Anupriya Acharya, Kainaz Karmakar to chair Cannes Lions 2026 juries

Publicis Groupe South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya and Ogilvy India chief creative officer Kainaz Karmakar will chair juries at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026, becoming the first Indians to lead the Creative Data and Health and Wellness categories respectively.

The Creative Data Lions recognise ideas that sit at the intersection of data science, strategic insight and creativity, rewarding work that uses data to unlock breakthrough consumer experiences and deliver measurable business impact.

India has already made its mark in the category in 2025. Publicis owned Leo, formerly Leo Burnett, won a Gold Lion for the ACKO Tailor Test campaign.

The work enlisted neighbourhood tailors to measure customers’ waist to hip ratios, using the data to assess potential heart disease risk.

The Health and Wellness Lions, meanwhile, celebrate creativity that advances personal wellbeing, with a focus on consumer healthcare. The category rewards work that promotes non prescription products and services, enables public education for self diagnosis or encourages proactive personal care through compelling creative execution.

India won a Silver Lion in the category in 2025 for the Naga Saint Eye Test, created by Godrej Creative Lab for the Eyebetes Foundation.

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The campaign addressed diabetes related vision loss by turning Naga sadhus at the Maha Kumbh Mela into human eye charts, with letters painted on their backs. Pilgrims who struggled to read the text were directed to eye check ups and diabetes screening camps.