Cannes Lions 2017: India’s tally on Day 3 – 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

Winning work took centre-stage in a red carpet Awards Show at the 64th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where the PR, Outdoor, Glass, Print & Publishing and Promo & Activation Lions were announced. The show opened with an electric performance by The 6 Pack Band, the transgender group who scored the Glass Grand Prix for Mindshare Mumbai at last year’s Festival. 

The jurors from PR, Outdoor and Glass championed gender equality, each awarding ‘Fearless Girl’ by McCann New York, for State Street Global Advisors, a Grand Prix. The Glass Lion Jury President, Wendy Clark, President & Chief Executive Officer, DDB Worldwide, North America, said that the work had both “inspired the world and transformed the world,” adding that it, “transcended both geography and culture and would inspire the world for years to come”. 

Glass: The Lion for Change received 203 entries and the jury awarded 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 5 Bronze Lions, along with the Grand Prix. The proceeds from Glass, 137,765 Euro, will be donated equally between UN Women and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. 

From India, Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi Mumbai took home a Gold in the Glass Lions category for its campaign – #GiveHer5 campaign – done for The Ammada Trust. 

A second Grand Prix was also awarded in Outdoor to Twitter, San Francisco, for their campaign comprising 10 executions: 'Cannabis', 'Gloria Steinem & Dorothy Pitman Hughes','Guns', 'Muhammad Ali', 'Putin', 'Sonogram', 'Prince', 'Saturday Night Live', 'Hands Up', 'Eyes: Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump'. Jury President, Bruno Bertelli, Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis said that it was a “beautiful campaign” that was both “simple and engaging”. The jury also awarded 20 Gold, 30 Silver and 58 Bronze Lions from 4,716 entries. 

India scored a Gold in Outdoor Lions, which went to Ogilvy & Mather India for its campaign done for ITC Savlon – Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks. Meanwhile, McCann Worldgroup India walked away with a Silver for its campaign, titled ‘Cat, Dog and Rabbit’, done for World for All (Animal Care and Adoptions). 

Karen van Bergen, Chief Executive Officer, Omnicom Public Relations Group, led the PR Lions jury and said that her jury had found their Grand Prix winner, ‘Fearless Girl’ to be a “perfect example of doing well by doing good”. In total, 2,208 entries were received and the jury awarded 17 Gold, 32 Silver and 50 Bronze Lions. 

In PR Lions, Ogilvy & Mather India secured its second Gold. The agency also won a Bronze – both were for its Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks campaign. The #ReleaseThePressure campaign done for Mirinda won a Silver for BBDO India, Gurgaon. 

From the 3,432 entries received in Promo & Activation, 102 Lions were awarded: 15 Gold, 37 Silver and 49 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to ‘Boost Your Voice’, 180LA, Santa Monica, for Boost Mobile. Jury President, Stéphane Xiberras, President & Chief Creative Officer, BETC, France, explained that the campaign “took a brand, already at the heart of communities, and gave it a way to get involved in the US election campaign. It didn’t just create an audience, but involved an audience in the democratic process.” 

India could secure only a Bronze in Promo & Activation, which went to Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai. 

14 Gold, 31 Silver and 43 Bronze Lions were awarded in Print & Publishing, from the 3,275 entries received this year. Print & Publishing Grand Prix winner: ‘Oregon’, 'Pensylvannia', 'Aviano', DAVID, Miami, for Burger King, was selected for Burger King’s brave, playful, tongue-in-cheek humour. Jury President, Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer, Grey Africa, South Africa, also highlighted a trend towards work that uses details of physical making, from sculpture to drawing, even against the backdrop of our highly digitised world. 

India drew a blank in Print & Publishing Lions this year despite securing nine shortlists.