Havas India has bagged four more shortlists at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025, all for its impactful campaign ‘Ink Of Democracy’ created for The Times of India.
The campaign has been recognised across subcategories in the Engagement category, as follows:
- Direct for Social Behaviour
- Media for Use of Print
- Media for Single Market Campaign
- Media for Social Behaviour
‘Ink Of Democracy’ stands out for its creative use of traditional and print media in sparking conversation around civic themes, with a strategic focus on behavioural and regional impact.
Developed in partnership with The Times of India and the Election Commission of India, ‘Ink of Democracy’ tackled chronic voter apathy head-on. During the 2024 Indian general elections, 33% of eligible voters abstained, leaving an estimated 7,500 litres of unused electoral ink. To turn this statistic into action, the campaign printed newspapers, including The Times and The Economic Times, entirely in purple ink, the same shade used to mark voters’ fingers. For every 132 absent voters, one full purple‑ink front-page was issued, resulting in 2.28 million pages urging readers: “Don’t waste a drop of electoral ink. Don’t waste the power of democracy.”
In addition to the Engagement category, Havas India has also secured three shortlists in the Print & Publishing category, bringing its total tally to seven shortlists at Cannes Lions 2025 so far.
Cannes Lions has announced the shortlists in the Craft, Entertainment and some for Engagement categories. The Craft shortlist includes shortlists for Design, Digital Craft, Film Craft, and Industry Craft subcategories. The Entertainment category has released shortlists for all its subcategories, including Entertainment, Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Entertainment Lions for Music, and Entertainment Lions for Sports.
So far, shortlists have been revealed for four Engagement subcategories: Direct, Media, PR, and Social & Creator.
The Cannes Lions Awards Shows will take place from Monday, June 16 to Friday, June 20, 2025, with additional shortlist announcements expected in the coming days.
