India’s Cannes run slows to a solo shortlist

BBDO India earned India's only shortlist on day three of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The shortlist came in the 'Sustainable Development Goals' category for Ariel's '#ShareTheLoad'. With this, India's shortlists tally for the 2025 edition of the festival is 85, 25 more than 2024.

On day two of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, India secured 16 additional shortlists across seven categories, adding to its growing total of 84. The industry’s heavyweights — FCB India, Ogilvy, Leo, and DDB Mudra — all made their mark, reflecting a rich blend of creativity, culture, and clever problem-solving on the world’s biggest creative stage.

‘Brand Experience and Activation’ was a stronghold for FCB India, which scored 3 shortlists for its ‘Lucky Yatra’ for Indian Railways. FCB Kinnect followed with another for Too Yumm’s ‘Too Yumm To Cheer’. Leo stood tall here with 2 shortlists, thanks to Acko’s ‘Tailor Test’ and Oreo’s ‘History in the Baking’.

 

 

 

 

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DDB Mudra and Ogilvy each earned a shortlist — the former for Battleground Mobile India's ‘Great In-Game Wedding’, and the latter for Titan Eyewear’s ‘Eye Test Menu’.

FCB India struck again in the ‘Creative Business’ category with 2 shortlists for its ‘Lucky Yatra’ (Indian Railways), while Leo secured 1 shortlist for Whisper’s ‘Project Early Periods’ — a powerful piece of communication tying education and social impact together.

‘Creative Commerce’ proved to be FCB India's domain again. The agency bagged 2 shortlists — again for its ‘Lucky Yatra’ — marking India's only representation in this discipline.

In the hard-fought ‘Creative Effectiveness’ category, McCann Worldgroup India made the cut with ESAF Small Finance Bank’s ‘Dabba Savings Account’, while Ogilvy secured a spot with Mondelez’s ‘Erase Valentine's Day’.

The Womb kept India's flag flying in Film with its ‘We Won The World Cup’ for Jim Jam Pops, the country's sole shortlist in this discipline. 

India remained absent from the Luxury and Creative Strategy shortlists this time, reflecting a potential opportunity for future campaigns to break through in these spaces.

Day 1 highlights

Turning back the clock briefly, day one saw 23 shortlists for India across four categories — ‘Health & Wellness’, ‘Outdoor’, ‘Pharma’, and ‘Publishing’ — although the country missed a spot in ‘Audio & Radio’.

The Outdoor category was a rich hunting ground, yielding 13 shortlists, led by Ogilvy with 5 — including two for Titan Eyewear’s ‘Eye Test Menu’, and a hat trick for Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea’s ‘Chai Bansuri’, Coca-Cola’s ‘Coke Zero Auditions’, and Vi’s ‘Guardian Beads’.

FCB India made its debut with 4 shortlists for ‘Lucky Yatra’, Talented scored 2 for Britannia’s ‘Nature Shapes’, FCB Kinnect got a nod for Too Yumm, and Tribes Communication stood out with Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India's ‘Dry Thru’.

In ‘Pharma’, Lowe Lintas secured 2 shortlists for Alkem Laboratories’ ‘The Dawai Reader’, while ‘Print & Publishing’ saw Havas grab 3 shortlists for The Times of India's ‘The Ink of Democracy’, and Famous Innovations adding 1 for BMC’s ‘Seven Layers of Truth’.

For creative agencies and marketers, these shortlists underscore a key trend — campaigns tying powerful stories to cultural context, education, health, lifestyle, and financial empowerment — are making a mark on the world’s biggest creative stage. As the competition enters its final days, all eyes will be on which campaigns move forward and bring home the Lions.

For industry insiders, this signals not just prestige, but a clear view into what resonates globally — a rich blend of purpose, creativity, and commercial impact — a formula worth noting for future campaigns.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity confirmed a total of 26,900 entries from across 96 markets for its 2025 awards. This year saw growth in entries across various categories.

The Design Lions, updated to better reflect the strategic and behavioural impact of design, saw a 17% rise in entries. The submissions for Creative B2B grew by 13%, and the Entertainment Lions for Sport by 15%, indicating the rising importance of creativity in performance-led industries.

The entries for Strategy Track, which covers Creative Strategy and Creative Effectiveness Lions, rose by 10%—its fifth consecutive year of expansion. Submissions for Glass: The Lion for Change, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, increased by 53%, led by more intersectional work dealing with systemic issues.

Entries from independent agencies jumped by 18%, indicating a growing appetite for innovation outside large network structures. Latin America saw a 16% annualised growth in participation, indicating regional momentum.

In line with evolving content trends, 18% of entries to the Social & Influencer Lions were received under new sub-categories for creator-led content.