Cannes Lions Day 1: India Kicks Off Festival With A Lions Health High
And the busy Cannes Lions week has begun again. More than 150 delegates from India have made their way to the southern tip of France in the hope to learn more on what is setting global marketing and advertising trends, and also to bring home some Lions.
On the second count, the week has begun well - again. Last year India's Medulla had won Healthcare Agency of the Year in Lions Health - the two-day forum that precedes the official Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The bar, hence, was very high. And Indian agencies have once again delivered.
Led by McCann Health and Medulla Communications, India has won four Golds, six Silvers, and three bronzes and a Grand Prix for Good.
With 41 shortlists already in six categories of Glass Lions, PR Lions, Outdoor Lions, Print & Publishing Lions, Cyber Lions and Promo & Activation Lions, the expectations from day two is already high even though India did not score any shortlist in the Cyber Lions category.
India's history with the Cyber Lions category per se has been on again and off again but given the fact that Cyber represents work in digital does raise a question on the kind of work done in digital in India, and why that stops to make a global cut.
For now, India appears to doing just fine on the awards front, which leads to next big area of the Festival - the knowledge sessions. Over the years, Cannes Lions has added several fringe events in addition to its mainline seminars in the Palais. This year is set to see some marquee speakers from the marketing and entertainment world in both of these. Captains from the India agencies who have made it all the way to Cannes are spending time in both seminars in the Palais and are looking forward to the specialist sessions as well organised by the likes of the IAA, MMA and other industry bodies.
The crazy week has only just begun. Much of Sunday went with Facebook, Google and other global biggies still taking over the beach and setting up shop. But from Day two, it is game on in every aspect of the Festival.
