Lions 2025: The joy remains in watching the creative industry win as a whole

This year's Cannes Lions held personal significance for me. Winning the first-ever Silver Lion for Godrej Creative Lab made the experience richer, more emotional, and unforgettable.

Achieving a place among the world’s best felt like a defining moment—not only for our team but also for what it signifies in building something bold, purposeful, and creatively forward within a large legacy company like Godrej Consumer Products.

One of the most exciting trends this year was the rise of independent agencies. There was a noticeably larger presence of indies this year, and they weren’t just attending—they were winning.

Shops such as Rethink, Serviceplan, and Go Daddy’s in-house creative agency, along with Quality Meats, have proven that brave and original work can thrive without global network backing.

Another shift was in how we talked about AI. The hype has matured. There was less buzz around “what AI can do” and more focus on the people behind the AI—the creatives harnessing its potential to serve an idea.

A standout was Dove’s ‘Real beauty in the age of AI’, which seamlessly carried the spirit of the brand into today’s context. 

As fans of the agency Gut, the most memorable line that stuck was “The riskiest thing you can do as a creative is to not take risks at all.” Their session on Bravery Means Business, resonated deeply. 

And finally, Brazil was crowned the most creative country of 2025—and deservedly so. Their campaigns were raw, emotional, and unapologetically local. As Cannes Lions is about to wrap, it is reaffirming that that the future of creativity lies not in tech alone, but in fearless minds using it with intention. And with that, we win as an industry. 

(Our guest writers, Shalini Avadhani and Gaurav Kumar, are the Lead Creative Strategists at Creative Lab, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd)