AgVoice | When you walk with a Lion

We've just come back after winning the World's first Creative Effectiveness Lion for India. Going up on stage at the Cannes Grand Auditorium was something else. To stand in the bright lights facing the world's greatest gathering of advertising people is a thrilling experience. You have to be comfortably numb to take in the applause and acknowledge the generous cries from people you know. A stampede of photographers surround you and, for a brief moment, lead you into the virtual hall of fame. Then it's all over and you are back to being an ordinary spectator at the festival of creativity.

BBDO India had a dream run this year. We won four shiny Cannes Lions and 14 nominations. This was mostly on real transformational work on big brands with market changing results. The work was for multinational clients like P&G, PepsiCo and Aviva. The jury nominated our work in almost every category ' Promo, PR, Press, Outdoor, and Creative Effectiveness. Our ideas were local, but they seem to have a universal soul that connected with the jury members from around the world.

Nobody expected India to win the creative effectiveness award at Cannes. So it was a big surprise when we won the award for P&G Gillette. Only six campaigns were chosen from around the world. The others were legendary Grand Prix winners like Old Spice "The man your man could be' and Snicker's "You are not you when you are hungry' and the Walker's "Sandwich' campaign. It's a rare honor. It's the only black lion in the whole of Asia, and it's nestling right here next to the charkha at the BBDO Ashram in Worli. We have been getting a lot of calls from youngsters in the industry who want to see it. They also want to know the significance of the stunning black lion. Why black? Ajai Jhala, my partner friend and guide says it's because the entry had to go through two rounds of fire ' the creative jury and then the effectiveness jury. That's enough to make any award come out all black.

The award is significant because it settles the whole debate about creativity and effectiveness. It links the two so brilliantly and has the power to convert the biggest cynics of creative award shows into its greatest advocates. I must add here that the award belongs to all our client partners ' Mediacom, Weber Shandwick, Encompass and GRIPS. No wonder it's bigger than a gold lion. It carries 10 points while a gold lion weighs 7. Moreover, this Lion has a fierce all-black look. It's not here to just look good. Touch it, it truly moves you.

In Cannes, when you carry a Lion in your hand, you are a hero. Everybody smiles at you, and waves at you and wants to know you and wants pictures with you, and wants to touch the Lion. At the Gutter Bar there are so many people who want to have a drink with you that by the time you've finished, it is dawn. It reminds one of an old American country western song:

Like a rhinestone cowboy

Like a rhinestone cowboy

And offers comin' over the phone

There's no formula for winning at Cannes. You just have to find a new way to solve a problem or seize an opportunity. It's not about cracking any Cannes code, but about how you've contributed to the creative thinking of the world. Cannes is more than an award show. It's where people meet to shape the future of our business. It's been growing in popularity since I first came here in 1996. There's greater participation, and the theatres and seminars are jam packed. The who's who of the world are congregating for the show and everybody wants a piece of the stage, or want to win. The parties go on through the night, and the networking never ends. We met so many people and connected with so many cultures and backgrounds.

India won 24 lions this year at Cannes. So it's been one of India's best years at Cannes. But this did not reflect the nation's potential at Cannes. We know there was a lot of fantastic work that won at Goafest which was expected to do well at Cannes, but did not. So a lot of people were disappointed. Hopefully that will convert into a determined will to do even better next year. | By Josy Paul, Chairman & National Creative Director, BBDO India