Cannes Lions 2012: Balki and Shekhar Kapur to present 'Global India'

The annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity kicks off on June 17th. Every year a select number of world class advertising networks are invited to speak to the assembled delegates, who converge on Cannes from all over the world. Some 10,000 delegates, from the Agency and Client world, attend the festival each year. This year, Lowe Lintas, a leading light in the Lowe and Partners global network, will take to the stage to present ‘Global India’ – the first time the Cannes Lions Festival has featured a seminar dedicated to Indian creativity and its influence globally.

 

Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Lowe Lintas India, R.Balki, will be joined on stage by Special Guest, Oscar nominated Director, Actor, Producer and new media entrepreneur, Shehkar Kapur. Wired Magazine Editor, David Rowan, will interview Balki and Shekhar on stage, while the seminar will be introduced by Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO of Lowe and Partners parent company, IPG.

 

Michael Wall, Global CEO of Lowe and Partners said:- “At Lowe and Partners we pride ourselves on our strong capability in emerging markets. We have great, talented leaders like Balki, who manages to successfully meet the challenges presented by the globalization of India, while preserving the local culture. We can look forward to a thought provoking seminar from Balki and Shekhar at Cannes Lions, the first time the festival has dedicated a session to India.

 

Wall added:- “This seminar isn’t just for the Indian Cannes delegates to attend, India’s future will play a large role in our industry’s future and should be of interest to all delegates.”

Balki and Shekhar will share their thoughts on a variety of topics, including the creative heritage of India, the future of India on a world stage, Indian advertising, India in the digital age and the film and entertainment industry– and discuss their views on the impact of the nation around the world. 

 

Balki commented:- “We are very excited to bring India to Cannes Lions for the first time and to have Shekhar join us. He has been, of course, a leading Indian creative force, with a world profile, for some years now and is set to inspire the gathered creatives from all over the world, who attend the event. Cannes Lions is really the only truly global festival that celebrates our industry and looks to its future and India is at the forefront of that future. We plan to bring all the diversity, colour, creativity and passion that is modern India, on stage with us.” 

 

Shekhar Kapur added:- “I am happy for the opportunity to be on the same platform with creative leaders like Balki and Lowe and Partners and look forward to a great, in depth discussion.  Social Media is a new force that is asking us to redefine Advertising's role in society - we have great challenges, but huge opportunities available to us too, by working within communities".