Cannes Lions 2024: India earns 57 shortlists

India earned five more shortlists on day three of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, putting its total at 57, well ahead of the 43 shortlists in total last year.

The Sustainable Development Goals category was the final and lone category to be shortlisted on Wednesday.

Leo Burnett Mumbai picked up three more shortlists, two of which came for P&G Whisper's 'Period Science for Moms' campaign. The other was for Lay's 'Drops of Joy'.

The other two day three shortlists for India went to McCann Gurugram for ESAF Small Finance Bank's 'Dabba Savings Account' and its already Gold-winning 'Fit My Feet' campaign for Buckaroo Footware. 

That means India's hopes for surpassing last year's metal count of 25 Lions remain alive, despite a slower start, winning 9 Lions but only one Gold in the first couple of days. 

See Cannes Lions 2024: India's winners for the latest award tally. (This article below relates to all the shortlists).

While there is little hope of matching India's unparalleled success in 2022 when the nation brought home a record 48 Lions, the trend still suggests India could continue to build on its strengthening reputation at Cannes in recent years.

Thus far, India's favourite categories have been Sustainble Development Goals, PR and Brand Experience & Activation, with five shortlists each, followed by Health & Wellness and Print & Publishing with four each.

Here's the shortlist breakdown so far by agency:

India's campaigns with the most shortlists are as follows below: 

Leo Burnett Mumbai is in the lead with 16 shortlists. Its 'Turf Finder' campaign for Gatorade has garnered five shortlists, two of which are in the Creative Data category.  See the award it has won here. Meanwhile its work for Oreo and Airtel earned it three shortlists in the Creative Effectiveness category. 

VML Mumbai places second among agencies so far with 11 shortlists, eight of which have come from what was formerly Wunderman Thompson's work with the Times of India on its poignant #UnplasticIndia and animal alarm campaigns, particularly in the Print & Publishing and Design categories. 

Another favourite is Ogilvy Mumbai's work in conjunction with Rapport Outdoor Advertising on its 'Taj Mahal Megh Santoor' rain-powered musical billboard for Unilever's Brooke Bond Tea, with four shortlists. See the awards it has won here.

McCann Gurugram's 'Fit My Feet' work with Buckaroo Footware is another strong contender, with five shortlists so far, three of which are in the Health & Wellness category. See the awards it has won here.

Beyond these are VML's 'Sing to Remember' campaign for Coca-Cola, FCB Kinnect's 'Lulumelon Eoss' work for HDFC Bank and Dentsu Creative Gurgaon's 'Deep Connect' campaign for Motorola, all with three shortlists each.