The Indian contingent at the Cannes Advertising Festival is a happy one: The first two days of the week-long event, which began on Saturday, brought awards and nominations.
Indian agencies struck gold in categories such as health care and bagged key shortlists in print, direct marketing and radio.
“Why this is critical is because wins and shortlists at the initial level set the stage for the drama over the course of the week,” said K V Sridhar, chief creative officer, India, SapientNitro.
India bagged two gold, two silver and three bronze lions in pharma, one of the two sub-categories within health care.
All these went to Mumbai-based Medulla Communications, promoted by Grey’s former national creative director Amit Akali and his brother, Praful Akali. Medulla was also declared the Agency of the Year in health care, the first for an Indian entity. The other health care sub-category, health and wellness, saw Rediffusion Y&R bag a bronze lion.
This was for a Tata Motors entry (called Dipper Condoms). In all, the metals tally after the first two days stands at eight, making it one of the strongest starts for India in recent years.
There is more in the offing, with India bagging a total of 29 shortlists in key segments such as print & publishing, direct marketing, promo and activation, radio and Glass Lions. Awards for these categories will be declared later on Monday, the third day of the festival.
What is heartening, notes Sridhar, is that a plethora of ad agencies have got shortlists, implying India’s chances of winning a metal are stronger this year.
Expectations are that the Indian contingent could take home at least four to five metals after Monday’s awards show, implying the overall tally will cross 10. “This is a conservative number and it could cross 15, based on the performance of agencies today,” says Sridhar.
Among agencies that have shortlists are Ogilvy & Mather, Taproot Dentsu, J Walter Thompson, Leo Burnett, Bates, Contract, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and BBDO. Expectations are particularly high from BBDO, which last year had brought home the country’s first Glass Grand Prix, a new category.
Apart from this, India's overall tally last year was at its lowest in seven years, with only 13 metals out of around 950-1,000 entries that were sent to the festival. This meant the conversion rate was extremely poor and spoke of how behind-the-curve Indian ad agencies were, Bobby Pawar, managing director & chief creative officer, Publicis Worldwide, had said.
With Indian agencies this year starting on a firmer footing, the expectation is that the total in this edition will be a respectable one. The total number of entries this year to Cannes is roughly around 1400-1500, say industry sources.
Sridhar said there are campaigns that show promise. “‘Beauty tips by Reshma’ — Ogilvy’s ad campaign on ending acid attacks is among my favourites,” he said. “It shows an acid attack victim sharing beauty tips. ‘The Giant’s Story’ for Ambuja Cement featuring wrestler Khali or the British Airways campaign ‘Fuelled by Love’ are among favourites too,” he said.
So is Ogilvy’s campaign for Mumbai-based NGO Sprouts Environment Trust on creating eco-friendly Ganesh idols, he adds.
The festival has only just begun.
Indian agencies struck gold in categories such as health care and bagged key shortlists in print, direct marketing and radio.
“Why this is critical is because wins and shortlists at the initial level set the stage for the drama over the course of the week,” said K V Sridhar, chief creative officer, India, SapientNitro.
India bagged two gold, two silver and three bronze lions in pharma, one of the two sub-categories within health care.
STRIKING BIG |
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All these went to Mumbai-based Medulla Communications, promoted by Grey’s former national creative director Amit Akali and his brother, Praful Akali. Medulla was also declared the Agency of the Year in health care, the first for an Indian entity. The other health care sub-category, health and wellness, saw Rediffusion Y&R bag a bronze lion.
This was for a Tata Motors entry (called Dipper Condoms). In all, the metals tally after the first two days stands at eight, making it one of the strongest starts for India in recent years.
There is more in the offing, with India bagging a total of 29 shortlists in key segments such as print & publishing, direct marketing, promo and activation, radio and Glass Lions. Awards for these categories will be declared later on Monday, the third day of the festival.
What is heartening, notes Sridhar, is that a plethora of ad agencies have got shortlists, implying India’s chances of winning a metal are stronger this year.
Expectations are that the Indian contingent could take home at least four to five metals after Monday’s awards show, implying the overall tally will cross 10. “This is a conservative number and it could cross 15, based on the performance of agencies today,” says Sridhar.
Among agencies that have shortlists are Ogilvy & Mather, Taproot Dentsu, J Walter Thompson, Leo Burnett, Bates, Contract, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and BBDO. Expectations are particularly high from BBDO, which last year had brought home the country’s first Glass Grand Prix, a new category.
Apart from this, India's overall tally last year was at its lowest in seven years, with only 13 metals out of around 950-1,000 entries that were sent to the festival. This meant the conversion rate was extremely poor and spoke of how behind-the-curve Indian ad agencies were, Bobby Pawar, managing director & chief creative officer, Publicis Worldwide, had said.
With Indian agencies this year starting on a firmer footing, the expectation is that the total in this edition will be a respectable one. The total number of entries this year to Cannes is roughly around 1400-1500, say industry sources.
Sridhar said there are campaigns that show promise. “‘Beauty tips by Reshma’ — Ogilvy’s ad campaign on ending acid attacks is among my favourites,” he said. “It shows an acid attack victim sharing beauty tips. ‘The Giant’s Story’ for Ambuja Cement featuring wrestler Khali or the British Airways campaign ‘Fuelled by Love’ are among favourites too,” he said.
So is Ogilvy’s campaign for Mumbai-based NGO Sprouts Environment Trust on creating eco-friendly Ganesh idols, he adds.
The festival has only just begun.