Cannes Contenders: Data, darr, and a dash of disruption

Leo India has consistently delivered purpose-driven campaigns that spark societal conversations and shift cultural norms—evident in past efforts like Period Science for Moms and Stand Up for the Learning Gap. As it heads to Cannes Lions 2025, the agency is spotlighting its belief in creativity that does more than win awards. Its submitted entries underscore a philosophy of creativity that’s applied, outcome-focused, and socially resonant—campaigns that drive business results while creating long-term impact. Here's a look at the work it’s entering across categories that reflect this ethos.

Campaign: Takeoff Takeover

Brand: Cathay Pacific

Takeoff Takeover was the first of its kind hyper targeted airport takeover powered by real-time flight data. With less than 1% of the category’s media budget, Cathay Pacific couldn’t outspend, so it needed to outsmart. Hence, Leo India turned every competitor's takeoff into an opportunity for Cathay by reaching their flyers at their most vulnerable: their boarding gate. It tapped into layers of publicly available data—live flight data, aircraft data, real-time airport data, and complaint data from years of social listening. It turned all that cold data into clever creative, and used it to deliver the right message at the right place and time.

Campaign: Peaks of Courage

Brand: Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew’s new campaign, Peaks of Courage, builds on its iconic ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ (Victory lies ahead of fear) positioning by blending tech, storytelling, and real-world data to reimagine modern adventure. While Everest dominates headlines, Nepal boasts eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks—each carrying stories of grit. Through this campaign, Mountain Dew shifts the spotlight to these summits as metaphors for ambition and courage.

Executed by Leo India in partnership with the Nepal Tourism Board and Discovery Channel, the initiative provides a comprehensive digital ecosystem for climbers. Real-time data—like weather, routes, Sherpa availability, and terrain—was crunched into a “Fear Score,” quantifying each peak’s challenge level.

Each Mountain Dew bottle features a QR code linking to mdpeaksofcourage.com, a global platform that helps climbers explore Nepal’s 6K to 8K peaks with detailed insights, route maps, and Sherpa advice. It’s a smart blend of content and utility—adventure, algorithmically decoded.

Campaign: Mitti Ki Chithi (The Letter)

Brand: PepsiCo Lays

Lay’s, in its ongoing effort to support sustainable agriculture, has launched Reviving Mitti—a campaign that goes beyond just farmer partnerships to address soil health as the foundation of farming. Created by Leo India, the initiative recognises that declining soil quality affects yields and long-term sustainability. The campaign is anchored by an evocative film, Mitti Ki Chitti (Letters from Soil), which tells the story of soil revival through a symbolic letter from a mother to her daughter, a farmer.

Set against the cultural backdrop where ‘Mitti’ (soil) is revered as Mother Earth, the film captures the emotional and physical labour behind farming, while spotlighting India’s growing community of women farmers by placing a female protagonist at the centre.

Lay’s aims to make soil testing more accessible and mainstream by creating awareness at the grassroots level. The message is clear: soil health isn’t just science or policy—it’s a shared cultural and emotional responsibility. 

Campaign: #KeepGirlsInSchool #EarlyPeriods

Brand: Whisper

For P&G Whisper’s acclaimed Keep Girls In School campaign, Leo India tackled a pressing but underdiscussed issue: girls in India are now beginning their periods as early as age eight. To communicate directly with this younger audience, the agency created The Period Song—India’s first educational menstrual health anthem tailored for children.

The initiative didn’t just aim to inform girls, but also to empower parents and teachers with tools to talk about menstruation in a healthy, positive way. The song was reimagined with Indian music icons Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan, ensuring cultural relevance and wide appeal. Leo India also embedded period education into children’s entertainment, turning animated content into a teaching tool.

The result? Massive reach and impact. The campaign film clocked over 75 million YouTube views, while The Period Song saw 242 million views on Instagram. Over a decade-long partnership with Whisper, Leo India continues to drive real change in menstrual education and break taboos.