Cannes Lions 2018: India clinches two Grand Prix trophies

The curtains came down on the 65th edition of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity on Friday with India walking home with two Grand Prix trophies.
 
This is the first time the Indian contingent achieved such a feat at the global show, considered the Oscars of advertising.
 
While the first Grand Prix came on Monday for TBWA India's ‘Blink to Speak’ in health care, the second one came on Friday in creative effectiveness for Ogilvy India's work for Savlon called ‘Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks.’
 
Savlon's chalk-style soap sticks had won at the Cannes Lions last year, giving it an automatic entry into the creative effectiveness category this year. Creative Effectiveness typically judges previous year's award-winning works at the Cannes Lions to understand its impact in the marketplace.

 
Apart from the Grand Prix, Ogilvy also had another reason to be proud of on Friday thanks to the Lion of St Mark, which is the lifetime achievement award, given to its executive chairman and creative director Piyush Pandey along with his brother Prasoon Pandey.
 
In a conversation with Business Standard earlier, Piyush had said that the award reminded him of the need to continue working for the consumer.
 
Though India has not won a Grand Prix in the coveted glass category on Friday where it had four shortlisted entries, two Grand Prix trophies in one year should compensate for it. India is likely to walk home with an overall tally of 21-22 Lions at the end of the festival, according to industry estimates. The awards show did not conclude at the time of going to press. In 2017, India had picked up 40 Lions, including 39 metals and a Grand Prix, its highest tally.

 
Senthil Kumar, chief creative officer, J Walter Thompson India, said while India started with a bang in health care with four metals (including a gold) and a Grand Prix, it was subsequent categories that failed to click.
 
"We were somehow not picking up enough metals in categories that followed (after heath care). Barring two additional golds that we got in creativity e-commerce and direct lions respectively, I think we fell behind on execution and packaging of entries. The ideas are great, but to mark our presence on the Cannes stage, all elements have to fall in place,” Kumar said.
 

Barring health care, direct, creativity e-commerce, outdoor, print & publishing, film craft, brand experience & activation and creative effectiveness, a number of segments failed to deliver for India this year including digital, film, public relations and media.

 
Shamsuddin Jasani, managing director of digital agency Isobar, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, said part of the problem in digital has to do with the lack of an Indian digital juror at Cannes, though KV Sridhar, founder and chief creative officer, HyperCollective, said that at the heart of the problem is the lack of cutting-edge work in digital (from India).

 
“Ensuring you have likes or shares on social media is not enough for a digital campaign. The level of sophistication shown by other countries in their digital work is enormous. India pales in comparison,” he said.
 
Both Jasani and Sridhar, though agree that Indian work will improve in the next two to three years as local agencies move up the curve in terms of delivering good digital work.