Cannes Lions 2011: India roars at Cannes with 23 metals, plus 1 Creative Effectiveness Lion

Indian agencies ended their outing at Cannes Lions 2011 on a positive note after a slow start to the festival. With 24 metals, India was just one short of India’s highest ever tally of 25 Lions in 2009. The last day of the festival managed to bring a lot of cheer to Indian camp as all the shortlisted entries in the final three categories went back home with a metal each. Last year, Indian agencies were a disappointed lot with the tally stopping at 17.

Mudra Communications scored the maximum points for India and topped the table with three Silver Lions, five Bronze Lions and nine shortlisted entries. BBDO India came second with 20 points for its two Silver, one Bronze metals and seven shortlists. Ogilvy & Mather India with 13 points finished their trip at the third position, followed by McCann Worldgroup at fourth with 11 points. Lodestar UM and Out of the Box’s Gold Lions helped the agencies tie with Taproot India for the fifth place with seven points each. Ogilvy & Mather, Lodestar UM and Out of the Box were the only Indian agencies to return home with a Gold Lion, while BBDO India won a Creative Effectiveness Lion.

 The entry ‘Silent National Anthem’ won one Silver metal (PR Lion) and three Bronze metals (two in Promo & Activation and one in Film) for the agency. The agency also won two Silver Lions (Frozen Food for Electrolux and Dwarf Depression for Loving Hands Ministry) and one Bronze Lion (Disappearing Discounts for RI Ayurveda) in the Design Lions category. Entry titled ‘Blueprint’ for Union Bank of India earned the agency a Bronze Lion in the Press Lions category.

BBDO India’s entry ‘W.A.L.S – Women Against Lazy Stubble’ for Gillette won the agency a Creative Effectiveness Lion. The category was introduced at Cannes Lions this year, and doesn’t have a Gold or Silver or Bronze distinction. No points have been allotted to the agency for the same, as the press kit does not allot any points for a Creative Effectiveness Lion while calculating the ‘Agency of the Year’. In the PR Lions category, the agency won two Silver metals for Gillette’s ‘Shave Sutra’ campaign. The agency also won a Bronze in the Outdoor Lions category for their entry titled ‘Nuclear’ and ‘Sea Level’ for White Collar Hippies.

Ogilvy & Mather won a Gold Lion in the Film Craft category for their entry titled ‘Train’ for Indian Railways under the ‘Best Use of Music’ sub-category. The agency also bagged a Silver Lion in the Press Lions category for Mentos Sour Marbels’ entries titled ‘Guillotine’, ‘Snake’ and ‘Gun’.   

McCann Worldgroup also won a Silver metal in the Press Lions category for their work ‘City’, ‘Forest’ and ‘Sea’ for Onida mobile phones. The agency’s work for Onida DVD players ‘Terminator’ and ‘A Few Good Men’ earned the agency a Bronze Lion in the Radio Lions category.

Lodestar UM’s work for Garnier ‘The world’s first newspaper on 100% newsprint’ for Garnier earned the media agency a Gold in the Media Lions category. Delhi-based design boutique Out of the Box won the agency a Gold Lion for their entry ‘Love Blossoms Here’ for Mother’s Pride in the Design Lions category.