Adtech regulation a priority for Modi govt in third term: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Credibility of news and platforms are as important as monetisation challenges: Anurag Thakur

HUL: Meet the leaders who have emerged from "The CEO Factory"

Punit Goenka addresses Zee employees; ensures no layoffs due to failed merger

Disney's strategic sale to Viacom18 set to boost market share to 40 percent

The Leader's Edge: Storyboard18 in conversation with leaders, decision makers and disruptors

Nobody’s Perfect Retro Porsche Ad

In Conversation With Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard

Shahid Kapoor And Varun Ganjoo Speaks On PokerBaazi's Campaign

In conversation with IHCL’s Puneet Chhatwal & GroupM’s Kate Scott-Dawkins

Why are brands including e-sports in their sports marketing itinerary?

Storyboard18 x The English Nut: How to pronounce these 10 brand names

Experts' Take On Reinvention Of Ad Campaigns Through Technology

Experts Speak On Key Emerging Trends In Cannes Lions Entries

Leaders of the future have to be outstanding human beings: Nestle MD

In conversation with VMLY&R’s Hari Ramanathan

Header Menu

Latest News

Brand Makers

Gaming News

Brand Marketing

Media News

Special Coverage

Header Sub Menu

Digital Entertainment Summit

Delhi Literature Fest

Share the Spotlight

Global Pioneers Summit

Power of Purpose

The Visionaries

DNPA

About Us

Hamburger Menu

Quantum Brief

#FreeOurSkylines

Watch.Listen

Advertising

Agency News

Media

Interviews

As Britannia’s ‘Nature Shapes Us’ and Indian Railways’ ‘Lucky Yatra’ face backlash for winning prestigious awards despite limited public visibility or measurable impact, critics are calling out India’s advertising industry for performative sustainability and campaign-first credibility.

The controversy, sparked by Polina Zabrodskaya’s Substack takedown of Britannia’s Cannes Lions-winning campaign, has opened the floodgates for broader scrutiny. Zabrodskaya’s piece dissects the gap between Britannia’s billboard claims and its actual sustainability metrics, prompting industry voices to reflect on the rise of award-bait advertising — campaigns designed more for case study videos and jury rooms than real-world resonance.

Public sector efforts haven’t escaped criticism either. Indian Railways’ ‘Lucky Yatra’, created by FCB Group, was also awarded at Cannes but is now being labelled a “scam ad” for its limited reach among actual commuters and negligible behavioural impact. Critics argue that despite a slick film and digital circulation, the campaign never truly reached its intended audience.

The growing pattern has reignited debate over ethical responsibility — of clients, agencies, and award platforms alike in separating meaningful work from mere optics. Storyboard18 reached out to FCB Group for comment on Lucky Yatra. No response was received at the time of publishing.


“We create for Cannes, not consumers”

Suhel Seth, Founder & Managing Partner of Counselage India, shares his view on the growing disconnect between creative work and consumer relevance.

“Instead of creating campaigns for consumers, we now create campaigns for Cannes. Cannes is more important than the consumer. And the bigger tragedy? Clients are equally complicit. Every brand manager wants to prove their intellect through ‘creative’ campaigns, even if they don’t work in the market.”

He adds, “Other than Piyush Pandey, who’s genuinely transformed brands, I don’t think anyone in Indian advertising can claim real creative impact. The rest are lyricists, filmmakers, poets masquerading as ad people. No one gives a damn about the consumer anymore.”

On Britannia’s billboard campaign, Seth quips, “Britannia isn’t eating humble pie — it’s eating humble rusk. That’s what happens when you prioritize optics over outcomes.”

Scam culture and short bursts of fame

Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant, agrees that “scam ads, or ads that have a limited, award-specific print run (or media run for TVCs), have always been around — they are not new.” But he adds that the stakes are now higher:

“Every time a scam ad is exposed, particularly online these days, they chip at the reputation and credibility of all three involved — clients, agencies, and awards. Ad agencies are in the business of improving the reputations of their clients, so doing something that goes the opposite direction is clearly pointless.”

In the case of ‘Nature Shapes Us’, Srinivasan identifies two lines of inquiry. First, whether the billboard claims can be substantiated from Britannia’s reports. Statements like:

“46% of our plastic packaging is recyclable,”

“We recycled 50% of withdrawn water,”

“We removed 19 tonnes of plastic trays,”

“We use 35 million KW of renewable electricity,”

He adds, “if one looked through the tables and the numbers within, Britannia could be concluded to have done worse in terms of sustainability than what they proclaim on the billboards. This is the second line of inquiry.”

That leads to a critical question: Should Talented, the agency, take the direct statements at face value and mount a campaign to promote those?” Or should they read through the report fully, and question their client by pointing out the discrepancy between what’s stated directly, and what can be deciphered from the tables — the larger picture?

Srinivasan says, “Considering the fact that the agency is selling sustainability as the client's product, I believe they should consider the latter. This doesn't mean they need to legally vet the client's claims, but just deeply research them as any self-respecting advertising planner would do.”

He adds, “If there was a way that there may be a loss of reputation should counter-facts surface, the onus is upon the agency to bring it to the client's notice and then decide on a course of action.”

The Lucky Yatra problem

Public sector work isn’t exempt. Both Seth and Srinivasan refer to Indian Railways’ 'Lucky Yatra' campaign — another Cannes entry as a case in point.

Seth calls it “another scam. These aren’t behavioural interventions; they’re award entries disguised as campaigns.”

Srinivasan echoes that view: “This seems like a straight-off scam ad. When even the commuter association is complaining that the campaign was not ‘publicized enough,’ that says a lot about how limited there was awareness of an otherwise award-winning creative thought! Publicity is the very point of advertising.”

He recalls that while the campaign video “was doing massive rounds on WhatsApp and LinkedIn a few months ago,” it’s “a pity that it didn’t do the rounds with the very people for whom it was intended.”

“Most cause-based work is a scam”

Prathap Suthan, Managing Partner and CCO at BangInTheMiddle, who first attended Cannes in 1992, shares his perspective. “Back then, the work that won was real — campaigns that people actually saw. Awards were rare and precious. But over time, agencies started crafting campaigns purely for awards — work that didn’t really exist in the public eye but looked good in case studies.”

On purpose-driven advertising, Suthan says, “Most of it is a scam. It’s manufactured for jury rooms, not people.”

He explains how these campaigns are made, “All you need is a client sign-off, a senior agency signature, a media platform (even a shady newspaper or obscure digital placement), and a slick case film. That’s it. The public never sees it.”

Harish Bijoor, Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. offers a blunt reminder of advertising’s core purpose. "From a pure marketing point of view, advertising is all about selling. Advertising must be able to hit the ground selling and selling like mad."

"Brands, you know, are not out here to win awards. Brands are out here to make meaningful revenues. The true blue award is when a whole swathe of consumers adopt you and remain with you. And I think that's the purpose of real advertising, not awards."

Will anything change?

Not likely. As Suthan puts it: “It’s everywhere — Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, France, the US. You’d be surprised how many campaigns get pulled after winning. But many don’t get caught at all.”

Seth is more cynical still. “India is a goldmine of problems — every problem is a potential award. As long as that remains true, the scam culture will thrive.”

As the fallout from the Britannia and Indian Railways campaigns shows, the scrutiny is only getting sharper and louder.

Britannia and Talented have responded with a joint statement on the greenwashing allegations. The statement has been used in the following story. 

Read More:<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/exclusive-britannia-responds-to-greenwashing-accusations-71348.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">EXCLUSIVE: Britannia and Talented respond to greenwashing accusations</a>

‘Sham’, ‘scam’: Cannes Lions-award winning ads under public scrutiny

Indian agencies won three Lions on Day 2 of the ongoing Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Dentsu Webchutney picked up a Gold Lion for VICE World News’ 'The Unfiltered History Tour' campaign in the Digital Craft category.

Byju's got a Silver for its 'Masterji' campaign in Entertainment Lions and DDB Mudra won a Silver Lion too. The agency won the metal in the Industry Craft category for 'A Silent Frown' campaign for the Charlie Chaplin Foundation.

On Day 3, India agencies have added a total of 50 shortlists to the kitty. Here are the campaigns that are competing for Lions across Direct, Creative Data, Media, PR, Social &amp; Influencer categories:

Creative Data Lions

Ogilvy India got two shortlists for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shah Rukh Khan - My Ad’.

https://youtu.be/R3FnhpelBR0

Direct Lions

This year, India got nine shortlists in Direct Lions.

Ogilvy India picked up two shortlists for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shah Rukh Khan - My Ad’.

FCB India, Kinnect Mumbai, and FCB Chicago got three shortlists for SOS Children's Villages India's ‘Chatpat’ campaign.

https://youtu.be/vIm7oxT9hHw

FCB India along with FCB Chicago also grabbed two shortlists for the campaign ‘The Nominate Me Selfie’ for The Times of India. FCB India's work 'Unbox Me UNAIDS' for UNAIDS is also shortlisted.

McCann India received one shortlist in this category. The agency bagged it for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s Shagun Ka Lifafa campaign.

Media Lions


India has a total of 12 shortlists in Media Lions.

FCB India and FCB Chicago picked up six shortlists - three for The Times Of India's ‘Nominate me Selfie’ campaign; and three for SOS Children’s Village India’s campaign ‘Chatpat’. This campaign was done in collaboration with the network’s digital agency Kinnect.

Ogilvy India also got three shortlists in Media Lions. Two for Cadbury Perk’s ‘Perk Disclaimer’ campaign, and one for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shahrukh Khan - My Ad’ campaign.

BBDO India received two shortlists. One each for P&amp;G’s ‘Name Change Pack #ShareTheLoad’ and ‘See Equal #ShareTheLoad’ campaigns.

Mindshare got shortlisted for Sunlight Detergent's ‘Bring Colors Back in the Lives of the Weavers’ campaign.

PR Lions


SOS Children’s Village India's ‘Chatpat’ campaign by FCB India and Kinnect India got three shortlists. FCB India's ‘Unbox Me’ campaign done for Unaids picked three shortlists too.

VMLY&amp;R India’s campaign ‘Adeli’ done for Unipads has received three shortlists.

BBDO India's work ‘See Equal Share The Load’ for Ariel has two shortlists. Dentsu Webchutney and Ogilvy India has got one shortlist each. Webchutney picked for its ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign and Ogilvy India for ‘Nothingcoin’

Social &amp; Influencer Lions


Indian agencies added a total of 14 shortlists in the Social &amp; Influencer category.
Dentsu Webchutney's ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ for VICE World News got five shortlists.

Ogilvy India has one shortlist for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shahrukh Khan - My Ad’ campaign.

FCB India and Kinnect campaign ‘Chatpat’ for SOS Children's Villages India's got four more shortlists. FCB India’s campaign ‘Unbox Me’ for UNAIDS has bagged three shortlists. The agency has also received one more shortlist for the ‘Nominate Me Selfie’ campaign for The Times Of India.

50 shortlists for India on Day 3 at Cannes Lions

It’s a solid start for Indian agencies at the 2022 edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. India has managed to get a total of 17 shortlists across categories like Glass, Titanium, Innovation, Health and Wellness Lions, Radio, and Audio. As the offline edition of the festival kicked off today, Indian agencies added 20 more shortlists to take its tally to 37. This year Indian agencies and brands sent a total of 921 entries to Cannes Lions.

Dentsu Webchutney picked four shortlists in Digital Craft Lions. The agency’s work 'The Unfiltered History Tour' for Vice Media is India’s top shortlisted work, so far. A total of 82 entries are competing in this category.

India picked a total of eight shortlists in Film Craft Lions. Edtech giant Byju's received two shortlists for its 'MasterJi' campaign. Offroad Films got three shortlists in this category for Whisper's 'The Missing Chapter'. Leo Burnett India is the agency behind the campaign.

Early Man Film has a shortlist for 'Machine-Gun Mouth' for Battlegrounds Mobile India. DDB Mudra has conceptualised the campaign. Memesys Culture Lab's work 'Care Lives on #TouchOfCare' for Vicks India has two of them. Publicis India is the creative agency of the campaign. 165 entries have made it to the final round.

Six Indian entries are shortlisted in Design Lions. Landor &amp; Fitch India has got two shortlists for its 'Polly the Polar Bear' for Montessori Schools India. Leo Burnett India also got two shortlists for P&amp;G Whisper's 'The Missing Chapter'. DDB Mudra's 'A Silent Frown' for Charlie Chaplin Foundation picked a shortlist in this category. FCB India's work 'Unbox Me UNAIDS' for UNAIDS is also shortlisted.

Byju's is the only Indian company that got shortlisted in Entertainment Lions for its 'Masterji' campaign. DDB Mudra gave India its only Industry Craft Lions shortlist for its entry titled 'A Silent Frown' for the Charlie Chaplin Foundation.

No Indian work made the cut in Entertainment Lions for Sport and Entertainment Lions for Music shortlists.

FCB INDIA