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

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:EXCLUSIVE: Britannia and Talented respond to greenwashing accusations