The fourth day of Cannes Lions 2026 brought no change in fortune for India, as the country once again failed to secure any metal across the categories announced, extending its winless run after a blank Day 3. The consecutive shutouts have kept the country’s metal tally stagnant at five Lions (two Silver and three Bronze) and added to an overall subdued campaign at this edition of the festival. India has not won any Gold or Grand Prix yet.
On the penultimate day of the festival, winners were announced across seven categories: Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Business Transformation, Creative Commerce, Luxury, Innovation, Creative Effectiveness, and Creative Strategy.
India had shortlisted entries in contention in only three of the above categories: one in Brand Experience & Activation, one in Creative Commerce, and two in Creative Strategy.
'The Slooowest Vending Machine in the World' for KitKat by VML Gurgaon and VML Amsterdam scored a shortlist in the Brand Experience & Activation category, under Customer Acquisition & Retention sub-category. Spotting the contradiction that vending machines are designed for speed while people increasingly need moments to slow down, the brand and the agency created a vending machine which took three minutes to deliver a KitKat, turning the wait into a visual journey of how India takes breaks, and encouraging people to embrace the joy of slowing down.
In Creative Commerce, Leo India secured a shortlist for 'Gamers on Duty' for Lenovo, in the Entertainment Commerce sub-category. As part of the campaign, using Call of Duty’s talk-before-kill feature, streamers publicly called out campers (those who hide in a corner and shoot instead of playing out in the open) mid-match, highlighting that an outdated laptop, which makes the game laggy, is the issue.
In the Creative Strategy, ‘Eye Test Menu’ by Ogilvy India for Titan Eye+ has earned two shortlists—in Corporate Purpose and Social Responsibility, and Products/Services sub-categories. The campaign cleverly disguised standard eye charts as restaurant menus to test the vision of highway truck drivers and other commercial drivers while they ordered food at roadside dhabas.
None of these shortlists converted into a win. This marks a sharp drop from last year, when India secured 15 shortlists across the same set of categories, and won 5 Lions.
Brand Experience & Activation proved particularly rewarding in 2025, with FCB India winning Gold for ‘Lucky Yatra’ for Indian Railways. Ogilvy India and Leo India added Bronze Lions for ‘Eye Test Menu’ and ‘Acko Tailor Test’, respectively.
FCB India also struck Gold in both Creative Business Transformation and Creative Commerce with ‘Lucky Yatra’ for Indian Railways.
How India Fared In These Categories In 2025
|
Category |
Shortlists (2025) |
Metal Tally (2025) |
|
Brand Experience & Activation |
8 |
3 |
|
Creative Business Transformation |
3 |
1 |
|
Creative Commerce |
2 |
1 |
|
Luxury |
0 |
0 |
|
Innovation |
0 |
0 |
|
Creative Effectiveness |
2 |
0 |
|
Creative Strategy |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
15 |
5 |
India’s showing at Cannes Lions 2026 has been underwhelming so far, falling short of the momentum many in the industry may have expected. The country opened its account on Day 1 with four metals—two Silver Lions and two Bronze Lions—but failed to build significantly on that start. On Day 2, India managed to add only one more Bronze Lion to its tally, taking its overall count to five metals.
On the first day, Leo India’s The Unofficial Official Sound of F1 for Sting (PepsiCo) bagged a Silver Lion in the Audio & Radio category. Colgate’s Indianis Dentris by The Refinery Mumbai and Brand David Communications won a Silver Lion, and Ogilvy India’s Renu vs The City for St. Jude India ChildCare Centres bagged a Bronze Lion in the Health & Wellness category. Lastly, Tata 1mg’s Sawaal Uthao campaign by Humour Me secured a Bronze Lion in the Pharma category.
On the second day, TBWA\Lintas’ Don’t Look Up for Steadfast’s Fake Money Detector won a Bronze Lion in the Film Craft category.
India did not score any metals on the third day.
