Cannes Contenders: Dentsu bets on purpose-led tech

As Cannes Lions 2025 approaches, Dentsu has entered four campaigns that reflect what it calls “Transformative Creativity”—work designed to drive real-world change. Among them: SBI Life’s Hug of Life, which transforms a hot water bottle into a breast self-exam tool; Motorola’s Deep Connect, enabling safe communication for miners; DSP Mutual Fund’s Garuda Rakshak, which used drones to track missing children at the Kumbh Mela; and Live Amazing, Do Amazing for Amdocs, aimed at reshaping brand perception in India’s IT job market. Dentsu says each campaign blends purpose, tech and empathy to address meaningful problems through inventive storytelling.

Campaign: Hug of Life, a Thanks A Dot initiative

Brand: SBI Life

Cannes Lions categories: Health & Wellness, Direct, Media, Design, SDG and Brand Experience

Main article: In India, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women, yet only 18% have ever performed a self-exam. The best time to do a self-breast examination is a week after menstruation because that is when the breast is least dense. Hug of Life, a Thanks A Dot initiative by SBI Life, turned an object commonly used by women during menstruation pain, the hot water bottle, into a tactile guide for self-exams, transforming awareness into action.

Campaign: Deep Connect 

Brand: Motorola  

Categories: Creative B2B, Glass A1 Technology, Creative B2B

Motorola’s Deep Connect addresses a pressing issue in India’s coal mining industry, where over 330,000 workers face life-threatening hazards and lack communication due to explosion risks. The challenge was creating a safe communication solution in an explosion-prone environment. Motorola’s Deep Connect technology leverages existing walkie-talkie infrastructure to link miners with their families via a frequency-based ID system, providing seamless communication without sparking explosions. The solution is affordable at $200 per unit, making it accessible for widespread adoption. After a successful pilot with 100% adoption on day one, the project is now on track for national expansion to 227 coal mines, potentially impacting 1.65 million workers and their families. The innovation not only improves safety but also addresses emotional well-being by reconnecting families, making it a groundbreaking solution in industrial B2B communication.

Campaign: Garuda Rakshak

Brand: DSP Mutual Fund 

Categories: Brand Experience & Activation, Digital Craft, Direct, Innovation, Media, Outdoor, Titanium  

Garuda Rakshak was a tech-powered act of guardianship that turned DSP Mutual Fund’s purpose, ‘Invest for Good’, into action. Launched at the 2025 Purna Maha Kumbh, where over 660 million people gathered, it addressed a real crisis: the disappearance of children in the crowd. Traditional tech failed in this congested, chaotic setting.

DSP partnered with Falco Robotics to build drones modelled after the mythological Garuda, operating on 8-bit communication tech from the 1970s. These drones used ultra-low frequency signals from wristbands given to children to track their location — offline and in real time.

The result? Every child wearing a wristband was reunited. 78% of them were traced in under five minutes. The work improved brand health by showing DSP as a protector, not just an investor — using tech with empathy and purpose.

Campaign: Live Amazing, Do Amazing

Brand: Amdocs: 

Categories: Creative Strategy and Entertainment

India has long been home to IT powerhouses like Infosys, TCS and Wipro—brands that rose to prominence alongside the country’s ascent as a global hub for software development and business process outsourcing. These firms didn’t just create jobs—they fuelled middle-class aspirations, promising tech-savvy careers, international exposure, stable growth and strong salaries. Their stature was bolstered by stock market performance, iconic founders, widespread physical presence, and a pop culture glow that turned “IT job” into shorthand for success.

It’s against this backdrop that Amdocs began positioning itself as a serious talent magnet in India. Despite offering compelling opportunities—global operations, innovative products, and progressive work policies—it faced an uphill battle: low awareness. At the time, search interest for Amdocs was 1/25th of Infosys and 1/43rd of TCS. The problem wasn’t the proposition—it was the absence of brand familiarity in a market saturated with legacy IT giants and the mythology surrounding them.