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Indian Railways’ ‘Lucky Yatra’ ad by FCB India
It’s that time of the year when advertisers descend on the French Riviera to take part in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The 72nd edition kicks off on June 16, with the who’s who of the creative industry debating the impact of AI and data on storytelling, brand-building and the future of advertising, even as they sip rosé and network. This year, in the run-up to the event, the industry was shaken by the news of WPP honcho Mark Read’s decision to step down as CEO at the end of the year. Last year, WPP was named the holding company of the year, but the network has been struggling with shrinking profits and loss of key accounts, notably Coca-Cola and, more recently, Mars media. Read did undertake massive restructuring and made big investments in AI, but questions have been raised on whether the investments resulted in tangible gains in efficiency.
Meanwhile, at Cannes, there is plenty of new stuff, including new categories of awards, pointing to the ever changing role of advertising. The Social and Influencer Lions have been renamed as Social and Creator Lions, highlighting the increasingly important role that digital creators play. A new award this year is the Creative Champion of the Year, “to be bestowed on individuals or organisations for their meaningful contribution in providing creative people with tools to express themselves”. Shantanu Narayen, Chair and CEO of Adobe, will get the inaugural award. Among the celebrity speakers at the annual confab are Hollywood actor Reese Witherspoon, tennis legend Serena Williams, and tech whizkid Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI.
The fact that advertising work is no longer conventional is underscored by some of the shortlists for the coveted Lions. Last year, when the Exosphere — the world’s “first building with feelings” — at Las Vegas got shortlisted in the Titanium category, it was a clear sign that competition is coming from all over. This year the quirkier shortlists include an Indian entry — FCB’s ‘Lucky Yatra’ work for the Indian Railways to check ticketless travel. Instead of crackdowns, Indian Railways in Mumbai, partnering with FCB India, turned every ticket into a lottery, giving each traveller a chance to win, and thereby inducing behaviour change.
Apple ad for AirPods Pro 2
India has sent 982 entries to Cannes Lions, up from 826 last year. Till the time of going to press, 42 of these made it to shortlists across 10 categories. Globally there were 26,900 submissions. Among Indian entries vying for the Lions are Havas Media’s ‘Bhog elo Boney’ Durga Puja campaign for Swiggy Foods — which draws attention to the plight of widowhood in India, particularly the Tiger Widows of the Sundarbans; DDB Mudra’s #BetaStayfreeLeAana campaign for Stayfree, which draws men to talk about menstruation; and Dentsu’s ‘Garuda Rakshak’ work at the Kumbh Mela for DSP Mutual Funds.
Elsewhere at the festival, a new initiative — Country Pavilions — has been launched to drive greater global representation of countries at Cannes Lions.
With the global creative economy estimated at $985 billion, according to the think tank G20 Insights, and set to become 10 per cent of global GDP before 2030, the festival team wants to let countries and governments have an opportunity to showcase their capabilities at Cannes Lions.
Gender gets a voice at the festival, too, with the not-for-profit Women Inspiring Network (WIN) set to host power-packed, day-long discussions on creativity, marketing, innovation, and leadership. The stellar line-up includes Resh Sidhu, Global Director at Snap Inc; Meera Sharath Chandra, Founder, CEO, and Chief Creative Officer of Tigress Tigress; Bridget Evans, Global Head of Advertising Business Marketing for Spotify; Asha Shivaji, co-founder and CEO of SeeMe Index; and Prof Anabel Ternès von Hattburg of SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences.
At a time when creative confidence is waning among agencies, will the festival put back the mojo?
Published on June 15, 2025
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