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At the 72nd edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Indian agencies walked away with seven coveted Lions. The wins spanned three major categories — Outdoor, Health & Wellness, and Pharma — with a total haul of two Silver Lions and three Bronze Lions in Outdoor, and one Silver Lion each in the Health & Wellness and Pharma categories.

In the Outdoor category, five campaigns emerged victorious. Ogilvy Mumbai secured Bronze Lions for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea’s Chai Bansuri, created for Unilever, and Vi Guardian Beads for Vodafone Idea. FCB India also earned a Bronze for its campaign Lucky Yatra developed for Indian Railways.

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Two Silver Lions were awarded to Talented, Bangalore, for Nature Shapes Britannia, a campaign for Britannia Industries, and to FCB Kinnect for Too Yumm to Cheer!, created for snack brand Too Yumm!

In the Health & Wellness segment, Naga Saint Eye, developed by Godrej Creative Lab for the Eyebetes Foundation, received a Silver Lion. The Pharma category saw Lowe Lintas, Mumbai, take home a Silver for Dawai Reader, a campaign for Alkem Laboratories.


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“Winning at Cannes is always special — it means your work has cut through on the world's biggest creative stage,” said Dheeraj Sinha, Group Chief Executive Officer, FCB India and South Asia. He called the accolades for Lucky Yatra and Too Yumm! a “proud moment,” noting the diversity of categories as a reflection of the agency’s creative momentum.

“It’s not just about individual campaigns; it’s about a culture of creativity that encourages bold thinking and real impact,” he added.

India submitted 982 entries to this year’s festival, an increase from 826 last year. The country secured 22 shortlists across four categories — Outdoor, Health & Wellness, Pharma, and Print & Publishing — reinforcing its widening footprint at one of the world’s most prestigious advertising showcases.

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-sees-global-surge-in-creativity-but-no-mention-of-india-in-growth-narrative-70335.htm">Cannes Lions sees global surge in creativity - but no mention of India in growth narrative</a> 

Cannes Lions 2025: India wins 7 Silver & Bronze Lions; Ogilvy, Talented, FCB among winners

Andy Jassy, president and chief executive of Amazon, has been named the 2025 Media Person of the Year by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, an annual event that celebrates global excellence in advertising and communications.

The honor, one of the festival’s most high-profile awards, is given to an individual who has made a notable impact on the media and creative industries. Festival organizers cited Jassy’s leadership in steering Amazon’s expansion as a media powerhouse — from e-commerce to streaming, advertising, and cloud infrastructure — as a defining force in the evolution of global media.

Philip Thomas, Chair, LIONS, said: “Historically, each year, Cannes Lions has honoured outstanding leaders who have reshaped the media industry. This year, we are proud to recognise Andy Jassy and the entire Amazon organisation. Not only is Amazon the largest media platform globally, but it has also set new standards for scale, creativity, and influence, effectively creating a new model for media. Andy’s visionary leadership continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in media, and we are excited to honour him for his extraordinary contributions.”

The award places Jassy among a group of past recipients that includes prominent tech leaders such as YouTube’s Salar Kamangar, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Google’s Eric Schmidt, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Jassy is scheduled to appear for a conversation on stage at the festival’s Debussy Theatre on June 18, ahead of the formal award presentation later that evening.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/advertising/cannes-lions-sees-global-surge-in-creativity-but-no-mention-of-india-in-growth-narrative-70335.htm">Read more: Cannes Lions sees global surge in creativity - but no mention of India in growth narrative</a>

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy named Media Person of the Year at Cannes Lions 2025

<strong>"Mad Men built the brands. Ad Men chased trends. Will Sad Men scroll through the ruins?”</strong> 

In 2001:

- Mark Zuckerberg was in high school

- Google was a startup

- Smartphones didn’t exist 

- BlackBerry was emerging

- The iPhone was 6 years away

- Computers were mostly desktops

- No Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram.

At that time, digital advertising made up less than five percent of global ad mix.

Back in 2001, digital felt like a dial-up modem — noisy, slow, and clunky. It held promise, but lacked the speed, fluidity, and mobile-first intelligence of today’s always-on, data-driven world.

Cut to the present day -  Global Ad Spending in 2023, hit US $ 1 trillion (excluding China). Of this, digital advertising accounted for ~ 75 percent of all global ad spending in 2023.

More noteworthy is the fact that digital’s share grew from about 55 percent in 2019 to 73.3 percent in 2022 and to 75+ percent in 2023, indicating a steady rise.

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-makers/simply-speaking-shorts-7-process-over-imagination-68691.htm">Simply Speaking Shorts #7: Process over imagination?</a> 

The United States with approximately $265 billion is the top digital ad revenue market. Alphabet & Meta together are at nearly 50 percent of global digital spends highlighting both their massive reach and clout. 

As more advertising money shifts online, an even larger portion is being captured by Google and Facebook, which last year absorbed 90 percent of all new digital ad spending. 

Their share of the global digital advertising market is expected to reach around 70 percent in the coming years.

Video-streaming, is primed up for an advertising revenue bonanza. As the streaming wars heat up, subscription-based services will also sell commercials to fund their investment in new content.

Amazon is still a distant challenger in digital ads but growing fast, feeding off Google's search business as online product searches now happen on Amazon. Effectiveness is its differentiation. Shoppers come to the site ready to buy and data allows it to target consumers well. Advertising dollars will eventually pour in via Amazon Prime video as well. 

Advertisements serve a clear economic purpose. Companies offering goods and services must inform potential customers about what they provide and why it’s appealing. Advertising helps consumers make more informed choices benefiting both businesses and buyers more than if no advertising existed at all.

This theory held for almost a century. 

Then, the digital sunrise happened. Legacy media talks TO audiences; digital media talks WITH them, then follows them, tracks them, and sells to them. 

In the old days, marketers decided WHAT to show consumers, WHEN to show it, WHERE to show it and HOW to show it.  Today, consumers decide what they want to see, when they want to see it where they want to see it and how they want it to be shown to them.

Everything changed beyond a recognisable mutation. 

In every other era, the change was in one area or the other. E.g - content (Print to Radio to TV), modalities (D2C, B2B) or consumer habits. 

With digital, everything was changing simultaneously at warp speed. The result is the ongoing reshaping of Madison Avenue. 

The biggest evidence is the Omnicom’s takeover of Interpublic, the coming together of the world's third and fourth-largest ad-agency holding companies by revenue. But will it shift advertising's centre of gravity closer to New York?

The global “ad-agency industry” has grown by barely three percent a year since 2018, according to best estimates. This is simply not sustainable.

There is a structural issue. Generally speaking, large advertisers and corporations want to shift their creative and media duties to better, but cheaper, providers. 

On the other hand, cost of doing business, injestion of technology and the provision of better services means ‘talent, tech & table stakes’ are becoming more expensive for these agencies.

Artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to erode their role further. AI tools are making it easier for clients to take advertising in-house, or give the work to smaller agencies.

Holding company bosses need savings by merging shared functions, and provide cash to invest more in AI technology.

Perhaps more likely is that agencies push further into new kinds of work. The "holy grail" in the industry is combining ad-buying with data analysis. Now agencies are competing more closely with consulting firms, which in turn are venturing into the ad-content business, with offshoots such as Accenture Song.

The part of the advertising industry that seems most vulnerable is the erstwhile ‘creative core’.


<em><strong>Shubhranshu Singh is CMO, Tata Motors CVBU. He writes Simply Speaking, an exclusive column on Storyboard18. Views expressed are personal.</strong></em>

<a href="http://Cannes Lions sees global surge in creativity - but no mention of India in growth narrative">Read more: Cannes Lions sees global surge in creativity - but no mention of India in growth narrative</a>


Ad agency subtract agency: Shubhranshu Singh writes from Cannes Lions 2025

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that a total of 26,992 entries, an increase of 6 percent from 2022, have been received into the 2023 Awards. 

Commenting on the awards, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “The shifts in the work that’s been entered provides us with a powerful insight into the industry landscape and the emerging trends. A high increase in submissions made directly from consumer product brand companies demonstrates the value being placed on creativity that drives business. The strong engagement across a breadth of Lions including emerging areas like B2B, Gaming, Commerce and Business Transformation - shows us that there is a growing confidence and investment in non-traditional channels. Over the next week, our Juries will curate a body of  Lion-worthy work and set the global benchmark that will propel us into the year ahead, supporting those using creativity to drive progress.”

 In its inaugural year, the Entertainment Lions for gaming have received 609 submissions, demonstrating the increase of collaboration between brands and the growing gaming industry. Philip Thomas, chairman, LIONS, commented, “The number of submissions received in its first year shows a really strong engagement with the Gaming Lion and is testament to the relevance and opportunity that Gaming now holds within the creative marketing community. We’re excited to see the body of work that emerges from this Lion, and I’d like to thank the Jury in advance for setting the very first benchmark in creativity in Gaming and showing what is possible in this hugely exciting area.”

 Some of the Lions with increased engagement include the brand experience & activation Lions which have seen an increase of 16 percent, compared to 2022, reflecting brands’ renewed focus on enhancing customer experience and brand building. The creative strategy Lions have increased by 35 percent, recognising the application of creative solutions that allow brands to unlock sustainable growth and measure impact effectively. Now in its third year, the creative business transformation Lions have seen a 59 percent increase, demonstrating how creativity is a driving force behind successful businesses going through a time of change. The creative commerce Lions have increased 25 percent YOY, demonstrating an area of high innovation in creative customer journeys and paths to purchase. Outdoor Lions have seen an increase of 7 percent in submissions; partly driven by the FMCG sector where entries grew by 30 percent YOY and also from the travel sector which saw an 84 percent increase YOY. The entertainment Lions - which sit at the intersection of branded content and culture - have increased 18 percent YOY and saw a 78 percent jump in submissions from the consumer services sector. 
 

Cannes Lions receives 26992 entries for 2023; 6 percent increase from 2022

Cannes Lions has launched Entertainment Lions for Gaming. The new Lion will be judged and awarded for the first time in June 2023, with Francine Li, Global Head of Marketing, Riot Games, serving as the inaugural Jury President. 

The Entertainment Lions for Gaming, originally a part of the Entertainment Lions, is being introduced as part of a long-term plan that started when Cannes Lions separated out the Entertainment Lions for Music in 2016 and then later the Entertainment Lions for Sport in 2019.

Speaking about the new Lion, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “We’ve seen the number of Lion winners that feature gaming rise by 74% in the last five years. Based on the velocity at which this space is evolving, and the increased relevance that Gaming now holds within the creative marketing community, this feels like a natural progression. We also can’t ignore that Gaming is bigger than Hollywood and the music industry combined. I’d like to thank all the many agencies, brands, gaming experts and passionate advocates from around the world  who have helped shape this new Lion. Our belief is that this award will offer a new benchmark, and shine a spotlight on creative work that sits at the intersection of brands, creativity, gaming, customer experience and communities. I’d like to thank Francine for agreeing to lead the first Entertainment Lion for Gaming jury in 2023, we are grateful for her wealth of talent and expertise.”

The Entertainment Lions for Gaming will recognise creative work that connects people to brands through gameplay. Submissions will need to demonstrate how brands successfully tapped into complex gaming communities and seamlessly added real value to the overall gaming experience while driving commercial success.

About her role, jury president of the Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Francine Li, said, “I’m honoured and excited to serve as the inaugural Jury President of the Entertainment Lions for Gaming. This new Lion is being introduced at a time when the gaming industry is truly reaching new heights. I believe that gaming is the future of entertainment, bringing together passionate global communities in shared immersive and interactive experiences. The creative work in gaming is community driven, deeply rooted in insight and adds value to the player experience, a true definition of modern marketing. I look forward to celebrating groundbreaking work and awarding the first ever Entertainment Lions for Gaming with a jury of my esteemed peers.” 

The jury, which will be announced early next year, will be multidisciplinary and comprise creatives, brands, gaming experts, publishers, platforms and producers.


Cannes Lions introduces Entertainment Lions for Gaming

The 2022 Lions Creativity Report features 15 Indian creative professionals. The annual report ranks the most creative businesses and people in the world based on performance at Cannes Lions. 

The Lions Creativity Report presents four Regional Network of the year awards and 11 global awards: Creative Company, Network, Agency, Independent Agency, Creative Brand and Palme d’Or, as well as Health Network, Health Agency, Media Network, Agency by Track, and Independent Agency by Track of the Year. The creative rankings also include the top performing Director, Art Director, Creative Director and Copywriter.

Also included in the report are analysis and insights from the winning work and lessons on how brands are growing businesses and tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems in innovative ways. The themes covered include: Creativity for Growth; Scalable Solutions; Craft with a Conscience; Tech in Service to the Idea; and Invite Everybody.

Speaking about the report, Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said, “It's a celebration and also a tool for future success. The official global creativity rankings provide a definitive benchmark for the industry, accompanied by insights and commentary from our winners and the talented experts who judged the work this year. I would like to congratulate everyone who ranked this year. Together, they set the global benchmark for creativity.”
The official people rankings are announced as follows:

<strong>Creative Director of the Year: </strong>

1. Aabhaas Shreshtha, Dentsu Creative, Bengaluru, India

1. Amey Chodankar, Dentsu Creative, Bengaluru, India

1. Ashwin Palkar, Dentsu Creative, Bengaluru, India

1. Binaifer Dulani, Dentsu Creative, Bengaluru, India

1. Geetika Sood, Dentsu Creative, Bengaluru, India

1. Kushal Lalvani, Dentsu Creative, Bengaluru, India

2. Eduardo Tavares, Area 23, an IPG Health Network Company, New York, USA

3. Andrey Tyukavkin, Publicis Italy, Milan

3. Eoin Sherry, Publicis Italy, Milan

<strong>Director of the Year: </strong>

1. Ronak Chugh, Freelance, Bengaluru, India

1. Sergio Rapu, Freelance, Bengaluru, India

2. Bryan Buckley, HUNGRY MAN, Los Angeles, USA

3. Lieven Anthonise, eRACINGTV, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

3. Sidney Van Wichelen, Freelance, St-Niklaas, The Netherlands

3. Witten Anthonise, eRACINGTV, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

<strong>Art Director of the Year: </strong>

1. Karthik Nambiar, DENTSU CREATIVE, Bengaluru, India

1. Manasi Sheth, DENTSU CREATIVE, Bengaluru, India

1. Sachin Ghanekar, PURPLE FOCUS, Bengaluru, India

1. Tanya Paul, DENTSU CREATIVE, Bengaluru, India

1. Vaishakh Kolaprath, DENTSU CREATIVE, Bengaluru, India

2. Katie DiNardo, LEO BURNETT, Chicago, USA

3. Sofia Gahn, LEO BURNETT, Chicago, USA

<strong>Copywriter of the Year: </strong>

1. Farishte Irani, DENTSU CREATIVE, Bengaluru, India

1. Meghna Yesudas, DENTSU CREATIVE, Bengaluru, India

2. MacKenzie Hart, LEO BURNETT / MISCHIEF @ NO FIXED ADDRESS, Chicago / New York, USA

3. Kelley Barrett, LEO BURNETT, Chicago, USA

The rankings are compiled using data from Lion-winning and shortlisted work from 2022. PwC is LIONS’ Process Integrity Partner and is responsible for independently confirming due process in the calculation and reporting of the Special Awards rankings listed in the Lions Creativity Report. Read full report <a href="https://em.ascential.com/ODk3LU1CQy0yMDcAAAGG2tf7C5FMoGqz7AD0xZ2E_QVb2uT2raQ8AifMgSMQPi4FRSoUoOJX-KKEtPX6BLZUPKLOHGU=">here.</a> 

Indian creatives dominate the Cannes Lions Creativity Report

First-ever Agency of the Year title to an Indian agency – Dentsu Creative Bengaluru, India’s first-ever five Grand Prix haul led by Dentsu Creative bagging three of them, First-ever Titanium Lions to Indian agencies – Dentsu Creative Bengaluru and Ogilvy India.



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Dentsu Creative India Team Speaks On The Historic Year At Cannes Lions

<em>“Advertising is the business of ideas. And ideas are a messy affair. Through rejection, self doubt, lots of failure, sometimes sadness, if you’re lucky, there arrives a moment of genius. That’s it. And from that moment on, it takes a village, in every sense of the word, to turn a germ of an idea into a beast with its own imagination.”</em>

I find myself going back to these words very frequently. It’s something that Gautam Reghunath, my current CEO at Talented and previously at Webchutney often quips. Personally, I’m one of those who genuinely believes that advertising is a team sport. Sure, most ideas can often be traced back to this one moment of genius that came from an individual in the team. But that’s just that moment. For it to ultimately see the light of day as a genius piece of work - that’s when real teams separate themselves from the average ones.

Earlier last week, Indian advertising witnessed its biggest haul at advertising’s biggest stage.  The Unfiltered History Tour created history as it brought home three Grand Prix <em>(still confused about its plural and I never thought I’d have to)</em> and the Titanium Lion.

Cannes Lions week was amazing but it was also often confusing, I won’t lie. The core team on the project moved on a few weeks after we put this magnum opus into the world, having decided to join our new venture, Talented. And we got together with the next team at Webchutney to see it through the award season over the next few months. The early reactions and impact of the campaign in December 2021 had instilled in all of us a certain confidence that The Unfiltered History Tour had a fair shot on the biggest stages. And prove us right it did.

While we were sad as creators to not have some of us representing Webchutney on the biggest stage of them all, there has been no bigger motivation for me than this campaign now being the standard setter for all future work from Talented.

As an industry, we can do better to celebrate creators more.

The Unfiltered History Tour itself is about topics like credit, ownership and belonging - exactly the kind of topics where we can do better as an industry. There have been some questions from peers about how it feels for the physical Lions not actually being in our hands. Well, to me, the physical Lions are merely a symbol. A symbol of success of nearly a hundred people across teams in Webchutney and partner companies who all had their tiny or big roles in adding to this campaign. In fact, in point 11 size, the credit list for UHT fills up two pages.

It’s always baffled me that even today most large legacy agencies are usually structured for a very tiny group of people to bear most of the credit 
and the upside.

We still don’t see enough mid-level talent being celebrated as creators, recognized clearly for their work, called out for their moments of genius, or even asked to participate in interviews. In fact I know of many publications that refuse to even take quotes from individuals below certain designations. But believe me, even the simplest recognition makes a difference. Careers can accelerate from it. It takes senior leaders with a sort of assured confidence to break that status quo. I’ve seen my CCO at Talented, PG Aditiya be a torchbearer of generosity and in giving credit publicly and proudly. But then again, shouldn’t that be the natural default across creative industries?

There’s also the argument that creative agencies working for brands are supposed to be behind the curtains. I can understand that to an extent. But taking it to the extreme hurts creativity, not foster it.

We also need to create a culture where we feel secure enough to credit our creative influences, especially if it’s work by other agencies that inspired that moment of genius. We owe it to the spirit of our fraternity.

Let’s aim to credit thought leaders and creative talent from other industries who’ve influenced us. To credit the entire team so that they realise the part they have to play in building and moulding culture, and bask in its upside. To even credit alumni and make room for them on award stages for work they’ve done. So many radical sounding ideas around these topics in advertising are actually quite normal everywhere else.

As someone who loves the Indian advertising industry, it’s important we can have honest and open conversations about its flaws. And then take affirmative action to make it better.





Unfiltered credit where credit is due

In the recently concluded Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, VMLY&R India's 'The Killer Pack' campaign for Maxx Flash bagged a Grand Prix at the Health & Wellness Lions. The agency’s commerce division picked up a Gold Lion in the Creative Commerce category for Unilever’s ‘Smart Fill’ campaign. These big wins at a global platform like Cannes Lions is an indication that the agency is ramping up its capabilities to create more future-ready, cutting-edge work.
For instance, 'The Killer Pack' campaign for Maxx Flash which fetched the agency a Grand Prix may look like a purpose-led initiative but it has more layers to it which made it stand out.

Here’s what the campaign focused on:

In India, garbage collection points act as major breeding grounds for diseases like dengue and malaria, while mosquito repellent coils are only used to fight mosquitoes inside homes, Maxx Flash and VMLY&R decided to change that. The mosquito repellent brand introduced The Killer Pack, with 100% biodegradable packaging lined with 5% Active Probiotic Bacillus thuringiensis, which kills mosquito larvae when disposed of in garbage dumps, dustbins, and stagnant water, which, the company claims, helps to break the cycle.

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With ‘Smart Fill’, which was launched as Hindustan Unilever’s (a subsidiary of Unilever) in-store vending model for its home care products, VMLY&R Commerce is trying to move sustainability narrative to actual practice. The consumer giant has plans to expand ‘Smart Fill’ machines across prominent retailers and modern trade outlets in India. To access products from the Smart Fill machine, consumers can either use their old empty bottles or purchase a ‘Smart Fill’ bottle from the store at a nominal price.

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Storyboard18 caught up with Mukund Olety, CCO, VMLY&R India and Arpan Jain, ECD, VMLY&R Commerce India, to dig into the making of these campaigns and the advertising trends that will shape the rest of 2022.

Read on:

<strong>VMLY&R India won Lions in categories like Creative Commerce and Creative Business Transformation. It’s putting India high up on the creative world map in categories it didn't have much presence in. What do clients really want from award winning agencies like yours?</strong>

Jain: Our winning campaigns are great examples of purpose powered creativity, which is what we stand for as an agency. Brands are looking for ideas that have the power to drive business transformation, while bringing about real change in society. It’s about adding value to a brand by adding value to its consumers’ lives.

<strong>What according to you makes Unilever’s ‘Smart Fill’ campaign a winning initiative?</strong>

Jain: The beauty of Smart Fill is that it stems from the Indian mindset of resourcefulness. India has a culture of thrift. Unlike the West, trade-offs are expected with every action. People carry their own bags to supermarkets to avoid paying for carry bags. It isn’t that they cannot afford a Rs5 carry bag on a shopping bill of Rs5000, but they do not want to be wasteful.

India also has a cultural practice of repurposing used packaging. Cookie tins are reused as sewing kits, soda bottles are converted into spray bottles.

So, it’s not just about providing an alternative to new plastic packaging but creating a strong ‘value’ connotation to drive mass adoption of the model.

<strong>What do people not know about a campaign like 'The Killer Pack' for Maxx Flash that picked up a Grand Prix this year?</strong>

Olety: The toughest part was executing the idea. While our client bought into the idea, we had to go through a whole lot of hurdles before we got our hands on the bacterial strain. It was not just difficult to access but also difficult to transport. And once we had the bacteria, we tried different ways to infuse it into the packaging. After multiple tries, a smart solution was found. We used a debossed design in which the bacteria was placed. We also managed to infuse it into the ink. That made the pack doubly potent. The bacteria in the ink releases immediately when in a moist environment and the bacteria in the debossed section starts to work as the pack breaks down.

<strong>In terms of the work at Cannes, what did you pick up as some of the key advertising trends that will shape the rest of the year?</strong>

Jain: You would have noticed the shift from creative e-commerce to creative commerce at Cannes this year. Creative commerce brings the element of conversion to brand experiences, making sure we give customers the option to buy online or in the physical space. This shift was to highlight the different emerging areas of commerce and it will broaden the horizons of creativity for business and talent, for years to come.

There was talk of aiming to make every ad a green ad by 2030, and I couldn’t agree more with the speakers. The future is all about sustainable innovation and we’re going to see a lot more.

We saw some really interesting campaigns that were set inside games in the metaverse. I look forward to seeing more brandverses come alive with fun interactions and unique experiences. If your campaign can entertain, enlighten and encourage purchases at the same time, you’ve struck gold!

<a href="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/Future-of-advertising-as-seen-at-Cannes-Lions.webp"><img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/Future-of-advertising-as-seen-at-Cannes-Lions.webp" alt="" width="700" height="700" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-493" /></a>




Making of VMLY&R India’s Grand Prix winning campaign

On June 22, on Storyboard18, we <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/storyboard18-indian-adland-becomes-more-mature-in-matters-of-credit-8720411.html">wrote</a> about Indian adland becoming more mature in matters of credit. There seems to be a sudden renewal of sorts in the industry’s intention to foster a credit culture.

It started with Dentsu Webchutney’s award-winning campaign.

Dentsu Webchutney (now rolled into Dentsu Creative Group India) is the agency behind India’s historic win at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity this year. And it also helped set the right example for this positive trend around <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/storyboard18-2022-was-indias-historic-year-at-cannes-lions-heres-why-8736811.html">credit</a>.

VICE World News’ <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/features/storyboard18-a-bts-look-making-of-the-unfiltered-history-tour-7817971.html">‘The Unfiltered History Tour’</a> that fetched India three Grand Prix, one Titanium Lion, ‘Global Agency Of The Year’ title, and a troop of other Lions, was a work led by PG Aditiya and Gautam Reghunath when they ran the show at Dentsu Webchutney. The duo left the agency to set up Talented, a new creative shop. Dentsu Webchutney continued to celebrate the work and entered at multiple awards shows across the globe, giving everyone their due credits.


Eighteen months were spent putting together a guided tour for visitors at the British Museum, which houses some of the world’s most disputed artefacts. Through The Unfiltered History Tour, visitors to the museum could scan the artefacts using Instagram filters and unlock an augmented reality (AR) experience that visually teleported the objects back to their homeland. Dentsu Webchutney, Aditiya, Reghunath, and an army of creative and tech professionals who were behind the campaign cheered each other all through the week when the campaign picked Lion after Lion at the Oscars of advertising.

The applause also came from other agencies present in Cannes and from back home.

Then, at Cannes, there came another big announcement for the agency. As a part of Dentsu International’s global transformation strategy, Dentsu Creative Group has official come into force. The group has aligned all its creative agencies into one unit. While Dentsu Webchutney as a brand name will not exist anymore, the agency’s people and work have roared to grab global attention, for one last time.

Storyboard18 spoke to Dentsu Creative Group India’s CEO Amit Wadhwa to understand what made ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ a standout campaign and what the Indian market means to the global network. Read on: 

<strong>Dentsu Webchutney’s work ‘The Unfiltered Tour’ for Vice has put India on the top of the world creative map. 
What according to you made it a standout campaign?</strong>

India has always had a vast and fabulous history of creativity. Just look at our story - from the Indus Valley to creations like the Taj Mahal. What this campaign has done is shone a spotlight on our inherent culture of creativity and our ability to make ideas shine. It has been such a profoundly moving and humbling experience to have this campaign be a conduit for showcasing the larger Indian story of talent and creativity.

The fact that this campaign resonated with people experiencing the tour both at the British Museum, and at home says a lot about the discourse of colonialism itself. How we don’t talk about it enough, and yet so many people live with a narrative that doesn’t do justice to their culture and heritage. The campaign’s impact came from the authenticity of activities, professors, and contributors of the campaign. Their pain of the past seamlessly touches the hearts of so many people. We couldn’t be more grateful to our client, and the people who worked towards bringing this piece of work to life.

<strong>We understand ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ took close to 18 months to put together. What was the core idea of the campaign and what were the client’s expectations?</strong>

The core idea was simple - how can we build a narrative around these disputed artefacts that are not perceived from just one end of the spectrum and consequently, make it as educative as possible. The potential of the concept grew as we moved along and VICE was an integral part of the crafting and development of this campaign, the perspective they brought on the table aided in fuelling the overall creative product you see today.

Our mission to decolonise a small part of the internet, making educative material available for future generations to come, developing assets after multiple rounds of fact checking, making sure we’re doing justice to the communities we’re representing — Dentsu Creative and VICE worked hand-in-hand for every step of the way. 

<strong>A lot has changed since the campaign took off and bagged awards across the world. The core team that worked on the campaign moved on. Dentsu went through a global restructuring. How did you manage to stand united while submitting work at award shows?</strong>

While working on the project for 18 long months, it goes unsaid that what fuelled this project was sheer passion. The team, then and now will continue to be proud of the project they put their hearts into. Because at the end of the day, this is more than just a project. This campaign is an instigator for creative businesses to take the discourse of colonialism into the future.  

<strong>What does it indicate to the industry when a campaign like ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ wins big during award shows?</strong>

The Unfiltered History Tour as a piece of work is a reaction to the complexity of the modern world, the competing narratives around history seen in the British Museum and the contrasting stories that are told around its exhibits. As such it’s a clear example of what we term modern creativity – the sort of work that creates culture, changes society and invents the future – it’s exactly the sort of work that Dentsu Creative and all successful agencies should be striving to create.

Clients want to differentiate their brands in new and meaningful ways and help consumers to navigate this complex world, so this win is indicative of the types of work that clients who want to prosper should be championing. 

<strong>Where does India stand on Dentsu Creative’s growth map?</strong>

India continues to be a strategically important and scaled market for Dentsu Creative. Between the pace of economic growth in India combined with our creative accomplishments, India has a firm place within Dentsu Creative’s growth agenda. Winning numerous creative accolades year after year is a testament to their understanding and delivery of modern creativity for clients. This creative success will be amplified by the way we are organising ourselves as a network so that great creative can be impacted everywhere.





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