Cannes 2013: Will India's strike rate be better this year?

While print and outdoor saw a decent 37 and 43 shortlists, categories such as mobile and creative effectiveness drew a blank

India's performance in the first two days of the on-going Cannes Festival of Creativity has been mixed, with agencies walking home with a total of 37 and 43 shortlists in the print and outdoor categories, respectively.

Other segments such as promo & activation, direct, media and public relations saw a handful of shortlists only, while those such as mobile and creative effectiveness drew a blank.

Indian agencies this year had sent over 1,000 entries across categories - more or less in line with the entry tally in previous years. But it is the lack of conversion from shortlists to metals in recent years, which is a disturbing trend, point out ad industry experts. Metals refer to awards here.

Last year, India managed to take home just 14 metals in comparision to 24 and 17 in 2011 and 2010 respectively. In 2009 and 2008, India's tally was 25 and 23 metals, respectively. While Indian agencies have never cumulatively crossed the 30-metals-mark in any of their outings at Cannes, below 20 is considered a poor show, given the overall tally in the last few years has hovered around 23 to 25.

Says Arvind Sharma, chairman, Indian Subcontinent, Leo Burnett, “Going below 20 would not be a good haul from an Indian point of view. I am hoping we cross this figure (20 metals) this year.”

Agencies which have bagged shortlists so far include Taproot, Leo Burnett, O&M, DDB Mudra, BBDO, McCann, Publicis and Grey. In print, for instance, Taproot's shortlisted entries include its Gatorade sports drink campaign for PepsiCo (Push Ups with Claps, Skate Board Shove It and Back-Flips) and a campaign for The Times of India (Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd) on farmer suicides.

O&M's shortlisted entries in print include its work for Philips for its LED lights portfolio, while McCann and Leo Burnett have entries shortlisted for Penguin India (Audio Books) and Procter & Gamble's Tide respectively.

In outdoor, it is once again O&M which has bagged shortlists for Philips, Taproot for Times of India and PepsiCo, Leo Burnett for Coca-Cola, BBDO and Grey, respectively for P&G and McCann for Penguin India.