FCB India, Famous Innovations, McCann win big at the South Asia Agency of the Year awards

The South Asia leg of Campaign’s Agency of the Year Awards, held at Mumbai's ITC Maratha on December 2, was a glittering night of fresh victories and the continued dominance of familiar names. Seasoned marketers mingled with rising stars, toasting the most creative work of the year.

With four Golds, FCB India pipped one of the top crowns of the night — ‘South Asia Creative Agency of the Year’ — from McCann Worldgroup, which had led the charge last year with a total of six metals. FCB, which will soon be absorbed into BBDO under the new Omnicom organisational structure, also took home Golds for ‘South Asia Integrated Marketing Agency of the Year’, ‘South Asia Talent Development Programme of the Year’ and 'India Creative Agency of the Year'.  

McCann’s wins this year included a Silver for ‘Indian Creative Agency of the Year’, a Bronze for ‘South Asia Talent Development Programme of the Year’ and a Gold for the ‘South Asia Agency Marketer Partnership of the Year’ for its work with Dettol.

Famous Innovations led the charge for independent agencies, for the second year in a row, with a total of eight metals. Last year as well, it clinched the most metals for the night.

The agency's success this year was bolstered by its founder and chief creative officer, Raj Kamble, who in addition to retaining the ‘South Asia Agency Head of the Year’ title, was also named ‘South Asia Agency Growth Leader of the Year’. McCann’s Prasoon Joshi had won this honour last year.

Rounding out its tally, Team Famous took home the prize for ‘South Asia New Business Development Team of the Year’, a Gold for ‘South Asia Social Media Agency of the Year’ and two Silvers for ‘South Asia Brand Design Agency of the Year’ and ‘South Asia Independent Agency of the Year’.

OMD, which took home the regional gong for ‘South Asia Media Agency of the Year' as well as a Gold for ‘India Media Agency of the Year’ last year, clinched a Silver this year for the ‘India Media Agency of the Year’; Lodestar UM took home the Bronze. The ‘South Asia Media Agency of the Year’ lay unclaimed, indicating how the stakes for media agencies have increased in the last 12 months.

Other notable performances came from Shobiz, which claimed a Silver for ‘South Asia B2B Marketing Agency of the Year’, ‘South Asia Brand Experience Agency of the Year’ and ‘South Asia Event Marketing Agency of the Year’.

For Havas Media India, it was a night to toast young talent. Arushi Mathur, senior manager-content at Havas Play (Havas Media Network) bagged ‘South Asia Young Achiever of the Year’ award, taking the crown from last year’s winner, Preksha Purushotham Kotian (also from Havas Media India).

The agency also proved its mettle with a Gold in ‘South Asia Content Marketing Agency of the Year’ and a Bronze in ‘South Asia Agency Marketer Partnership of the Year’ for its collaboration with Hyundai Motor India Limited.

Akshay Multani, executive producer at Prodigious India, was named ‘South Asia Producer of the Year’ while Leo India’s chief strategy officer, Anirban Roy, won the ‘South Asia Strategic/Brand Planner of the Year’. The agency clinched a Bronze for the ‘India Creative Agency of the Year’ award.

Josy Paul, chairman of BBDO India, was named ‘South Asia Creative Leader of the Year’. Parikshit Bhattaccharya, CCO, BBH Communications, received a commendation.

While the night was filled with celebrations, some categories remained unclaimed, with no shortlists in ‘South Asia AI Person/Team of the Year’ or ‘South Asia AI AD Campaign of the Year’. These gaps signal that while AI is being used across the industry, most agencies are dabbling in it, not using it to drive campaigns, as was pointed out by some of the jurors.

The South Asia Young Business Leader of the Year award also lay unclaimed for the second consecutive year, highlighting the industry’s challenges in attracting and retaining young talent. It was last won by Mindshare’s Priyanka Arora in 2023.

The evening concluded with a clear takeaway: The South Asian advertising landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. With network agencies restructuring and independent agencies coming to the fore, adland is experiencing a moment of flux, opening the field for new entrants.

The key differentiator will be creativity. Or as Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Network India, summed it up perfectly during the ‘The Great Agency Freeze’ panel discussion: Data-driven creativity.

The entire list of winners can be found here.