given the calibre of its creative and strategic talent,” said Amitesh Rao, CEO South Asia, Leo, Publicis Health and Publicis Business.
FCB’s “Lucky Yatra” campaign proved lucky for both the agency and the country this year, accounting for the lion’s share of the agency’s total. The 8 metals for the “Lucky Yatra” campaign comprised 1 Grand Prix, 6 Gold, and 1 Silver Lions.
Of course, 2025 was no match for India’s 2022 performance, the country’s best ever. During India’s last three outings the score card was like this: 2022: 47; 2023: 24 and 2024: 18. Increased focus on categories that reward the use of technology in creativity, gaming and SDG would play to the country’s strengths going forward, Rao said.
This year’s submission count was 982, up from 826 in 2024; India had 85 shortlists across 22 categories. The shortlisted campaigns covered themes such as social behaviour, sustainability, cultural engagement, and the use of technology in advertising.
