Cannes 2007: Happy day for Happydent

The Happydent commercial has done India proud at Cannes. The film has won a Silver Lion in the sub-category, Sweet Foods and Snacks, and a Bronze Lion for Best Use of Music.

However, the bigger surprise by far was the Eye Bank film entered by Code Red Films, which won a bronze in the sub-category, Fundraising and Appeals. In fact, agencyfaqs! had predicted this win, based on its interaction with the juries of various categories.

This film was shot by Gajaraj Rao and Subrat Ray, and written and conceptualised by Manish Bhatt and Raghu Bhat.

“But then we couldn’t understand the significance of the celebration, until Ravi (Deshpande) explained to the jury about the festival of Holi, the day when everyone plays with colours.”

“The idea of blind children playing with colours is undoubtedly marvellous,” Scarpelli adds.

In fact with this win, there seems to be a growing trend of Indian entries making their way in categories such as public service and public awareness. Two other public awareness entries from India have won this year in two separate categories – the female foeticide radio spot done by Leo Burnett and the adoption press campaign done by O&M. The juries had similar comments to make on both entries. Perhaps, “Indian creatives have mastered the art of portraying emotions”. Scarpelli nods in agreement.

When asked about the Happydent commercial, Scarpelli said that it’s been one of his favourite films. Many of the jury members felt that the idea of showing sparkling teeth has been done quite often, but the way it was done in this ad was marvellous.

“It’s a great way to celebrate Indian culture. The film is a brilliant piece of work in terms of execution of strategy,” Scarpelli asserts.

The film bagged a silver for the execution, but missed the gold for idea.

“The other two films that were nominated – Bajaj Fans by Leo Burnett and Nike by JWT – were not even considered for the Lions,” says the jury.

Cannes 2007, complete coverage.