What led to India’s lowest Cannes score in 5 yrs?
Is India pushing boundaries to create world-class work...

After seven days of shortlists, winners, seminars, workshops, ceremonies, discussions and parties, The 59th International festival of Creativity, Cannes Lions finally came to an end on June 23, 2012. India could grab only two Lions across four categories that were announced on the last day of the Festival including Film, Film Craft, Titanium and Integrated and the newly launched Branded Content and Entertainment.
Performance by agencies
Going by the point system that Cannes Lions follows, DDB Mudra is on the top this year with 1 Gold, 1 Bronze Lion and 10 shortlists totalling 20 points. Following closely is Leo Burnett India with 19 points from 2 Silver, 1 Bronze Lions and 6 shortlists. Ogilvy & Mather comes next with 12 points courtesy three Bronze Lions and three shortlists. McCann Worldgroup and BBDO India have a total of 10 points each with a Gold and three shortlists and two bronze and four shortlists respectively. Other metal winners include Cheil Worldwide India, Ramesh Deo Productions with Taproot India and Bacardi India. Out of a total of 23 agencies/companies whose work got nominated, only nine could finally grab metals.
Performance by categories
Out of a total of 1182 entries submitted from India, a total of 91 entries got shortlisted in various categories including the coveted Titanium and Integrated Lions and the inaugural Branded Content and Entertainment Lions. Out of the 91 shortlisted, 14 converted into metals across eight categories, marking a ‘No show’ across seven. There are three Gold, three Silver and eight Bronze Lions won over all. These 14 metals comprise of four metals in Press including one silver and three bronze; three in Media including two silver and one bronze; two in Design including one Gold and one bronze; a Gold in Film Craft and Outdoor and a bronze each in Direct, Branded Content and Entertainment and Radio.
India did not win any metal in Promo and Activation, PR, Mobile, Creative Effectiveness, Cyber, Film and Titanium and Integrated Lions.
Flashback
India had got 12 metals in 2007 and then 23 Lions in 2008 including a Grand Prix. The performance was maintained in 2009 with 25 Lions but in 2010 the number of Lions came down to 17. In 2011, Indian agencies though had started slow, demonstrated another good year and cornered 24 Lions.
Industry speaks
The numbers haven’t bothered the creative leadership in India. We spoke to Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather; Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman and CEO McCann Worldgroup India and President – South Asia; and Josy Paul, Chairman and National Creative Director, BBDO India on India’s performance at Cannes Lions 2012. Here is what they had to say...
Numbers go up and down and I am not thinking too much about it. Yes, we could have done better but we should worry more about doing work that wins audience and not only awards. That should not be the criteria. I think very simple and effective work also wins at Cannes and we have to just get down and do that. We have support of our audience in India unlike some countries where people are very sceptical of advertising; we should continue creating work that mesmerises them. ”
I am happy for McCann’s Gold win. It is work for a significant client and work that has pushed boundaries in a category such as Outdoor. I am more concerned about the quality of work, efforts we are making for mainstream clients rather than the numbers. If I look at it that ways, then I am happy that the real work is being noticed. Another thing is that we are still traditional media dominated country, which has apparently declined elsewhere. Activations, digital, events are becoming mainstream and we still have sometime before we represent ourselves strongly in these medias.
Also, we have to look at the needs of the clients in our country. We are doing campaigns for them and not because we have to win at Cannes. I want India to have great performance at Cannes but wont judge industries health on basis of that. If our clients are doing well, we should not create unnecessary panic. We should learn from it. We should educate ourselves on where the world of advertising is going and learn from it. But there are certain realities of our country which will not change and we should thus not worry too much about it.
However, I am definitely concerned with our performance in films. We need to question creativity in our films. We should introspect on the nuances. We have to ask if we are pushing boundaries to produce world-class work.
India's showing in Digital continues to bother me. I'm trying to understand why we are so far behind. But I think we should look at the positive side. We know we have some fantastic talent in India. And our best work is among the best in the world. So we should focus on being more of who we are. Festivals such as Cannes allow us to exchange art and culture, and in time, we will understand more of the world, the world will understand us. I am confident this will lead to better performance. I am optimistic. Looking at the winning entries this year, I notice that this year Cannes was more about big emotions and less about clever ideas – clever ideas talk to a few, while big emotions talk to everyone. So everyone in the diverse Jury gets it. In fact I always thought 'I am Mumbai’ had the best chance for India as a film and it did win. That was because of that one big human emotion, wasn't it?
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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