Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the most prestigious and largest gathering of the advertising and creative communications industry has unfolded the winners making it the breaking news of the year. This year it was held from 19th June to 23rd June. Indian creative industry has successfully marked its footprints in the winners list by winning 25 Lions, securing 8th rank in the world.
The U.S. was by far the dominant country, scoring a massive 218 Lions, followed by Brazil and the U.K. tied with 84 Lions each, followed by France with 55 Lions.
At the end of the 70th edition of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, three things stood out, AI. AI. AI. At the Oscars of advertising, this year, the chatter was about how artificial intelligence will impact the marketing industry. The discussions were are also around how AI will enhance productivity and creativity of ad folks. Most big wins went to future-ready companies and agencies that are pushing their creative envelope to bring strategic growth for their clients.
India’s Cannes Lions 2023 report card also has similar reflections. Mondelez and Ogilvy India won Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix. Mondelez’s ‘Shah Rukh Khan – My Ad’ was the awarded campaign. Much before artificial intelligence (AI) became the buzzword on the internet, Mondelez India started its early experimentations. ‘Shah Rukh Khan – My Ad’ was a creative idea that was infused with AI to create a purposely piece.
Leo Burnett India won a Gold Lion in Brand Experience & Activation for Airtel’s ‘175 Replayed’ campaign. The telecom major recreated the in-stadium experience of Kapil Dev’s famous 175 not out innings against Zimbabwe at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. The new-age work had creative strokes that created impact experiences for consumers.
On the finale day, Leo Burnett India picked a Silver Lion in Sustainable Development Goals for Lay’s ‘The Biochar Project’. The agency also won in categories like Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Business Transformation, Innovation, Creative Strategy, among others. These are categories that award brand work who create impactful business results using technology at the centre. Leo Burnett India’s won for brands like PepsiCo’s Lay’s, Mondelez’s Oreo, and P&G’s Whisper.
FCB India picked a Gold Lion in Industry Craft for Stir Magazine’s ‘Untangling the Politics of Hair’ campaign. It is India’s first Gold Lion in the category that celebrates creative artistry, talent and skill that’s required to deliver beautifully executed solutions and bring creative ideas to life.
FCB India’s other agencies also won a few Lions this year. FCB Kinnect won for its ‘Chatpat’ campaign for SOS Children’s Villages’. FCB Interface was awarded for Navneet’s ‘TR for Teacher’ campaign. On the last day of the festival, this campaign also won a Bronze in the Sustainable Development Goals category.
Independent agency Talented got a total of three Lions in their debut year for Cleartrip and Swiggy. Mindshare, Dentsu Creative, EssenceMediacom also won this year at Cannes Lions.
Last year, India created history at Cannes Lions with 47 Lions, which included five Grand Prix in a year, and a set of Titanium Lions. It was also the first time that an Indian agency – Dentsu Creative – was named the Creative Agency of the Year. This year India got home only a total of 25 Lions. While there is a drop in the number of Lions coming home, the good news is that the piece of work that got recognised are across new-age categories and for buzzy brands.
Indian agencies didn’t pick any Lions in traditional categories like Print, Radio & Audio, and Outdoor. The reasons are many. Experts tell Storyboard18 that agencies today are picking the right categories at international awards shows. It’s strategically and economically the right move, they believe. Clients also want work that will benefit their business. Awards are just add-ons.
