We have entered the sacred month for the advertising professionals across the world. As Josy Paul puts it—The Olympics of Advertising will begin in two weeks— and India is determined to put up a good show. All year long, we have seen ads and earmarked the ones we felt were ‘Cannes worthy’, the ultimate compliment for any agency. While some of those entries are making it to the big contest at the Palais Des Festivals, some others are choosing to stay away because of budget constraints, after all the coveted Cannes Lions acclaim is not for the modest agency, lakhs are spent on nominations across categories in order to take home that shiny Lion. This year entries cost anything between `64,928- `2,65,846 depending on the category.
The 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will kick off at the French Riviera on 16th June, 2025 where we will see several agencies from India in attendance, namely Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, BBDO, Leo, FCB, VML, Talented, Atom etc. Some of these agencies have consistently scored at Cannes while others are yet to make their debut on the mammoth stage.
For Rahul Mathew, CCO of DDB Mudra Group, who won his first Lion way back in 2005 for Colgate, there are categories like Direct and Media, which keep him on the edge of his seat, while there are others which have of late been rather tough to crack for India, like the Film Lions. Mathew explains, “I still think Film is the most prestigious category to win in. After all the Cannes Lions ends with that, the last thing everyone carries in their mind is those pieces of work that you saw in the Film category. It is a tough one to win. The best piece of work that India ever had in Film was Happydent, but even it didn’t win a Grand Prix. Everyone thought it would sweep the awards, but it didn’t.”
He adds, “The other category which I am personally excited about ever since it started, is gaming. It will become the largest media behaviour for the next generation, as India is a huge market for gaming. Also, we’re the only agency from India to ever win in gaming, so that’s something we’re interested in building on.” Mathew adds that traditionally India did very well in Print, but that has come down now, while we are doing well in categories like brand experience and activation, similarly healthcare.
For Josy Paul, Chairman and CCO, BBDO India, a Cannes veteran who is the Jury Chair for the Sustainable Development Goals Lions this year says the category he is judging this year could well be the trump card for India, “India’s work for Whisper won a Grand Prix three years ago in the SDG category and agencies like Leo are consistently polishing this category from an Indian lens. India is the one country that can do great work in that area. These are still early years as SDG is pretty new. I’d like to believe that it is the most significant category at Cannes which will bring about a change in the world.”
There was a time back in the 1990s when Cannes Lions had just four categories namely Print, Radio, Outdoor and Film, today we are looking at 30 categories. While India has been winning on some of the newer categories like Glass Lions from year one, where we bagged the Grand Prix for ‘Whisper Touch the Pickle’, we have seen a significant uptake in the digitally led categories too. Entries like ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ helped Dentsu win the ‘Agency of the Year’ at Cannes Lions in 2022, prior to that Medulla Healthcare won the Healthcare Agency of the Year award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2016 ushering in some good times for India in the Health and Pharma sections.
Jitender Dabas, CEO of Cheil X and Group CSO of Cheil SWA says, “India’s strength is in the fact that we have so many complex problems that creativity can solve while transforming people’s lives. And yet, at times we get overdependent on that which results in similarities between work amongst different agencies, between trying to solve problems of a certain kind which becomes slightly formulaic. Then there is the other set. India is also a frontrunner in technology, when it comes to the likes of TCS and Infosys, we create a tech playground for the world as well. But our creative work currently doesn’t reflect much of that. The work that has been interesting in that domain has been far and few like ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ which interestingly didn’t solve an ‘India’ kind of problem. It put us ahead of other people in the mix of creativity and technology.”
Adding to that Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Publicis Groupe, South Asia and Chairman of Leo, South Asia says, “Someone once asked me, “Do you think India is doing badly at Cannes?” 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. India’s been amazing at Cannes Lions since 2022, we have won Titanium, SDG, Innovation, Glass, Data. Every year India’s winning in the coolest categories. What more do you want?”
It is not surprising that Indian juries and Indian work are both being noticed on a global stage, with brands like Whisper, Lays, Mondelez, Ariel etc which have consistently dished out good work from the country. In Asia-Pacific, India is one of the strongest players now, the question is will we cement this position even further, at Cannes Lions 2025.
Signing off Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO, FCB India, who is once again taking his leadership team with him to Cannes says, “Regardless of whether we are winning or not, we just land up at Cannes, start having Rosé and wait for things to happen and Cannes is very unpredictable. So, our attitude is to do great work. Enter what we feel is good and not to agonize too much about it.”
Cannes Contenders 2025
The stage is set, the stakes are high, and India’s creative powerhouses are once again ready to dazzle at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. This year, the spotlight is on bold vision, disruptive thinking, limitless innovation and storytelling that transcends borders. As the Indian contingent steps into the global arena, they’re armed with dreams and work that is potentially era-defining. Before the final stage, here’s an early look at the campaigns set to make waves on advertising’s grandest stage.
Havas Creative India
The Times of India: Ink Of Democracy
Indian General Elections 2023 witnessed an absence of 33% eligible voters. The reason -laziness, lack of awareness, and political alienation, resulting in 7,500 litres of unused electoral ink. The Times of India and The Economic Times, just before the 2024 elections, printed pages in purple ink instead of black. For every 132 absent voters, one page was printed, totalling 2.28 million prints. The ink—a mark of democracy—became a reminder to defend it. Post the campaign, India witnessed a world record of 642,000,000 voters turning up to cast their vote.
“The magic of this idea lies in its simplicity. It didn’t rely on grand visuals or complicated storytelling—just a powerful medium used in an unexpected way, sparking a meaningful change. In this case, we used India’s most read English daily to remind the citizens about their duty and help shape the future of India, the world’s largest democracy.”
Anupama Ramaswamy
Chief Creative Officer & Joint Managing Director, Havas Worldwide India
Havas Play
Swiggy Foods: Bhog elo Boney
Centred around the concept of widowhood in India—particularly the Tiger Widows of the Sundarbans—the campaign highlighted the cultural exclusion of these women during Durga Puja. Through a floating Durga Puja pandal and Swiggy-packed bhog and prasad, this campaign aimed at ensuring complete inclusion. This initiative also created lasting impact by enabling economic empowerment—listing Sundarbans’ local produce on Swiggy’s platform. This culturally rooted campaign challenged age-old prejudices and proved that true celebration means leaving no one behind.
“At Havas Media Network India, we believe creativity has the power to drive meaningful change. With ‘Bhog Elo Boney,’ we are proud to stand alongside Swiggy Food in reshaping social narratives and fostering inclusion for the Tiger Widows of the Sundarbans. This campaign goes beyond advertising—it’s about challenging deep-rooted prejudices and creating a genuine, lasting impact on lives. We’re honoured to see this idea spark a national conversation and inspire cultural transformation.”
Mohit Joshi
CEO, Havas Media Network India
Havas Life Mumbai
Alembic: LullabAI
Lullabies are more than just songs; they enable a unique bonding experience between a mother and her child, playing a crucial role in a baby’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. But the speech-impaired mothers lose this opportunity. ‘LullabAI’ aimed to bridge this gap by offering these mothers an opportunity to create personalised lullabies. The platform harnesses reimagined AI technology to take short voice samples from speech-impaired mothers and turn them into pre-recorded lullabies in their own voices. Those personalised lullabies are then available for the mother to play for her baby anytime.
“Working on ‘LullabAI’ has been an incredibly rewarding journey. It made us push the boundaries of tech by re-inventing it to enable a maternal experience that’s profound and essential for early childhood development. It opens many possibilities for mothers and women, at large.”
Sachin Talwalkar
Chief Creative Officer at Havas Life Mumbai
DDB Mudra Group
Stayfree: #BetaStayfreeLeAana
Stayfree’s campaign aimed to break period shame by encouraging men to talk about menstruation. Since 2022, it has used Daughter’s Day to reach out to sons—because if boys are comfortable with periods, girls will be too. Parents are urged to add a pad brand to the shopping list given to their sons. Making buying pads as normal as buying toothpaste or bread. The goal was to put India a step closer to breaking generations of period shame.
Krafton Inc: The Great In-Game Wedding
India’s largest gaming platform, BGMI felt it had a responsibility towards the image of the gaming sector and how it is often reduced to addiction and violence. But for gamers, BGMI is more than just a game, it is a hub for connection and socialisation. Players spend three times longer durations in the BGMI lobby, forming friendships and even finding love than they do in the game. To show this emotional side, BGMI hosted an actual wedding inside the game, where this couple first met. In this ‘Great In-game Wedding’ all of India was invited to celebrate love and connection, along with the true spirit of gaming.
McDonald’s (CPRL): Shakashaka
To connect with Gen Z and their love for McDonald’s fries, this campaign focused on creating cultural relevance. The main thought behind the strategy: ‘If you haven’t shaken your fries, do you even know you’ve eaten them?’ Shake Shake Fries was soon transformed into a fun ritual. The brand also launched a mockumentary turning the fries into Shakashaka, a musical instrument. Its beats were all over social media, creating a playful, first-of-its-kind musical that resonated with Gen Z.
Flipkart: Big Billion Days - The Cover Up Coupon
With Gen Z, India’s biggest shopaholics, being the target of this campaign, Flipkart turned its Big Billion Days sale into its biggest Gen Z focused sale ever. But here’s the catch: most Gen Zers depend on their parents financially. So, Flipkart introduced Cover-up Coupons, a collection of fake scratch & win vouchers for every Gen Z favourite item during the sale to make their shopping look like winning gifts. Gen Z could simply order it via Flipkart’s app while shopping, and get it delivered before the actual item. This clever hack helped them shop freely, making it all seem like ‘wins’.
“Our wins at the Cannes have always come from our big clients. And this year has been one, where some of them have shown a big appetite for good work. We have worked with brands across categories like McDonald’s, BGMI, Flipkart, Stayfree & Volkswagen. What makes the spread more delightful is how diverse it is. It has allowed us to cover classic categories like film, radio, media but also new age ones like gaming, entertainment & creative commerce.”
Rahul Mathew
Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group
MullenLowe Lintas Group
TVS Motor Company: Protect Little Riders
Many Indian parents wear helmets while riding two-wheelers but allow their children to ride without one. Whether it’s due to habit or the belief that their love alone will keep their children safe, this oversight can be dangerous. To address this blind spot, TVS launched the Protect Little Riders campaign, labeling this as ‘unparenting.’ The ‘Protect Little Riders’ aimed to hold up a mirror to the parents, urging them to rethink safety. But the aim was not just awareness but impact. TVS launched a dedicated line of helmets for kids. The message was clear: true parenting means protection—for everyone on the ride. The focus was to turn concern into commitment to safety.
Britannia Nutri Choice: Face the Facts
While de-influencers started setting the rules, NutriChoice leaned in with the ‘Face the Facts’ campaign. Instead of resisting the push for transparency, the brand made their own packet the platform to speak the truth. No heavy jargon or health-haloing, just simple truths delivered on the front of every pack. The challenge wasn’t lack of credibility; it was earning visibility and trust in a culture of doubt, in the most creative way possible. Breaking away from traditional health marketing tropes, this campaign connected with consumers with transparency and relatable, non-corporate language.
Britannia Marie: Ma Se Marie
Very few packaging designs manage to align with the brand’s core interest with cultural traditions that resonate with their audience deeply. Britannia Marie Gold did just that with Durga Puja in West Bengal, by honouring the divinity of Ma Durga. Understanding the emotional and cultural significance of ‘Ma’, Britannia redesigned its packaging to feature the word ‘Ma’ in Bengali script in ‘MARIE’. This minute yet powerful change aimed at creating a profound connection with Bengali homemakers while celebrating the spirit of motherhood.
Britannia Milk Bikis: Paal Abhishekam
This campaign by the Britannia Milk Bikis is the perfect example of how a brand can integrate with popular culture to create a strong bond with the consumers. Featured during the fan celebrations of a movie superstar, this campaign highlighted its strong link with Tamil Nadu’s film-loving audience. By joining in the craze, it connected with people, who treat movie stars like Gods. This campaign aimed to resonate with the consumers on a deeper level and became a part of their home, memories and celebrations.
Vim: Equal Vow
This campaign was created with an aim to transform the Hindu wedding ceremony completely. The age-old custom where the responsibility of household chores was solely on women has changed. A total of 120 couples took shared wedding vows at a mass ceremony, which promoted equality at home. Hindu priests were also involved to support and spread this message to other soon-to-be-married couples. An influencer-led online campaign further encouraged married couples to renew their vows with the Equal Vow. The campaign aimed to create a new cultural norm, aligning with Vim’s goal to degenderise household chores.
Lifebuoy: H for Handwashing (ft Moo Deng)
The strategy for this campaign was rooted in behavioural science and child psychology. The target were kids aged 3 to 5 years, the ideal age for habit formation. Traditional health messaging in no way appeals to them, thus this campaign used animated characters to enable play-based learning. A cultural moment was turned into a hygiene movement: Moo Deng grabbed attention whereas Teacher Hippo built the habit. Together, they aimed to transform ‘H for Handwashing’ using emotional storytelling, AI-driven personalisation, and cultural localisation to make hygiene education fun, personal, and unforgettable at scale.
“Our entries at Cannes are a perfect mix of creativity and cause, and I’ve been fortunate to be part of two of them: the Moo Deng- Lifebuoy and Protect Little Riders- TVS. Both challenge the norms—one turns the most viral hippo into a handwashing influencer, while the other delivers a hard-hitting reminder to parents about a commonly overlooked traffic law. The impact was significant enough that even the Minister of Road Transport & Highways of India, took notice. These campaigns don’t just win attention, they spark change. And Cannes gives us the global stage to share that impact with the world.”
Joybrato Dutta
Executive Creative Director, Lowe Lintas
Leo India
Whisper: #KeepGirlsInSchool #EarlyPeriods
Whisper’s ‘Keep Girls In School’ campaign tackled the rising pattern of girls starting their periods as early as age 8. Using music to connect with young minds, the brand launched ‘The Period Song’ to normalise periods and empower parents and teachers to educate early. Created by music icons Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan, the period song got 242 million views on YouTube. The campaign also brought period education into children’s entertainment through animated films. With over 75 million views, this film aimed to spark vital conversations across India.
Cathay Pacific: Takeoff Takeover
Takeoff Takeover was the first of its kind hyper-targeted airport campaign powered by real-time flight data. With less than 1% of the category’s media budget, Cathay Pacific chose to outsmart rather than outspend. The brand turned every competitor’s takeoff into an opportunity for themselves by reaching the flyers right at their boarding gate. By leveraging publicly available information—live flight data, aircraft data, real-time airport data, and complaint data from years of social listening—the brand turned the cold data into a clear, creative and context-aware message delivered at the right place and time.
Mountain Dew: ‘Peaks of Courage’
Mountain Dew’s ‘Peaks of Courage’ campaign gives a new side to its fearless spirit—‘Darr ke Aage Jeet Hai’—by blending technology, storytelling, as well as community engagement to explain what modern adventure looks like. Apart from the iconic Everest, Nepal is also home to eight of the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, each with untold stories of bravery and ambition. Collaborating with the Nepal Tourism Board and Discovery Channel, this campaign used stories to create awareness and help hikers with a roadmap to conquer both the peaks and their fears. The brand presented this information through an immersive digital hub mdpeaksofcourage.com, accessible via QR on each bottle, offering climbers real-time data, difficulty scores, route plans, and Sherpa insights. The aim was to change the concept of adventure into an algorithmically guided experience.
PepsiCo Lays: Mitti Ki Chitthi (The Letter)
Lay’s ‘Mitti ki Chitthi’ campaign embodies the brand’s purpose of spreading joy to its consumers as well as the planet. The film is made with deep-root connection to India’s farmer-led narrative. It is the story of soil revival through a mother’s letter to her farmer daughter. It draws from the cultural belief that soil is a sacred mother, and emphasises the importance of restoring soil health. It highlights Lay’s commitment to accessible soil testing, moreover it breaks rural stereotypes by portraying a woman farmer.
“I’m proud of the effective pieces of work from this year—an amazing piece for Mountain Dew; Lays, with a big sustainability push around farming; work with P&G—Whisper, with a long-term commitment to make the right things happen; and Cathay, with outstanding data-led media work, done with just 1% of the budget of all media companies. There’s a lot of exciting work. Most importantly, every campaign is based on the vision ‘Impact a Billion’. We focused on impacting one life, then a million, then a billion.”
Rajdeepak Das
Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Groupe, South Asia, and Chairman of Leo Burnett, South Asia
^atom Network
Reliance General Insurance & Curly Tales: Pink Star Rating
Pink Star Rating aimed to transform travel anxiety into action. A first-of-its-kind platform, it rates 200,000+ locations globally for women’s safety using crime data, emergency access, and real reviews. The minimal media spends sparked 1.3M visits, 120K+ searches, influencer waves, and even policy change. Pink Star didn’t just focus on advertising safety—it intended to build it, redefining travel insurance as a force for everyday confidence. This initiative wasn’t just made for women; it was built by them and with them, seeking inclusivity and accessibility at every point.
“Cars have safety ratings for you to make a wiser choice. Similarly, ‘The Pink Star Rating’ is the world’s first safety rating system for travellers to make a wiser choice. The world can’t be fixed in a day, but being more cautious about travelling is important. We are proud to have such brave clients and Kamiya to elevate this idea and make it a global destination. Just like checking vehicle or hotel ratings has become natural, we envision safety ratings becoming an integral part of every woman’s travel planning. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to provide meaningful & customer-centric solutions.”
Yash Kulshresth
Co-Founder & CCO, ^atom network
Tgthr
Ultraviolette Automotive: UV Lync
Eight of the world’s ten most polluted cities are in India, with 260 million fuel-powered bikes being major contributors. While electric bikes efficiently reduce emissions, limited charging infrastructure causes range anxiety. Meanwhile, EV cars enjoy a far more extensive charging network. UV Lync by Ultraviolette enters with a breakthrough solution. This is a compact device that converts any Type-2 EV car charging point into a three-pin socket to charge electric bikes. By bridging this infrastructure gap, UV Lync aimed to empower more riders to switch to EV bikes, thereby, enabling India’s journey towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
NPCI in partnership with Times of India: Anti Scam Shala
With digital frauds rising up to 85% in 2024, NPCI and TOI launched Anti Scam Shala in 2025, transforming scam awareness into a culturally rooted experience. In MahaKumbh Mela, attended by over 660 million people, NPCI effectively replaced the paper pouches used by vendors with the ones featuring multilingual scam-awareness ads. Distributed free to 207,000 vendors, these pouches soon became a part of daily transactions. The brand claimed that this initiative created a 174 million sq. ft. scam-awareness zone. This low-cost, yet high-impact campaign was designed to deliver education through everyday interactions in common language and context.
“This year’s contenders from tgthr are a demonstration of the impact at scale simple yet powerful observations can have. The ‘Anti Scam Shala’ by NPCI and Times of India leveraged a cultural touchpoint that existed for centuries – the newspaper bag. Seemingly ordinary, it became an extraordinary way to deliver our anti-scam lessons at Maha Kumbh. Ultraviolette’s UV Lync focused on the insight that EV two-wheeler owners faced range anxiety due to the lack of charging stations. In the end, proving that when a brand is boxed in by a problem, there’s always a chance to think out-of-the-box. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Aalap Desai
CCO & Co-Founder, tgthr
VML
Coke Studio Bharat: The Girl Who Played The Tutari
In 13th-century India, the Tutari symbolised war and royalty but traditions forbade women from playing. Coke Studio Bharat challenged this age-old belief. A nationwide search began to find a woman who could defy this tradition, until a fearless musician, Nilaksha Borhade, was discovered. The music video ‘Bayo’ featured Nilaksha, as she became the first woman to play the Tutari. This campaign focused on breaking deep-rooted gender stereotypes and the idea resonated far and wide, carrying a powerful message of equality. Once an instrument of power, the Tutari, now stands for something even greater: Power to all.
Coke Studio Bharat: Sing to remember
After eight long years, Coke Studio returned to India but with a deeper mission. The aim is to connect not just with loyal fans but also with a younger generation proud of their roots. For them, inclusivity means representation of their languages and stories. To reach them, the campaign turned to platforms they use the most, that is, Instagram, YouTube, and MOJ, each having a strong regional reach. With ‘Sing to Remember,’ young Indians were invited from several regions to help revive forgotten languages and celebrate the richness of their heritage through music that reflects who they are.
“Coke Studio is a platform that has created a mark in culture. There are stories, songs and collaborations that are already a winner in the market. Last year we won two Lions for ‘Sing to Remember’ and this year we hope to win more. The Girl who played the Tutari is already getting a lot of traction in shows across. We hope the sound of the Tutari echos loud in the halls of the Palais as well.”
Mukund Olety
CCO, VML India
BBDO India
Ariel: #ShareTheLoad
Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad is the longest-running brand-led social movement that addresses the issue of unequal distribution of household chores. It started in 2015, asking, “Is laundry only a woman’s job?” and later continued the awareness with campaigns that highlighted deep-rooted bias, unequal upbringing, health impacts, hidden emotional distances, and the mental load holding women back. Initiatives included detergent packs with men’s names, Wash Care Labels, and Home Maps. This campaign has been featured and dispersed widely and globally, and has even been discussed at the World Economic Forum, making Ariel a consistent voice in gender role conversations at home.
Tata Ultra Marathon: Feet Of Glory
For generations, pledges have always been made with hands- to love, lead, protect, and change. But the Tata Ultra Marathon’s ‘Feet of Glory’ campaign introduced a new kind of pledge, a pledge made with feet. In a country where many children lack proper footwear, runners with their determination to protect them created colourful footprints. Each footprint being a pledge to Tata for donating a pair of running shoes to underprivileged children. The campaign was amplified through social media, on-ground events, and partnerships, aiming to reach audiences across the country.
WhatsApp: Oye Lucky
In 2024, digital payment scams skyrocketed in India. To warn people without fearmongering, WhatsApp launched an engaging awareness campaign with a warning song people could dance to. Recreating Bollywood’s peppiest song, the campaign featured a dance video with popular Indian celebrity Abhay Deol. The power of music and dance was used to remind people to stay cautious in a lighthearted way. The #ScamSeBacho campaign aimed to positively impact WhatsApp’s brand metrics. This campaign received over 50 million organic views, as per the brand.
Candid Dusting Powder: Scratch Music
With India’s tropical and changing climate, the risk of skin infections remains high. The urge to scratch worsens the condition and increases its spread. As a market leader in a stagnant category, Candid Dusting Powder aimed to shift the conversation. The brand used Indian classical melody to capture the irresistible itch, urging people not to scratch and instead trust Candid. In the film, the protagonist sings blissfully while giving in to the urge, slowly shifting to an unsettling note as the rash is revealed. This campaign also aimed to highlight the consequences of ignoring proper treatment.
FCB Kinnect
Flipkart Minutes: Q Jumpers
In a market flooded with quick-commerce promises, Flipkart Minutes knew it had to do more than just say ‘fast.’ On iPhone 16 launch day, while Q-comm brands ran ads, Flipkart stood out by delivering an iPhone to someone still in the queue outside Apple’s Mumbai store. A Flipkart-branded t-shirt with a QR code appeared in the crowd. One scan, one Flipkart Minutes order, and seven minutes later, the iPhone arrived, before the customer even stepped inside. With just a t-shirt, Flipkart staged speed and hijacked a cultural moment.
Too Yumm!: Too Yumm! To Cheer
‘Too Yumm! To Cheer’ turned a stadium ban into snackable brilliance. With no sponsorships or in-stadium sales during India’s biggest cricket tournament, it tried to pull off a classic desi jugaad: the world’s first edible cheer signs. Giant chips designed as fan posters with match slogans in edible ink were packed individually and smuggled in by fans. As they munched mid-match, slogans vanished, leaving just two words: Too Yumm! A snack disguised as a poster disguised as an ad, it slipped past rules into the spotlight, a fan-fuelled rebellion that proved you don’t need a billboard to steal the game.
HDFC Bank: Lulumelon EOSS
Online financial fraud spikes during festive sales, with scammers using AI to deceive people. Traditional PSAs fail, as Indians often harbour an optimism bias. So, HDFC Bank introduced India’s first fraud awareness influencer, ‘Vigil Aunty’ to protect and spread awareness. During the 2024 end-of-season sale, Vigil Aunty and Nora Fatehi created a fake brand called, ‘Lulumelon’. With deepfakes, fake sites, and discount ads, they mimicked real scams. Those who clicked were led to a reveal site exposing red flags. As per the brand, 1.4M people fell for it, 750K joined the Vigil Army, 350+ media outlets covered the campaign.
“Every time we go to Cannes, it’s more than just a celebration of creativity. It’s a checkpoint for our ambition. This year, I’m looking forward to conversations that push the boundaries of what creative problem-solving can do for business. We’ve submitted 3 campaigns that deeply reflect who we are as an agency today: bold, integrated, and relentlessly outcome-driven. I’m excited to see how our work stacks up on the global stage, but more importantly, I’m proud of the journey that brought us here.”
Rohan Mehta
CEO, FCB Kinnect
FCB India
Indian Railways: Lucky Yatra
Indian Railways serves 24 million travellers daily, but rising ticketless travel has led to massive losses. Instead of strict crackdowns, Indian Railways in Mumbai found a smarter solution by tapping into something India loves: lotteries. Indians spend over $30 billion on lottery tickets annually. Thus, Lucky Yatra, a new initiative by Indian Railways Mumbai and FCB India that turns every train ticket into a lottery. The unique number on each ticket becomes the chance to win, giving people a reason to always travel with a ticket. No apps, no behaviour change; just buy your ticket, and you could get lucky.
Navneet: Navneet Colour Blindness Detection Book
Navneet Education, one of India’s leading schoolbook publishers, has launched an innovative initiative to tackle Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD), or colour blindness, an often-overlooked learning barrier. Children with CVD struggle in school, losing confidence early on. In collaboration with FCB India and experts, Navneet created a unique early learning book that not only teaches but also detects CVD. Using Ishihara-style tests within illustrations it helps parents and teachers identify the condition early, ensuring more inclusive learning from the start.
Navbharat Times: Barabari Ki Bhasha
Language is more than just a tool for communication; it shapes culture and reflects societal values. Studies show that representation in language influences societal participation. When professions and roles lack feminine equivalents, fewer women pursue them, reinforcing gender disparities. Barabari Ki Bhasha aims to change this by giving young girls the words to dream, aspire, and achieve because when language acknowledges their ambitions, society follows.
Uber: Uber One, Takes One to Get One
Indian masses have always seen Uber as a foreign brand, never giving the brand true acceptance as their own. Thus, Uber decided to go hyperlocal and found a unique phonetic phenomenon only in India. Millions of Indian names have the sound of ‘one’ in them. And so does Uber’s first-ever loyalty program, Uber One. Enter ‘Takes One to Get One.’ An audacious plan by FCB India to turn these millions of names into free media for Uber. Anyone with a name that has a ‘one’ in it gets an Uber One subscription free. Turns out, everyone loves free stuff!
“At FCB India, our Cannes entries this year reflect work that challenges norms and shifts narratives. From turning train tickets into a movement with Lucky Yatra, to rewriting classroom tools with Navneet’s colour blindness textbooks, to reshaping cultural conversations with Barabari Ki Bhasha and Uber One — these ideas sit at the intersection of creativity and impact. That’s the kind of work we’re proud to take to the world stage.”
Dheeraj Sinha
CEO, FCB India and South Asia
Dentsu
SBI Life: Hug of life, a Thanks a Dot initiative
In India, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women, yet only 18% have ever performed a self-exam. The best time to do a self-breast examination is a week after menstruation because that is when the breast is least dense. Hug of Life, a Thanks A Dot initiative by SBI Life, turned an object commonly used by women during menstruation pain, the hot water bottle, into a tactile guide for self-exams, transforming awareness into action.
Motorola: Motorola Deep Connect
Motorola’s Deep Connect addresses a major issue in India’s coal mining industry, where over 330,000 workers face life-threatening hazards and lack communication due to explosion risks. The challenge was creating safe communication in such environments. Deep Connect uses existing walkie-talkie infrastructure and a frequency-based ID system to connect miners with families, without triggering explosions. Affordable at $200 per unit, it allows wide adoption. After 100% adoption on day one of the pilot, it’s set for national rollout across 227 mines, aiming to impact 1.65 million lives. The innovation improves safety and emotional well-being, redefining industrial B2B communication.
DSP Mutual Fund: Garuda Rakshak
Garuda Rakshak, a tech-powered act of guardianship, aiming to turn DSP Mutual Fund’s purpose, ‘Invest for Good’ into action. Launched at Maha Kumbh where 660 million people gathered, it focused on a real crisis: the disappearance of children in the crowd. DSP with Falco Robotics built drones modeled as Garuda, operating on 8-bit communication tech from the 1970s. It used ultra-low frequency signals from wristbands given to children to track their location, offline and in real time. This system helped many lost children reunite with their parents. The brand claimed that 78% of them were traced in under five minutes.
Amdocs: Live Amazing, Do Amazing
India is home to some of the most iconic IT companies, like Infosys, TCS, Wipro. These companies generated huge employment—promising steady growth, high income, and cultural equity built through stock market success, nationwide presence, and pop culture portrayal. Amdocs has big ambitions for India as a talent hub, but they fight not just rival companies but cultural phenomena. Before the campaign, search interest on Amdocs was about 1/25th that of Infosys and 1/43rd of TCS. The challenge wasn’t to highlight what they offered but was that they were not a national champion or a household name in India.
“What we have created through these four campaigns reflects the kind of creativity we stand for at Dentsu Creative - deeply human, purposeful, and built to drive change. Whether it is empowering miners to speak to their families from the coal mines, safeguarding children at one of the world’s largest gatherings, or reimagining how a global tech brand finds its voice in India - each idea was born from empathy and innovation. At Dentsu Creative - it is the kind of work that makes us proud, and it is the kind of work we will continue to champion in the future.”
Amit Wadhwa
CEO, Dentsu Creative & Media Brands, South Asia
