Can India do a 2022 at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity?

India has sent 112 entries less than last year; a 12.20% YoY dip.

The Indian ad contingent at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is under more than the usual levels of scrutiny this year, and it is all because of their own doing.

Last year, led by Dentsu Creative’s The Unfiltered History Tour ensured, the country had its best-ever metals tally including an Agency of the Year, five Grands Prix Lions, two Titanium Lions, and several golds, silver, and bronze metals.

Will the not-so-motley crew of ad agencies pull off another heist at the world’s biggest creative advertising awards? That is the question on most minds.

India has sent 809 entries this year, down from the 921 entries it sent in 2022. And it has not scored a single shortlist in the Titanium Lions category this year.

The answer will reveal itself from today till June 23, 2023.

Until then, here are the entries which shoulder the responsibility of matching or bettering India’s performance from 2022.

Talented

Why Is This A Swiggy Ad? for Swiggy

A digital-first brand doling out a print and outdoor campaign which is basically a puzzle and people have to figure out, 'Why is this a Swiggy ad?'

#ortraveloncleartrip’ QR code Print ad for Cleartrip

Dentsu Creative:

Suraksha Ka Teeka for Mortein

Reimagining the Indian practice of applying ‘kala teeka’ on the foreheads of toddlers and babies, Mortein and Dentsu Creative came together to unveil their new initiative ‘Suraksha Ka Teeka’ to participate in the fight against malaria in Bareilly. As per the company, the teeka will act as a repellent and save the young ones from mosquitoes.

The Everything Book for Vedantu

The Responsible Manhole for TVS

The Unfiltered History Tour for Vice Media

Landor & Fitch

#EatLikeNoOnesWatching for Full'r

People are no longer ordering burgers for lunch in the Work From Home (WFH) era. Sri Lankan burger brand Full'r got into action and directed customers to a website where they can record their meeting game face and post it as a virtual backgroung. Meeting participants see your recorded video while you munch on a juicy burger like no one's watching.

McCann Worldgroup

‘Cosplay for a Cause’ for Sneha

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Cosplay is one of the biggest highlights at Comic-Con, an annual event for everything comics. Only this time, Comic-Con India saw domestic abuse being cosplayed.

Shagun ka Lifafa for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi

Indian Stretchable Time for Zepto

Ever wondered how you can stretch time to save yourself or to ally an impatient customer? Zepto and L&K Saatchi & Saatchi have the answer for you.

Enormous

Asahi India Glass’ silence is a luxury that you deserve 

The difference between stillness and the chaos of the universe is a single brand of glass. Asahi Noise Cancelling Windows claims it is them, and their spot by Enormous humorously whispers the point in the viewers' ears.

Wondrlab India

The Unheard Playlist campaign for Spotify

Imagine streaming a song on Spotify only to find the female bits of the song missing. That's what Spotify did for this International Women's Day to shine a light on the female artists in the Indian music industry.

Artificial Love campaign for Bharat Matrimony

Leo Burnett

Airtel 175 Replayed for Airtel

One of India's most iconic cricket innings was lost in time because the BBC was on strike that day. Airtel decided to replay the innings with the help of Leo Burnett.

#BringBack2011 for Oreo

The Missing Chapter for P&G Whisper

The Great Celebrity Hack for Burger King

The Biochar Project for Lay's

Smart Farm for Lay’s

^ a t o m

EmerJersey for Reliance General Insurance

A jersey which helps healthcare authorities with the medical information of the Govindas if they're brought in injured during dahi handi.

The D Series Project for Reliance General Insurance

Wavemaker India (Creative Agency - Ogilvy)

5 Star Mush Detector for Cadbury 5 Star

Ever wanted to steer clear of love-dovey couples on Valentine's Day, Cadbury 5 Star has built a mush detector to help you stay away from these lovely folks.

Unforgettable Love Tips for Cadbury Silk

#ShopsForShopless for Cadbury Celebrations

5 Stars Everywhere! for Cadbury 5Star

Cadbury Dairy Milk’s Proud sponsor of the ground staff

Mindshare India

Vim: Breaking stereotypes in kitchen and in tech 

Has one ever heard of a dishwashing liquid only for men? Nope. That was until Vim decided to drop one.

Thumbstopping Beauty Biases for Dove

HUL Shikhar’s Sales Rep of the Year

Kwality Walls Trixy Cinegame’s Bringing Alive 3 Layers of Fun

Cric Exchange – Net Practice for Stock Trading

Castrol Super Mechanic: Upskilling during downtime

BBDO India

#NoPressureDelivery for Ralco Tyres

An initiative which lets the customer let the delivery executive and the app know there's no pressure to deliver the order right away; helps protect unwanted speeding from the riders and reduces the chances of accidents.

Ariel - Silent Separation #ShareTheLoad

See Equal #ShareTheLoad for Ariel

Ariel - See Equal #ShareTheLoad long-term

WhatsApp - Scam Se Bacho

Havas Life Sorento

#ThePinkRibbonCollection for the American Oncology Institute

The Womb

Buri Neeyat Waale Tera Call Laal campaign for Truecaller

BC Web Wise

#ShareALitre for FlowGuard Plus

#RogueAI for Pentonic

VMLY&R

Maxx Flash’s Arogya Bindu

A ‘kala teeka’ that others can use on their children to protect them from mosquitoes. According to the company, this product is available can be purchased for Rs 20. 

Unipads’ Tea Cycle

DDB Mudra

Bothard for MTV

MTV’s BotHard- MTV India and DDB Mudra launched ‘BotHard’- an AI powered rapper and bot. The campaign was a tech innovation and was trained  to find rhyme structures of popular rappers. The bot also made an appearance on MTV Hustle 2.0- as show focused on discovering the rap talent in the country.

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Indeed’s #HireBetter

BGMI’s Machine-gun Mouth

FCB Group

HDFC Bank’s Vigil Aunty by FCB Kinnect

FCB Kinnect created a ‘Vigil Aunty’ for HDFC Bank to warn people about banking frauds. The episodic series deals with a number of security issues like KYC fraud, Electricity bill fraud etc. The episodes are entertaining and aim to spread awareness about the types of financial frauds plaguing the country and warn people against them.

Smart Bazaar’s Second Question by FCB Kinnect

Google Cloud’s Hum Banayenge by FCB Kinnect

The Politics of Hair by FCB India

Tr. for Teacher for Navneet

MullenLowe Lintas Group

Absolut’s #AbsolutAlly - MullenLowe created the #AbsolutAlly campaign for Absolut Glassware. It was the brand’s first ever pride campaign for the country. The campaign highlights that despite all the talk around the community, little has changed at the societal and familial level for them.

The campaign was co-created with 10 voices chosen from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum including names such as Dutee Chand, Durga Gawde, Patruni Sastry, Jay Anand, Alex Matthew, Aniruddha Mahale, Maitrayanee Mahanta, Anwesh Sahoo and Anjali Lama.

Infosys’ A boy with a rainbow heart

Future Generali’s Redefine Family

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Vim’s Vim Black

Lifebuoy’s Gift of Ganga