India shines at Cannes: 23 metals and counting

It’s India’s day out at Cannes — the ad world’s biggest annual awards competition and trade show. In its best-ever performance, India Inc has already won 23 metals and the counting hasn’t ended yet, as the Films, Integrated & Titanium Lions are still to be announced.

Three Indian entries have been nominated for awards in the films category — two for JWT India’s “A day in the life of Chennai” and one nomination for TBWA. The shortlist for Integrated and Titanium Lions are still to be announced and O&M’s Zoozoos are favourites in these categories.

The tally last year was 21, including India’s first-ever Grand Prix. Though that big prize has eluded India this year, the ad industry is unfazed because the number of entries this year was 10 per cent less than last year.

 

“We can’t win a Grand Prix every year. But the metal tally shows the work done by Indian agencies is on a par with the best,” said K V Sridhar (popularly known as Pops), national creative director, Leo Burnett. The agency has won three metals — one silver and two bronze so far and has 12 nominations.

Rohit Ohri, managing partner, JWT, said, “We weren’t really hopeful of winning so many metals. It just goes to validate the nature of work being done here.”

Some of the award-winning work included the “Street to School” work done by JWT for the Balwadi Night School of the Maharashtra Janayika Kendra and the 'Stainbroidery’ campaign by Leo Burnett for Procter & Gamble’s Tide detergents.

Last year, India had some exceptional work like the Lead India campaign by JWT which had won the Grand Prix. The tally included six Golds, four Silver and 10 Bronzes for campaigns like Luxor from Leo Burnett, which had alone won six metals and others like Happy Dent from McCann Erickson and the “Second hand smoking kills” campaign.

The break-up of awards this year are two Golds, seven Silvers and 14 Bronzes.

Not everybody is, however, impressed by the glitzy awards show on the French Riviera. Some said the mood was still sombre as the size of the Indian contingent was half last year’s.

“The mood is not the same as last year’s, as attendance is less,” Nakul Chopra, chief executive officer (South Asia), Publicis Ambience, told Business Standard from Cannes. That, however, hasn’t stopped him from celebrating, because his agency has won the second largest number of metals and nominations after Ogilvy & Mather’s five (two silvers and three bronzes).

Ad gurus said over the last decade, India had also invested in creating global awareness by participating in global awards functions. Also, India’s presence has been growing, with the number of jury members at 11 this year compared to last year’s nine.

Madhukar Sabnavis, regional director (Asia Pacific), O&M, said: “With global exposure, the quality bar has been raised over the years. Also, it has brought in awareness about the work being done here, globally.”