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

The eight-week long Lucky Yatra Yojana, which was operational from March 20th to June 15th, pulled its shutters down owing to no significant increase in ticket sales.

By  Storyboard18| Jun 21, 2025 1:19 PM
The initiative aimed to reduce rampant ticketless travel by transforming ticket purchase into a lottery-like incentive.

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.

First Published onJun 21, 2025 1:19 PM

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