Saatchi film snares fourth Bronze Lion for India

Saatchi & Saatchi India has won a Bronze Lion for one of its two Sony Handycam commercials that were shortlisted in the Film category at the Cannes International Advertising Festival 2004. With three Lions already having come India's way in the Press and Outdoor categories, Saatchi's win in Film takes the country's Lion count this year to four Bronzes.

India, as we all know, had four shortlisted entries in Film this year, with Saatchi India and Lowe accounting for two nominations each. Interestingly, during the pre-judging stage, many in the Indian contingent at Cannes saw Lowe's entry for Saint-Gobain - the ‘waiter' commercial, that is - as India's best chance of winning a Lion in Film. Surprisingly, however, the commercial appears to have missed the mark, with the jury deciding against awarding it a Lion. Nonetheless, with Saatchi having claimed a Bronze, India has the pleasure of having a representation in all the three important categories at Cannes - Press (the Senso ad by Burnett India), Outdoor (the two Hutch winners from O&M India) and Film.

Saatchi India's Bronze winning commercial for Sony Handycam is incidentally only the fifth television commercial produced by India to win a Lion at Cannes, after the Ericsson ‘one black coffee' film, the ‘battery-operated toy' ad for Forte India and the ‘cliffhanger' and ‘bus' spots for Fevicol. In that context, Saatchi's win is all the more significant, as it has helped strengthen India's base in a category where the nation hasn't had much to celebrate about. So let's hear it for Saatchi! © 2004 agencyfaqs!