Cannes Lions 2025: India roars with 14 Lions on Day 3; FCB India's 'Lucky Yatra' grabs a Grand Prix
Continuing its winning streak since Day 1, FCB India's 'Lucky Yatra' also secured one Silver and 2 Gold Lions for its creative concept.
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After a successful Day 2 at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, India continues to roar with full gusto. Results were announced across categories: Creative B2B, Creative Data, Direct, Media, PR and Social & Creator.
India won a total of 14 Lions: 1 Grand Prix, 4 Gold, 7 Bronze, and 2 Silver Lions.
In the Creative Data category, Publicis Groupe's Leo, Mumbai secured a Gold Lion for 'Acko Tailor Test' for the brand Acko.
‘Ink of Democracy’ for Times of India by Havas, Mumbai, which had walked away with a Gold Lion in the Print & Publishing category on Day 1, once again, in the Direct category, garnered appreciation with a Bronze Lion for its innovative concept.
At the 2019 General Elections, around 33 percent of the voters did not turn up, and this resulted in 7,500 litres of unused electoral ink. The concept of ‘Ink of Democracy’ was a reminder to the country's urban population to untap the power of democracy through their vote and not waste the electoral ink. Result: 642 million voters turned up.
Continuing its winning streak since Day 1, FCB India won its second Gold Lion for 'Lucky Yatra' for the Indian Railways.
Coming to the Media category, ‘Eye Test Menu’ for The Titan Company by Ogilvy, Bangalore secured a Bronze Lion. Havas, Mumbai received its second Bronze Lion for 'Ink of Democracy'.
Eye health is the most ignored aspect, especially by truck drivers who don’t have a fixed timeline, have low income and are constantly on the go. With ‘dhabas’ being their pit stop, instead of food menus, ‘Eye test Menus’ (alphabets replaced with food menus) were introduced to order food and also test their vision. If detected with problems, an optometrist would conduct free-eye exams thus ensuring good health of their eyes.
Publicis Groupe’s Leo was awarded a Silver Lion for its campaign ‘Takeoff Takeover’ for Cathay Pacific. Dentsu Creative based out of Gurgaon was recognised with a Bronze Lion for its campaign ‘Garuda Rakshak’.
Indie agency Talented, Bangalore once again was applauded with a Bronze Lion for ‘Nature Shapes Britannia’ for Britannia Industries. Trees are cleared or are cut down to make way for OOH (Out-of-home) campaigns. Britannia's CSR campaign took the other route. Biodegradable billboards were designed to wrap around the trees allowing itself to blend as per nature's creative strategy.
In the awards shelf of FCB India for ‘Lucky Yatra’ for Indian Railways, only a Silver Lion and a Grand Prix was left. Continuing its 'Lucky Yatra', in the category of PR, FCB India earned a Silver metal.
The campaign garnered massive appreciation as they also earned the most coveted Grand Prix and its third Gold Lion on Day 3. Lucky Yatra touched upon railway tickets being transformed into lottery entries and paving the way for a non-ticketless journey.
‘Box to Beds’ for Amazon by Ogilvy, Mumbai bagged a Bronze Lion.
In the social & creator category, BBH India, Mumbai was felicitated with a Bronze Lion for 'Bassi v/s Men’s Facewash' for Garnier. And, Ogilvy, Mumbai won a Gold Lion for Mondelez’s ‘Erase Valentine’s Day’.
Speaking on Leo’s win, Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Publicis Groupe South Asia and Chairman, Leo South Asia said, “At Leo, we have always believed in the power of data—but more importantly, in the power of human insight. This campaign is a perfect expression of our humankind philosophy, where creativity begins not with a brand, but with a deep understanding of people. Sometimes, the most profound insights are found in places we least expect, quietly embedded in everyday behavior.”
Das further added, "We discovered that nearly every Indian family has a trusted tailor—someone who’s not only measured our clothes but inadvertently tracked our health over the years. That simple realization became the heart of a powerful idea. Kudos to ACKO for believing in it, and to the incredible teams at Leo who’ve made it a habit to uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary. This is creativity with purpose, designed to impact lives at scale—true to our belief in ideas that can impact a billion.”
Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative & Media Brands, South Asia, dentsu, said, "This campaign was born out of a deep sense of purpose. We set out to use creativity in the service of something meaningful, and we did just that. The idea touched lives, sparked conversations, and stood tall in one of the most culturally powerful gatherings in the world, the Kumbh. To now see it win at Cannes is a proud reminder that when creativity carries intent, it resonates far beyond its origin."
Wadhwa also said, "This win belongs to every single person who believed in the idea and brought it to life. It is a celebration of Indian creativity - rooted in culture, driven by meaning, and lifted by craft. And yes, we will be celebrating this one with pride, with gratitude, and with the team that made it possible."
Parikshit Bhattaccharya, chief creative officer, BBH India, said, “Bassi Vs Men’s Face Wash is an iconic campaign. One that started on social and ended up on broadcast. With all the attention the work has already garnered for the brand, a Cannes Lions metal is a great cherry on top. We couldn’t be happier for the teams at BBH and Garnier.”
