Q] Raj, Leo has been India’s top scoring agency at Cannes Lions for two years in a row. In your Chak De-style team talks, do you tell them they have to go for the hat-trick?
If it happens, it’s great, if not it’s still fine. Like they say in cricket- the team played well, it has been a great year, we have an amazing body of work. Last year was somehow tougher with respect to Cannes. We are just keeping our fingers crossed this time.
Q] In that case, let’s dive straight into Leo’s entries this year at Cannes Lions.
Cannes is like the harvest season for us. I’m proud of the amazing pieces of work on PepsiCo, this year, Gatorade for effectiveness, a very interesting campaign for Mountain Dew and Lays with a big sustainability push around farming. We are still working on the ground to see what more can be done. There is also P&G—Whisper, Cathay Pacific with outstanding data-led media work, done with just 1% budget of all media companies.
Q] Leo Burnett brought home India’s first Innovation Lion, first Grand Prix in SDG. Is there any category that you’re chasing at Cannes this year?
I think there’s no category left. At least I’d like to think that. But, apart from that when I see good work, I don’t feel jealous, I feel humbled. And if I don’t win I think—maybe I didn’t make it large, to reach enough people. Then I come back, grounded, and say—let’s get back to farming again.
Q] Your campaigns go beyond ads—they solve real problems. Take Gatorade, for example. How are you amplifying it and taking it to a global level?
I have two great partners, first, my team. Honestly, I work for them more than they work for me. They bully me a lot— creative, business team, servicing— everyone. But, they make sure whatever idea we sell is big in scale. We always ask: is it impacting a billion lives? That’s our filter— Impact a Billion. Second, my clients, who have the same vision. Like Tarun Bhagat from PepsiCo during the Gatorade campaign. A visionary guy, a doer, not thinker. He doesn’t say, “Let’s think more.” He says, “It’s good, let’s make it happen.” That’s the attitude you need. Once people start playing with the idea on the ground, it grows. Then you realise your idea is so big, you can’t hold it. It works in Mumbai, Kolkata, Cairo, Mexico City, even Rio. That’s how it becomes global.
Q] Creative heads often say they don’t work for awards, even Cannes Lions—but everyone is eyeing them. Why is it so hard to go on record to say that Cannes is a big part of agency life?
I’m not saying it’s not important, but it’s a ‘by the way’ thing. You don’t wake up saying, “I’m going to win Cannes.” You wake up saying, “I’m going to impact a billion lives.” And ‘by the way’, we win Cannes. Every campaign, even Mountain Dew, Lays, Whisper—is based on that vision. You start by impacting one life, then a million, then a billion. Everyone on my team knows this. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don’t. Cannes is just five or 10 days of fun. Even when we win, I don’t party. I always say—there are four things: think of a great idea, sell it, execute it, and package it so the world gets it. Do those four things right and wait.
I remember Bajaj V. Everyone thought we’d sweep Cannes. We had 10 or 14 shortlists and won just one bronze. I was so upset I walked 15 km with no money, just headphones and a phone to some unknown place around Cannes. I called my wife Resham and said, “We didn’t win.” She asked, “Did the campaign’s value drop? Do buyers care? Did Bajaj’s vision fail?” I said no. She said, “Then why does the medal matter?” I learnt something that year. Next year, we got the Black Lion for Effectiveness.
Q] You are a Cannes regular. Over the years, what have become India's strengths and where do we really lack till date?
It’s funny, someone once asked me, 'Do you think India is doing badly?' I said, no! India’s doing great. 'But what about India’s craft?', he asked. My response was — Look at Vice, Cadbury’s Shah Rukh campaign, Whisper, etc., India has done some of the best work out there. We’re not Scandinavia, Japan, the US, or the UK. We have our own way of doing things and yes, we show it to the world. Someone might say, 'It’s not craft'—maybe it’s not their kind of craft. We have our aesthetic, and that’s not wrong. It’s just different. India has been amazing at Cannes since 2022. Weakness? You can’t predict the jury room. But have we won Titanium, SDG, Innovation, Glass, Data? Yes, every year India’s winning in the coolest categories. What more do you want?
Q] Of late we have barely cracked Film Lions.
See, that’s a good point. But also understand—we have cracked film in the past, for Times of India, Nike ‘Parallel Journey’, ‘Every Yard Counts’, 'Nakka Mukka', Happy Dent etc. We’ve won in Film Lions when we’ve told our stories and stayed true to ourselves. When we celebrated who we are, the world listened. When we didn’t, we lost.
Q] How are we perceived on the global stage? Are we considered tough contenders today?
Indian juries and Indian work are both being noticed. Internationally people have told me that they genuinely look forward to India’s work for Lays, Oreo, Whisper, Cadbury, etc., which have slowly entered the global scene by consistently winning. In Asia-Pacific, we’re one of the strongest players now, whether it’s Adfest or Spikes, you can’t ignore India. If there are 16 Grand Prix, five or six will be Indian. Even globally now, we have a clear point of view, gone are the days when we didn’t.
Q] Coming back to Leo—two big changes took place in the past two years, Dheeraj Sinha moved on and you got a new CEO in Amitesh Rao. Globally, with the Leo–Publicis merger, Marco Venturelli became your counterpart. How have these shifts impacted the agency?
Change is amazing. Someone once told me what gets you from A to B might not take you from B to C—you have to keep evolving. Over the last year, our core team, the minds who built this place, have stayed the same, but fresh perspectives have changed everything. Sometimes doing the same thing feels like the only way, but a new voice asking, “Why don’t we try this?” can shift everything.
Leo started as a TVC agency, then creative, then solutions, and is now a creative solutions agency with data and tech at its core. Sharp thinkers like Amitesh, Anirban, and Nitin have brought new energy, and our craft has improved a lot. Last year was tough; the work was good but could’ve been better. Some key pieces came late. This year, I’m proud, Sebamed, Cathay, Lays, Spotify—and PepsiCo’s evolving approach has helped. Looking back, I feel really good. Then there’s Marco—one of the sharpest, kindest creative minds I’ve met. Message him, and within minutes he’s online with a team solving your problem. That instant support—we’d never seen it before. He’ll say, “Need a planner? A creative? Just tell me—I’ll sort it.” That kind of energy makes all the difference.
