Are international awards an accurate measure of India’s advertising industry’s ability? For one, what works here doesn’t necessarily impress international juries, be it feature films or advertising. Yet, Indian advertising has risen steadily in stature, drawing praise from global peers.
In 2013, Indian entrants bagged 33 Lions at the International Festival of Creativity, Cannes — the world’s largest advertising stage. And the ‘problem’ with international juries surfaced. Lifebuoy’s ‘Roti’ innovation at Kumbh Mela drew a blank in Outdoor, Direct and Media Lions. And in Cyber and Radio, India was going nowhere. Though higher than in three previous years, our tally was dominated by Print, Poster and Outdoor work. Even chroniclers of advertising get to see a lot of this work only at ad fests.
In 2014, the metal-winning entries went down to 27, but included three Golds for work on HUL’s ‘Kan Khajura Teshan’, an innovation in media-dark India at scale that won maximum in even Mobile Lions. A single Nike ‘Make Every Yard Count’ film won seven awards. With due respect to creativity and craft in print, one feels more pride when a film that aired during India’s cricket matches wins globally. In other words, mainstream advertising we have seen and applauded already.
In 2015, the haul went down to 12, including a Grand Prix for work on P&G’s Whisper (Touch the Pickle). For those watching from the sidelines, more significant was a Glass Lions Gold by the same agency for work on P&G detergent Ariel Matic, ‘Share the Load’.
A year on, we were delighted to see its sequel ‘Dads Share The Load’ win global glory, while the original struck metal in Creative Effectiveness (for ongoing campaigns). India ended with 19 metals, not counting eight from the Lions Health competition, where Medulla Communications snared the ‘Agency of the Year’ title.
2016 also saw a Grand Prix for Brooke Bond’s ‘Six Pack Band’. Work reflecting social consciousness increasingly finds resonance with juries; it is also the kind of marketing consumers are seeking. There is another, less obvious trend. ‘Dads Share The Load’ won a Glass Lion, and one Film, Entertainment and Cyber Lion each. This, for a campaign, whose message is on every pack of detergent.
A campaign winning in multiple categories is something we must get used to. In 2013, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ for Metro Trains Australia won five Grand Prix and eight Gold Lions, among other metals*.
There will be some Indian creative work we haven’t seen shining at Cannes Lions 2017. Let us hope work we have seen also get their due. In either case, every campaign that wins Lions is a world champion deserving no less applause than an Olympian.
Whether or not our tally goes up, we can be proud that we have far more real work in contention today than say, a decade ago.
‘Blood Banking’ for the Indian Red Cross Society is making a real impact on the ground. So is a packaging innovation from Nestle for Nanhi Kali, where brand taglines on 100 million packs have been changed for the cause of educating the underprivileged girl child. Maggi ‘2 Minute Noodles’ is advocating ‘2 Minutes for Education’. Elsewhere, using technology, ‘Roads That Honk’ by HP Lubricants is breaking new ground.
A Gunn Report (which tracks global ad competitions) poll lists 20 ads from around the world, inviting Lions predictions. Among them are two Indian films, one each for Nike (Da Da Ding) and adidas (Odds).
Brands with more to give tend to have the last laugh at awards. But with the Cannes Lions, you can never be sure of the odds.
The author is an independent marketing and branded content consultant. Reach him at goks18@gmail.com
* The metal tally has been sourced from Campaign India
