Akhilesh Bagri of mc<sup>2</sup> wins Cannes scholarship

Bagri joined mc² (then Madison Creative) in November 2005, and is currently working as copywriter at the agency

Akhilesh Bagri of mc², formerly Madison Creative, has been selected to pursue the Cannes Lions Academy Diploma. This initiative is organised by the Ad Club, Mumbai, and the Times Group, the official representative of Cannes in India.

The scholarship is offered to undergraduate and postgraduate students who are currently studying advertising, communications or marketing, with a view to working in the industry. The student needs to be 18-23 years of age and fluent in English.

To qualify for the entry, students need to appear for a written test, following which they are required to prepare a theme-based ad. The written answers and the creative are judged by a panel of ad professionals. The short-listed candidates are asked to participate in a group discussion and an interview.

Akhilesh Bagri

For the round in which the students had to prepare a theme-based ad, Bagri was to glorify sports other than cricket. He sketched the medals received by India's ace shooter, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, placed on an old, dusty shelf, signifying the lack of importance that other sports are given, as compared with the national game.

Bagri joined mc² (then Madison Creative) in November 2005, and he is currently working there as copywriter. Besides this, he is pursuing his Master’s in commerce at Mumbai University.

The Ad Club, Mumbai, sponsors the winner, who gets an all expenses paid, seven-day trip to the Cannes Advertising Festival, as also the Cannes Lions BA Scholarship, which involves one week of training June 17-23, 2007.

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