Noorings: India’s Lowest Cannes Lions Performance In Five Years

For a country that won 24 Lions and a Grand Prix in 2023, 47 Lions in 2022 and 22 Lions in the 2020-21 combined edition, 18 Lions seems a bit disappointing. The last India had such a tally was back in 2019. It should be noted however that in that year, India’s 18 Lions comprised only one gold, five silver and 12 bronze.

The key point to remember is that with that mix, India was the 11th most awarded country globally as per the Cannes Lions 2019 Global Creativity Report. The top three countries being the usual suspects -- USA, UK and Brazil, in that order.

The Global Creativity Report takes into consideration data and rankings of top-performing agencies, production companies, brands and people. With one Gold and two Silvers more this year, arguing that India is still among the top global best of the best is not too far-fetched.

The India camp at Cannes and back home is divided into a good and a not-so-good show, each side being valid in their positions. But it would be a bad idea to get hung up on that. The creative fraternity’s New Year begins on June 24, 2024, and it would be tabula rasa of sorts again.

Who Is India’s Top Agency
Leo Burnett has taken the top spot with conviction. Not only with Cannes Lions this year and last but also at home platforms like the recently concluded Abby One Show awards, Leo Burnett has been consistent.

The second spot is debatable between Ogilvy India and McCann. While Ogilvy has the larger count and the winning work includes three of its large brands, it is ahead of McCann but McCann’s gold win gives it the edge.

Ogilvy India’s Grand Prix in 2023 did shine the light on the agency but perhaps due to its creative reputation and legacy, a good run also does not look good enough. Naysayers have enough fodder to argue that Ogilvy’s once-dominant position at Cannes Lions is no more.

The likes of Dentsu and FCB are conspicuous by absence among the winners this year.

Where Are The Media Agencies
Mindshare, PHD and the like were completely missing from the festival. After being among some of the big winners in the past years, this is disheartening for the media agency brands in India.

WPP Still On Top
With two agency brands – Ogilvy and VML – bringing home a total of six Lions including two Silvers, WPP is the most ‘creative’ company in India. Incidentally, WPP also regained its Creative Company of the Year title globally this year.

Leo Burnett is the only agency from the Publicis Groupé that has won at the Festival, putting the French company on the second spot.

McCann’s three Lions and FCB Kinnect’s Silver put IPG as the third most creative company in India.

Noor Fathima Warsia

BW Reporters A veteran journalist in business and corporate journalism, Noor Fathima Warsia is the Group Editorial Director of India’s oldest business publication, BW Businessworld. In her role, Noor leads the editorial initiatives across BW Businessworld’s flagship product and communities focused on education, startups, healthcare and wellbeing, media & marketing, gaming, HR and legal among others. In a career spanning more than two decades, Noor has led the publishing of the flagship BW Businessworld magazine and its community magazines, guided the online editorial team and led communities such as BW Marketing World apart from working on editorial-led IPs such as BW Most Influential Women, BW India’s Most Sustainable Companies, BW Top 50 Marketers and more.