Leo Burnett, Talented, Mindshare, Dentsu Creative and EssenceMediacom pick up Lions, but gold eludes Indian agencies on day three

The adage goes that you should only compare your performance with your past self to see how far you’ve come.

Indian agencies did not win a single Grand Prix or gold metal on day three of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2023. They, however, won the same number of metals on day three of last year’s event, which also included a Grand Prix and two gold metals.

On day two, six Lions category winners were revealed. India made it to the shortlists in the following categories: 

• Creative B2B Lions: two shortlists

• Creative Data Lions: five shortlists

• Direct Lions: two shortlists

• Media Lions: eight shortlists

• PR Lions: four shortlists

• Social and Influencer Lions: eight shortlists

India won 10 metals from four categories. It did not win in the Creative B2B Lions and Direct Lions categories.

Leo Burnett emerged as the biggest winner of the day, with three silver Lions and a bronze metal.

It won a silver metal in the Creative Data Lions category for its ‘Lay’s Smart Farm’ campaign. Add a silver metal each in the PR Lions category, and Social and Influencer Lions category for #BringBack2011 made for Oreo India.

Also add a bronze metal in the PR Lions category for its ‘Airtel 175 Replayed’ campaign.

Leo Burnett shared a bronze metal with EssenceMediacom in the Media Lions category for its ‘The Missing Chapter’ campaign for P&G.

"When we do breakthrough work the world notices. Winning at the Cannes Lions is the ultimate recognition for this campaign. I am extremely proud of our teams that have set new benchmarks for developing pathbreaking work based on insights, inclusion, and impact on society. Together we are empowering a new India to realize its true potential," remarked Navin Khemka, CEO, EssenceMediacom.

Right behind Leo Burnett and making its Cannes Lions debut, was Talented, a creative agency from Bengaluru. Its founders and creative team were behind ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’, as a part of Dentsu India’s Webchutney.

The campaign won nearly all possible Lions at last year’s event and was responsible for India’s best-ever performance at the event.

Talented won a silver metal in the Media Lions category for its ‘Or Travel On Cleartrip’ campaign.

It bagged a bronze metal in the PR Lions category for its work on Swiggy, the campaign being ‘Why Is This A Swiggy Ad?’. Add another bronze metal for the same campaign in the Social and Influencer Lions category.

Gautam Reghunath and PG Aditiya, Co-founders, Talented said, "We’re not going to lie. Last year was amazing. This one kind of feels even better and means so much to all of us. We’ve just celebrated our first anniversary at Talented and three metals at Cannes Lions were certainly not part of the agenda for year one."

"Both the Swiggy and Cleartrip work that have been awarded are an excellent representation of the brand of creativity we want to champion. Stuff that transcends mediums. We hate to go into cliched territory but there is no way some of the directions that both these campaigns took would ever see the light of day without champion clients, technology and film partners, like the ones we were lucky to partner with. They were equal co-creators through it all."

Dentsu Creative notched up another bronze metal at this year’s event. It won in the Media Lions category for ‘Suraksha Ka Teeka’ for Mortein.

Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative India, said, “Two metals in two days. What an incredible streak of success! I am thrilled. My heart brims with immense pride for our brilliant team and the entire force of Dentsu Creative. This well-deserved bronze is just the beginning of the recognition they truly deserve, and there’s undoubtedly more greatness to come.”

Aalap Desai, chief creative officer, creative experience, West, Dentsu Creative India, added, “‘Suraksha Ka Teeka’ is special. So much luck and love have been poured into it that winning, feels awesome. The client, Saurabh Jain at Mortein, believed in it as soon as he heard about it.”

“The collaboration and dedication within the team, were flawless. The timing and effectiveness of the product are wonderful. We are proud and happy that all of this is being recognised. We now have our fingers crossed for the other shortlists.”

Mindshare India too won a bronze metal in this category for ‘Thumbstopping Beauty Biases’ for Dove. The agency worked with Bobble AI to suggest alternatives, after identifying text messages that aimed to body-shame people.

"This campaign is a testimony of how thought-provoking content interventions can influence societal norms to bring about positive change. We hope the recognition it has received at Cannes can act as a source of inspiration for the industry that meaningful application of AI can make human interactions more humane," said Amin Lakhani, CEO, Mindshare South Asia.

"At Mindshare we understand the tremendous impact that brands can drive and remain committed to reshaping perceptions to create a more inclusive world. We would like to thank HUL and Dove team for continually showing us support and encouragement for such innovations," he added.

Last year, at the end of day three, India had notched up 20 Lions. This year, the tally stands at 16. Will Indian agencies match the 2022 tally of 47 metals? Well, the answer will be revealed shortly.