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Amid growing industry unease over manipulation, synthetic media and the unchecked use of artificial intelligence, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will implement sweeping new accountability measures for all entries beginning in 2026, the festival announced during its 2025 edition.

The changes follow the unprecedented withdrawal of Lion-winning work this year, a move that highlighted the urgency of rethinking standards in the face of rapidly advancing AI technologies.

“The industry landscape is changing at lightning speed,” said Simon Cook, chief executive officer, LIONS. “And, in common with the rest of the industry, Cannes Lions is adapting at pace to meet this.”

Cook added: “At the heart of the Lions is creativity that drives growth. These renewed standards reflect our responsibility to both provide a platform for, and protect the value of creativity, and reinforce that creative excellence should be synonymous with creative integrity.”

Under the updated framework, all submissions—including case films, written materials, data and claims—will require approval from the entrant company’s business leader and a senior marketer from the commissioning brand. These declarations will confirm that entries are factually accurate, responsibly sourced and reflective of real-world outcomes.

To bolster enforcement, Cannes Lions will introduce a dual-layer verification process that pairs manual checks with AI-led analysis to examine the veracity of each claim submitted. Juries will also have access to independent data and measurement experts throughout the judging process to review impact claims, campaign effectiveness, media impact and data interpretation.

The festival will further codify these measures in its new AI Integrity Handbook, which will define global standards for awards integrity in the AI era, clarifying what is acceptable, what must be disclosed and what would constitute a breach.

“Cannes Lions reserves the right to disqualify or withdraw any awards entry at any stage of submission or judging, including after a Lion has been awarded if material misrepresentation is found. This includes the right to request additional documentation or testimony from entrants or clients at the highest level of seniority," stated the Festival.

Companies found to have knowingly submitted false or misleading work could face bans of up to three years, with jury eligibility also subject to revocation. Disputes will be handled by a newly formed Integrity Council comprising legal, ethical and independent industry experts, with entrants allowed to respond and appeal within a defined timeframe.

“Creativity is only valuable if it’s credible,” Cook added. “And credibility must be earned, not assumed. These timely changes mark the beginning of a new era for us all — not just for Cannes Lions, but for the future state of global creative marketing.”


Cannes Lions to impose stricter integrity standards including three-year ban amid AI concerns

A magazine features the palms of two hands. On the right side corner is the photograph of a mosquito repellant brand ‘Hexit’ and on the upper left hand side corner, there are instructions on ‘How to kill a mosquito’.

The interactive ad, released in 1996, was the first from India in the print category to receive a Gold Lion at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity.  

<strong>Genesis</strong>

Ajay Chandwani, who was the Director of Lintas for 17 years, established its subsidiary SSC&B Lintas and took up the position of its President. The subsidiary handled prestigious brands such as Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and German pharmaceuticals company Hoechst Pharmaceuticals which manufactured a mosquito repellent brand called Hexit.

The genesis of the Hexit ad came from the insight that when a mosquito is hovering around a person irrespective of the place, the medium that one commonly reaches out to is a newspaper or a magazine. 

Chandwani said that they had seen at least two of their own colleagues shut the magazine they were reading when they heard the mosquito hovering, in a bid to quash it.

Hoescht, which did not have any over-the-counter (OTC) outlets, and lacked good distribution, was facing competition from brands like Reckitt’s Mortein and Godrej Consumer Products Limited’s Hit. Chandwani recollected that there were also other cheaper brands that were well-established.


Hence, the brand decided to go with the print medium, something the agency was good at. The other reason was that newspapers were very expensive and it was not possible to challenge the category leaders given the budget. Magazines were chosen to place the ad in order to create a greater impact.


Ryan Menezes, Creative Director, Art Director and Copywriter at SSC&B Lintas would take boring products or categories and try to make it interesting to the key audience. Menezes’ idle doodle for the mosquito repellent brand caught the eye of one his colleagues, Vishal who then alerted the account executive Sameer Goswami who was handling the account.


Goswami was blown away by it and urged Menezes to mock it up in order to pitch it to the client. Menezes then reached out to photographer Sanjeev Angne to shoot his hands. Next, Menezes mocked up the ad in a magazine. Then, it was presented to the client, who approved it without any further thought. 

 
Chandwani added, “The idea was that there are many ways to kill a mosquito. In this case, a mosquito comes into position. Then, shut the magazine with a bang. And if you fail, on the right side at the bottom, it says, ‘use Hexit’.”


Deepak Raghunathan and P N Purandare were the account supervisor and client’s supervisor respectively for the campaign. 


The mid-1990s was also a period when film campaigns were beginning to find their place in the ad industry. Menezes, who came across a lot of beautiful print work back then wanted to better that, and use the medium in a way that had never been used before.

 
“This was a first; an interactive print ad that literally used the magazine itself to engage the viewer,” he stated. Every work brings with itself an inherent challenge which requires skill and precision to solve it. In this case, it was how to design the ad without detracting from its core idea.


The ad saw the light of day in 1996 and received stupendous response. Chandwani entered the ad in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and it stood out with a Gold Lion. This also gave heightened visibility to the German pharmaceuticals company.


The campaign also won a Bronze at the Clio Awards, and secured first place at The Mobius Advertising Awards, an international competition which recognises breakthrough work in the ad and design categories.


Menezes credits the ad for its simplicity and interactivity, where viewers mentally squashed the mosquito. He said, “There was also the element of a witty twist on a dry subject, and with the usage of hands, people could relate to it instantly.”


Despite bagging prestigious accolades for its precise art direction and creativity, the print ad’s memory is very faint in the advertising circle or is not counted in the list of iconic ads. 


After 1996, there was a six-year dry spell India experienced, which was broken by Ogilvy & Mather who bagged a Silver Lion for a Fevicol bus ad. According to Menezes, the media focused on wins at other award shows and ‘How to kill a mosquito’ became an isolated milestone. 


He said, “India’s focus on radio and TV media made global firsts like this one less referenced or cited, so it gradually slipped from collective memory.”


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/when-fevicol-bus-ad-stuck-its-way-to-a-silver-lion-at-cannes-2002-71860.htm">When Fevicol ‘Bus’ ad stuck its way to a Silver Lion at Cannes Lions 2002</a>
 

When Hexit’s ‘How to Kill a Mosquito’ brought glory to India at Cannes Lions

In a year when brands tried to scream louder, German discount chain PENNY chose to whisper one thing: "This is the price. It won't change." And it printed that promise - literally - right on its products.

The "Price Packs" campaign, developed by Serviceplan, walked away with the Print and Publishing Grand Prix at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/agency-news/cannes-lions-grand-prix-spotlight-kitkat-swapped-smartphones-for-chocolate-and-it-was-brilliant-70609.htm">Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: KitKat swapped smartphones for chocolate - and it was brilliant</a>

But, it also walked into shoppers' hearts, wallets, and pantry shelves - selling over 1.4 million items in just four weeks.

Let's unpack the genius behind the minimal, bold, and brutally honest campaign.

<strong>A masterstroke in simplicity</strong>

At a time when inflation inflated everything - from prices to marketing buzzwords - PENNY cut through the noise with design minimalism and messaging precision.

They printed fixed prices directly onto packaging of their own-brand essentials: bread, oats, salt, chips, mayo. No taglines, No flashy deals. Just big, bold numbers saying: This is what it costs. And it won't change.

<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-grand-prix-spotlight-paris-rewrote-the-rules-of-olympic-storytelling-and-nailed-the-landing-71340.htm">Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: Paris rewrote the rules of Olympic storytelling - and nailed the landing</a>

<strong>A campaign for real people</strong>

Targeted at the everyman consumer, PENNY's idea hit the sweet spot for shoppers anxious about volatile food costs. This wasn't a premium brand solving a problem for a niche audience. This was mass-market empathy executed with design restraint and operational bravery. 

Changing packaging isn't cheap or easy - especially for 2,150 stores across Germany.

But that was the point. PENNY wanted to show commitment, not just campaign cleverness. Printing the price right on the pack meant putting their money where their mayo was.

<strong>From store shelves to street signs</strong>

The campaign didn't just live on store shelves. PENNY rolled out an out-of-home (OOH) campaign with the same visual DNA: stripped-down, price-centric, and unmissable.

The result? Buzz. Demand. Sellouts!

Within four weeks of launch, 1.4 million products had been sold, some lines even briefly selling out. And as for brand perception - PENNY's credibility as a price-stable discounter reportedly jumped 2200%. That's not a typo. That's a mic drop.

<strong>The award run</strong>

The judges at Cannes weren't the only ones impressed.

- Cannes Lions 2025: Print & Publishing Grand Prix

- Clio Awards: Grand Clio for Creative Effectiveness

- The One Show: Gold in Product Packaging

- And a shelf full of Gold, Silver, and Bronze at the Clio Awards

But perhaps the biggest win? $120 million worth of free media buzz, generated organically because people were talking - and not just shopping.

<strong>Why it worked</strong>

“Price Packs” succeeded because it was brutally relevant. It didn’t create a need. It addressed a pain. It wasn’t a gimmick. It was a promise. And in an era where trust is the most expensive commodity, PENNY found a way to sell it - for 1.79 euros, printed right on a pack of oats.

In a sea of purpose-driven campaigns, this one was purpose-lived.

<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-grand-prix-spotlight-vaseline-took-on-tiktok-pseudoscience-and-won-big-at-cannes-70708.htm">Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: Vaseline took on TikTok pseudoscience, and won big at Cannes</a>

Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: How PENNY turned price into packaging - and won big

The screen opens on a lone Rajasthani man. Soon, the frame widens to reveal others—men, women, children - all jostling in unison, as though part of a strange, synchronized ritual. A rickety bus barrels forward on a desert road, impossibly packed with passengers clinging to every inch of its structure - inside, outside, and atop. The question begs: How are they not falling off?

The answer is revealed, humorously and cleverly, on a small sign affixed to the rear of the vehicle: “Fevicol: The Ultimate Adhesive.”

When this advertisement debuted in 2002, few could have predicted its enduring legacy. Yet over two decades later, it remains etched in the collective memory of Indian viewers, celebrated for its storytelling, symbolism and cultural resonance. Behind the now-iconic film lies a story of creative conviction, logistical hurdles and a filmmaker’s inspired vision.

It began, modestly, with a print ad.

Renowned filmmaker Prasoon Pandey, founder of Corcoise Films, had come across a Fevicol print campaign that depicted a crowded local train with passengers hanging perilously off the sides. Yet, no one fell. A small Fevicol logo at the bottom explained the miracle.

“It was simple. Brilliant,” Pandey recalled in a later interview.

Soon after, Ogilvy & Mather approached him to create a television commercial inspired by the print concept. But Pandey hesitated. Simply translating the idea from print to screen, especially with the same train setting, felt creatively unfulfilling. It took him over a month to commit—only after he found a compelling cinematic alternative.

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Pandey drew unexpected inspiration from a 1958 Dutch short film titled Glass, directed by Bert Haanstra. The film, which juxtaposes traditional glassblowing with industrial manufacturing, sparked a thought: what if the ad focused on rhythm, motion and visual buildup?

The train became a bus. The chaos, more exaggerated. “I imagined a road so bad, even a goat would be shaken up,” Pandey said. The visual metaphor was simple: if Fevicol could hold together this chaotic ensemble, it could hold anything.

The commercial was shot over several days in the sand dunes near Jaisalmer. More than 200 local villagers were cast as passengers. But logistical challenges abounded.

“The winter sun travels left to right, so we had to change the bus’s direction every couple of hours,” Pandey explained. To simulate the rough ride, one-foot-deep ditches were dug across the road, but the initial effect was underwhelming. “It looked like a rabbit hopping,” he joked. Alternating the trenches left and right finally delivered the desired bounce.

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Then there was the goat. As the story goes, the animal—unimpressed by the film’s artistic ambitions—would urinate on the young boy seated beneath it every time the bus lurched. The crew, Pandey recalled, found it hilarious.

The soundtrack, minimal but evocative, was crafted in collaboration with percussionist Taufiq Qureshi and composer Loy Mendonsa. The goal was not music for music’s sake, but something that could carry the film’s visual rhythm and pacing.

At Cannes in 2002, the ad won a Silver Lion - the first Indian film to win at the prestigious festival in six years. It marked a turning point not just for Fevicol, but for Indian advertising itself.

Piyush Pandey (now Chief Advisor at Ogilvy) was closely involved in the campaign. His creative partnership with Madhukar Parekh, Chairman of Pidilite Industries (Fevicol’s parent company), has become one of the longest-running and most successful in Indian advertising. 'That’s the real Fevicol bond,' they often quip.

Over the years, “Fevicol ka jod” has become a part of the vernacular - a metaphor for relationships, alliances and unbreakable bonds. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi referenced it during a 2014 visit to Japan, calling India-Japan ties “stronger than a Fevicol bond.”

Fevicol’s advertising strategy has always centered on people, culture and a touch of absurdity. From 1991’s “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” to more recent campaigns, the brand has resisted trendiness in favor of timeless humour rooted in Indian life.

“Some call it retro,” said Piyush Pandey. “I say, we’re not retro, you’re metro. That’s where India lives.”

The Fevicol bus ad was never just about glue. It was about the strength of storytelling and how humor, visual poetry and a touch of absurdity can turn a brand into something mythic.

As Piyush Pandey noted, “An iconic ad isn’t written. You just write the best thing you can. When people fall in love with it, it becomes iconic.”

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/how-fevicol-egg-advertisement-was-a-turning-point-in-the-brands-creative-journey-51815.htm">How Fevicol egg advertisement was a ‘turning point’ in the brand’s creative journey</a> 

When Fevicol ‘Bus’ ad stuck its way to a Silver Lion at Cannes Lions 2002

In a year when global unity felt like a fading memory and polarization dominated headlines, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games turned its Opening Ceremony into more than just a spectacle. It became a protest, a celebration, and a history lesson - all flowing down the Seine.

Forget the tired routine of fireworks inside a closed stadium. The French did what the French do best: break rules with style. And win hearts in the process. 

The Paname 24 team pulled off an audacious creative and logistical feat that snagged them the Cannes Lions Grand Prix in Outdoor - and rightfully so.

<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-grand-prix-spotlight-vaseline-took-on-tiktok-pseudoscience-and-won-big-at-cannes-70708.htm">Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: Vaseline took on TikTok pseudoscience, and won big at Cannes</a>

<strong>A Ceremony without Walls</strong>

France took the Olympic spirit quite literally to the streets - or rather, to the water. For the first time in Olympic history, the Opening Ceremony abandoned the stadium and made its way into the city. The stage? Six kilometers of the Seine River. The backdrop? The most iconic monuments of Paris. The message? Loud and clear: Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

This wasn't some artsy detour or Paris showing off its skyline for drone shots. It was a carefully curated, deeply strategic public performance.

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Twelve acts unfolded like chapters of a storybook, echoing France's commitment to human dignity. From defiant revolutionary notes at the Conciergerie to a rousing La Marseillaise at the Grand Palaise, the spectacle had soul.

<strong>Boats > Boring Parades</strong>

The Olympic athlete parade, usually a lumbering procession of teams in matching blazers, got the French remix. Athletes cruised the Seine in boats, creating cinematic visuals that felt more music video than marching band. For the people of Paris - hundreds of thousands of whom lined the river - it was first time the Olympic stage didn't require a ticket.

<strong>No Fluff, All Meaning</strong>

Let's face it: opening ceremonies often try too hard to be both dazzling and deep, and fail at both. But Paris 2024 struck a balance that most brands, events, and governments only dream of.

Every element - lighting, sound, movement, and monument - had purpose. There was spectacle, yes, but never at the cost of meaning.

3,500 performers, a flotilla of boats, 12 choreographed chapters, and an urban jungle turned stage - all executed with seamless precision. Behind the scenes, the logistical orchestration was nothing short of military-grade. But from the viewer's eye, it was poetry.

<strong>Results </strong>

The numbers were as jaw-dropping as the visuals:

- 2 billion global viewers, one of the most-watched Olympic ceremonies ever

- 88% viewer approval across 15 countries (IOC study)

- 76% said it was the most memorable Opening Ceremony in Olympic history

- Headlines from The New York Times to Le Monde hailed the ceremony as “transformative” and “the future of global storytelling”

<strong>Why It Mattered</strong>

At its core, this campaign wasn't about Olympic branding or even national pride. It was about reclaiming public space in a divided world and reminding viewers - through art, not lectures - of the values that still connect us. Liberty. Equality. Fraternity. 

In a world full of walls—both digital and physical—Paris opened the floodgates to something different. The Paname 24 team didn’t just create a ceremony. They started a conversation. In French. On water. For the world.

Verdict: A creative masterstroke. Timely, timeless, and undeniably French.
Stars of the Seine: Paname 24, you earned every drop of that Grand Prix.

<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-grand-prix-spotlight-budweisers-blink-sized-ads-hit-a-high-note-at-cannes-70970.htm">Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: Budweiser's blink-sized ads hit a high note at Cannes</a>

Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: Paris rewrote the rules of Olympic storytelling - and nailed the landing

At the 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, one of the campaigns that garnered critical appreciation from the jury members was ‘Lucky Yatra’. Conceptualised by FCB Group India for the Central Railway, ‘Lucky Yatra’ was honoured with one Grand Prix, six Gold, one Silver and one Bronze Lions at the global stage. 

The initiative aimed to reduce rampant ticketless travel by transforming ticket purchase into a lottery-like incentive. 

From March 20 to June 15, the eight-week long Lucky Yatra Yojana offered daily and weekly cash prizes—₹10,000 and ₹50,000 respectively—to commuters traveling with a valid ticket. Commuters had to register by uploading a photo of their rail ticket and verifying via an OTP (one-time password) on the now‑defunct luckyyatra.com website. 

But, only three passengers came forward to claim the prize during this eight-week run.

Despite out-of-home (OOH) ads at stations and platforms, on-train visuals and station announcements, and partnership with Radio Mirchi to amplify the ‘Lucky Yatra’ initiative, commuter associations alleged that the commuters weren’t aware of such an initiative which led to its limited uptake, stated a media report.

Despite the programme’s shutdown, discussions are ongoing to decide whether to revive Lucky Yatra in future depending on the situation, further added the report. 


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-2025-india-bags-a-silver-lion-on-day-5-bbdo-india-honoured-for-ariel-sharetheload-71284.htm">Cannes Lions 2025: India bags a Silver Lion on Day 5; BBDO India honoured for Ariel #ShareTheLoad</a> 

Cannes Lions Grand Prix winner 'Lucky Yatra' fails to deliver for Indian Railways

On Day 5 of the 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, India’s total medal tally had reached 32—surpassing its previous counts of 18 in 2024 and 25 in 2023.

In total, India won one Grand Prix, nine Gold, nine Silver and 13 Bronze Lions.

On Day 5, results were announced across categories: Glass: The Lion for Change, Film, Titanium and Sustainable Development Goals.

In the Sustainable Development Goals category, BBDO India bagged a Silver Lion for its decade long award winning campaign Ariel #ShareTheLoad for Procter & Gamble.

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The campaign touched upon the concept of gender role inequality, specifically with laundry. Every ad, through its powerful concept, served as a reminder to the audience to equally participate in 'Sharing The Load'.

However, there were no wins registered by India in the remaining categories.

<strong>DAY 4</strong>

In the Brand Experience & Activation category, Publicis Groupe’s Leo, Mumbai was felicitated with a Bronze Lion for ‘Acko Tailor Test’ for the brand Acko, after having walked away with a Gold Lion on Day 2.


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FCB India continued to create ripple effects with its ‘Lucky Yatra’ campaign for the Indian Railways by securing three Gold Lions, not only in the Brand Experience & Activation category but also in both the Creative Business Transformation and Creative Commerce categories. This brings FCB India's total count for 'Lucky Yatra' to nine: One Grand Prix, six Gold, one Silver & one Bronze.


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-2025-india-clinches-5-lions-on-day-4-fcb-indias-lucky-yatra-secures-3-golds-71117.htm">Cannes Lions 2025: India clinches 5 Lions on Day 4; FCB India's 'Lucky Yatra' secures 3 Golds</a> 


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Ogilvy India’s ‘Eye Test Menu’ for Titan Company impressed the Cannes Lions juries with its introspective concept. The campaign consecutively won a Bronze Lion on Day 2, Day 3, and on Day 4.


<strong>DAY 3</strong>


In the Creative Data category, Publicis Groupe's Leo, Mumbai bagged a Gold Lion for 'Acko Tailor Test' for the brand Acko. 


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Havas, Mumbai garnered appreciation with a Bronze Lion for ‘Ink of Democracy’ for Times of India in the Direct category, after having secured a Gold in the Print & Publishing category on Day 1.


‘Lucky Yatra’ has indeed brought luck and cheer for FCB India, as they won their second Gold for their innovative thought process conceptualized for the Indian Railways. 


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-2025-india-roars-with-14-lions-on-day-3-fcb-indias-lucky-yatra-grabs-a-grand-prix-70954.htm">Cannes Lions 2025: India roars with 14 Lions on Day 3; FCB India's 'Lucky Yatra' grabs a Grand Prix</a>


In the Media category, ‘Eye Test Menu’ for The Titan Company by Ogilvy, Bangalore received a Bronze Lion. And, Havas, Mumbai once again received its second Bronze Lion for 'Ink of Democracy'.


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Publicis Groupe’s Leo was felicitated with a Silver Lion for its campaign ‘Takeoff Takeover’ for Cathay Pacific. And, Dentsu Creative Gurgaon was recognised with a Bronze Lion for its campaign ‘Garuda Rakshak’. 


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Indie agency Talented, Bangalore once again stood tall and proud with a Bronze Lion for ‘Nature Shapes Britannia’ for Britannia Industries.


Continuing its 'Lucky Yatra', in the category of PR, FCB India earned a Silver metal. And, they also won the coveted Grand Prix and another Gold Lion on Day 3.


Ogilvy, Mumbai won a Bronze Lion for ‘Box to Beds’ for Amazon.


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In the social & creator category, BBH India, Mumbai was awarded the Bronze Lion for 'Bassi v/s Men’s Facewash' for Garnier. And, Ogilvy, Mumbai, this time won a Gold Lion for Mondelez’s ‘Erase Valentine’s Day’.


<strong>Day 2</strong>


Among the highlights, Ogilvy Bangalore earned a Bronze Lion in the Design category for “Eye Test Menu,” created for The Titan Company. 

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/modest-gains-for-india-at-cannes-ogilvy-vml-talented-bag-3-lions-for-titan-coca-cola-britannia-work-70719.htm">Modest gains for India at Cannes; Ogilvy, VML & Talented bag 3 Lions for Titan, Coca-Cola, Britannia work</a>


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In the Entertainment segments, VML Mumbai took home a Silver Lion for Coca-Cola’s “The Girl Who Played The Tutari,” while Talented, Bangalore won Silver in the Sport category for “Avani’s Gold” on behalf of Britannia Marie Gold.


<strong>DAY 1</strong>


Day 1 opened on a vibrant note for India as they registered nine wins.


In the Outdoor category, five campaigns emerged victorious. FCB India earned a Bronze and a Gold for its campaign Lucky Yatra developed for Indian Railways. Ogilvy Mumbai secured Bronze Lions for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea’s Chai Bansuri, created for Unilever, and Vi Guardian Beads for Vodafone Idea.


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Two Silver Lions were awarded to Talented, Bangalore, for Nature Shapes Britannia campaign for Britannia Industries, and to FCB Kinnect for Too Yumm to Cheer!, campaign for Too Yumm!


In the Print & Publishing category, Ink of Democracy for the Times of India by Havas, Mumbai was applauded with a Gold Lion.


In the Health & Wellness segment, Naga Saint Eye, developed by Godrej Creative Lab for the Eyebetes Foundation, received a Silver Lion. The Pharma category saw Lowe Lintas, Mumbai, take home a Silver for Dawai Reader, a campaign for Alkem Laboratories.


This year, India sent 982 entries to the festival—up from 826 in 2024—across a range of categories. The country secured 22 shortlists across four categories — Outdoor, Health & Wellness, Pharma, and Print & Publishing. 


Indian work was shortlisted once in Industry Craft, five times in Design, four in Film Craft, two in Entertainment Lions for Gaming, and three each in the Music and Sport subcategories under Entertainment.


In Creative Business Transformation, Creative Effectiveness and Creative Commerce, India had registered three, and two shortlists each respectively. 

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-2025-india-wins-7-silver-ogilvy-talented-fcb-among-winners-70524.htm">Cannes Lions 2025: India wins 2 Gold, 7 Silver & Bronze Lions; Ogilvy, Havas, Talented, FCB among winners</a>

Cannes Lions 2025: India bags a Silver Lion on Day 5; BBDO India honoured for Ariel #ShareTheLoad

The 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is, naturally, abuzz with discussions about creative inspiration. After all, it’s the platform where the year’s most creative work gets awarded! However, as you navigate the cabanas and conversations on the Croisette, the evolution of AI and its impact on the future of marketing is unmistakably evident.


While the debate about how much of a creative hero AI really is, may still draw conflicting responses from marketers, there is consistent alignment shaping the new dialogue: the role of AI across the marketing life cycle and the opportunity it presents for the CMO to orchestrate the strategic growth agenda for business. 


This evolution, therefore, also represents a progressive reimagining of AI’s role in marketing - improving productivity and democratizing creativity - but more importantly being the accelerator of marketing effectiveness and business growth. 


It's serendipity that this technology leap is coming at a time when modern marketing must make sense of unprecedented complexity and change - customer journeys spanning multiple touchpoints, data flowing from multiple sources, and market dynamics shifting in real-time. While marketing fundamentals are timeless, traditional approaches no longer match the velocity of today's business environment. 


AI has the potential to co-create solutions that do more than offer a head start on creativity. They amplify marketers in processing vast amounts of customer data, identifying patterns that human analysis might miss, and executing personalized campaigns at previously impossible scales. The result is a new genre of marketing that harnesses AI to combine creative vision with data-precision. 


Marketers are growing into their role as - 


<strong>Enterprise data leaders:</strong> There’s no AI without data and no data without the CMO, as the custodian of customer data, orchestrating it. The opportunity we have is to create integrated datasets for the organization. Marketers are starting to lead the conversation around investing in integrated technology architectures that provide complete 360-degree view of customer behavior.  The payoff extends beyond better targeting. When creative teams have access to rich, real-time customer insights, their campaigns become more relevant, resonant, and ultimately more effective at driving the outcomes that businesses demand.


<strong>Experience creators and collaborators:</strong> While building out customer experience has always been in the marketing domain, co-creating it with other C-suite leaders has not. But AI changes all of that requiring a much more collaborative, cross-functional approach that wasn't previously necessary. When companies deploy AI-powered customer experiences, they must navigate complex technical infrastructure decisions, legal compliance issues around data privacy and algorithmic fairness, and significant budget considerations that span beyond marketing's typical purview. 


This means that creating responsible AI-driven customer experiences now demands active involvement and partnership from the Chief Technology Officer for technical implementation, the Chief Legal Officer for regulatory compliance, and the Chief Financial Officer for resource allocation and risk management. Essentially, AI has transformed customer experience from a marketing-led initiative into an enterprise-wide strategic priority that requires C-suite alignment and collaboration.


<strong>Growth Orchestrators:</strong> Growth has always been a marketing priority, but attribution has been the biggest hurdle. AI plays a vital role here, processing complex data relationships to reveal how personalization at scale influence business metrics. With the clarity of metrics and insights that the AI-first culture brings, marketers are better connecting brand and marketing metrics to growth metrics. Performance marketing has always embraced the approach of measuring brand metrics, like campaigns driving preference, awareness, and consideration, alongside their correlation to market share gains, while simultaneously tracking funnel metrics and conversion rates that deliver immediate results. AI will significantly accelerate this agenda.


The debate around AI for marketing is of course nuanced and multidimensional, and slowly but surely marketers at Cannes are seeing that the future belongs to leaders who can think business, act creatively, and leverage AI strategically.


<em><strong>Sumit Virmani is Global Chief Marketing Officer, Infosys. Views expressed are personal.</strong></em>


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/ad-agency-subtract-agency-shubhranshu-singh-writes-from-cannes-lions-2025-70317.htm">Ad agency subtract agency: Shubhranshu Singh writes from Cannes Lions 2025</a> 

Cannes 2025: Creativity rules but AI gains centerstage, writes Infosys' Sumit Virmani

On Day 4 at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, India added five more awards to its kitty—bringing its cumulative count to 31.


Results were announced across categories: Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Business Transformation, Creative Commerce, and Creative Effectiveness.


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In the Brand Experience & Activation category, Publicis Groupe’s Leo, Mumbai—that had bagged a Gold Lion on Day 2 for ‘Acko Tailor Test’ for the brand Acko—won a Bronze Lion. 


The heart is the most ‘hurt’ organ of the human body, which is subjected to conflicting emotions on a daily basis. Acko partnered with the tailors of the country to ensure that their customers’ took good care of their heart. As per World Health Organisation (WHO), if the measurement derived from the division of waist size by the hip size exceeded beyond a set limit, it signaled time for checkup, and tailors would gently nudge their customers to do so.


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FCB India achieved a remarkable hat-trick by winning Gold Lions for its 'Lucky Yatra' campaign for Indian Railways, not only in the Brand Experience & Activation category but also in both the Creative Business Transformation and Creative Commerce categories.


This brings FCB India's total count for 'Lucky Yatra' to nine metals: One Grand Prix, six Gold, one Silver & one Bronze.


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/modest-gains-for-india-at-cannes-ogilvy-vml-talented-bag-3-lions-for-titan-coca-cola-britannia-work-70719.htm">Modest gains for India at Cannes; Ogilvy, VML & Talented bag 3 Lions for Titan, Coca-Cola, Britannia work</a> 



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Ogilvy India’s ‘Eye Test Menu’ for Titan Company continues to impress the Cannes Lions jury with its introspective concept. The campaign consecutively won a Bronze Lion on Day 2, Day 3, and on Day 4. 


<strong>Read More:</strong> Cannes Lions 2025: <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-2025-india-wins-7-silver-ogilvy-talented-fcb-among-winners-70524.htm">India wins 2 Gold, 7 Silver & Bronze Lions; Ogilvy, Havas, Talented, FCB among winners</a>


Truck drivers, who don’t have a fixed timeline, have low income and are constantly on the go, like many others, largely ignore their eye health. With ‘dhabas’ being their pit stop, ‘Eye test Menus’ (alphabets replaced with food menus) were rolled out to order food and also test their vision. If detected with vision issues, an optometrist would conduct free-eye exams thus ensuring the good health of their eyes.


The country sent 982 entries to the festival this year—up from 826 in 2024—across a range of categories. Indian work was shortlisted twice in Creative Effectiveness and Creative Commerce, and thrice in Creative Business Transformation.  


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-2025-india-roars-with-14-lions-on-day-3-fcb-indias-lucky-yatra-grabs-a-grand-prix-70954.htm">Cannes Lions 2025: India roars with 14 Lions on Day 3; FCB India's 'Lucky Yatra' grabs a Grand Prix</a> 

Cannes Lions 2025: India clinches 5 Lions on Day 4; FCB India's 'Lucky Yatra' secures 3 Golds

<strong>By Rayomand J Patell</strong>

At the time of writing, we’re smack bang in the middle of the Cannes advertising festival.

Apparently if you go there, you instantly become a superior human being. 

God forbid you should win, for then, chances are, you will become an insufferable creative person, which to my mind is even worse.

Don't get me wrong. I love awards. Especially if they're won for real work on real brands that did tremendously better as a result of the campaign you created. A certain campaign I helped create even managed to get my community who's faced with extinction to have 400 babies (and counting). Got a few shiny gold things and even two blue pachyderms for that one. But I digress.

Somewhere along the way the purpose of winning awards got changed.

And not for the better.

The thinking by the Bean Counters went like this. If you could get your minions in Creative departments to routinely set targets and win awards, then they'd unalive themselves over it and on a good day you may even win a few of those gold plated Lions.

And you know what that does? Kicks up the stock price of the agency network or holding company. And allegedly even (lol) gets clients to choose agencies basis their rankings.

Imagine that. You're now effectively, a little hamster, churning out 'proactive' work, prostituting your God-given talent, for someone else to get rich with. 

It's not even like you're going to get rich, at best there'll be a Town Hall where your achievements are lauded for about five minutes. You may get an unprecedented seven percent hike even. Hurrah!

Stock options? Perish the thought.

Share of profit? <strong>blank stares will follow</strong>

Creative people have got to wonder if this is really the system they want to be a part of.

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/inspiraytion-26-vive-la-independents-67800.htm">InspiRAYtion 26: Vive La Independents!</a> 

To me it reduces and diminishes us to the worst form of sweatshop worker. To not have talent is one thing, to wilfully ignore the immense power you truly wield but seem to have forgotten about is another.

You have the power to change a brand's destiny.

For it is you that tells the people out there, what to do with their money. It is you that shows them what it means to be a better man, a better woman, a better parent or a better friend. It is you, that gives them a dream. And what is life without a dream?

Instead of working with utmost passion to figure out what you need to say and how you need to say it, will you put the cart before the horse and bother about how much of an award you're going to win?

There's a word for that. Four actually. A lack of integrity.

It's why your client views you with suspicion. Are you trying to make his brand win or yourself win?

There's a place and a time for awards. On a beach with plenty of firecrackers and definitely after the work has already won staggering results in the marketplace.

Do yourself a favour. Tune in to yourself and realise you have two choices. Find yourself and be a great advertising person or lose your self and be an 'awardising' person.

Watch the seminars. Share the work. Critique it. Celebrate a friend who wins by all means this week.

But remember this. An award is just a mirror to your Creative soul, the Sorting Hat so to speak out of the Potterverse.

You Cannes go over to the Dark Side, or you Cannes be a Jedi.

Choose wisely, young Skywalker.


<em><strong>Rayomand J Patell is an advertising veteran and InspiRAYtion is a weekly column on everything about advertising and marketing.</strong></em>

CANNES LIONS