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Tag: Cannes Lions

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi appoints Balakrishna Gajelli as executive creative director

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi appoints Balakrishna Gajelli as executive creative director

    Mumbai: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, part of Publicis Groupe India, has appointed Balakrishna Gajelli as its  executive creative director. He will be based in the agency’s Mumbai office and report to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi’s CCO Kartik Smetacek.  

    With over 17 years of experience encompassing art, design, branding & creative direction in  advertising, Gajelli has crafted creative communications for renowned brands such as P&G,  VISA, Bumble, Johnson’s Baby, Pillsbury, Amul, Tata Salt, Tata Indicom, Idea Mobile, ITC  Foods, Crompton, and many others.

    His outstanding contributions and wide-ranging expertise in the advertising and marketing  field earned him a place among top 5 creative directors globally in The Big Won report for  2016. Additionally, he has been recognized as the #1 Hottest Creative in India by the  Campaign Brief Asia Creative Ranking. Previously, Bala has worked with FCB Ulka, BBDO India  and Leo Burnett India.

    Commenting on his appointment, Smetaceki said, “This will be the second time I’m working with Bala. He’s a solid thinker, a  talented designer and a trustworthy individual. In recent years, he’s also gained a lot of  experience with non-traditional work, working on some on India’s most awarded campaigns.  It’s fantastic to have him be part of our team.”

    Gajelli added, “I have great respect for L&K Saatchi & Saatchi’s creative, authentic, and brand centric approach so I am thrilled to be part of this organisation. It’s great to work with Kartik  again, and the agency’s vibrant culture and uplifting environment are plus points. I’m  enthusiastic about becoming a valued member of this team and family, contributing to an  exhilarating new phase for L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, and nurturing my professional  development. I eagerly anticipate leveraging the insights gained from my previous stints and  experiences to craft meaningful and innovative advertising and marketing solutions for our  clients.”

    Bala’s work has won the highest honours at Cannes Lions, Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show,  LIA, WARC, New York Festival, AdFest, SpikesAsia, APAC Effies & Abbys. 

  • Cannes Lions launches Entertainment Lions for Gaming

    Cannes Lions launches Entertainment Lions for Gaming

    Mumbai: Cannes Lions has announced the launch of the Entertainment Lions for Gaming. The new Lion will be judged and awarded for the first time in June 2023, with Riot Games global head of marketing Francine Li serving as the inaugural jury president.

    The Entertainment Lions for Gaming, originally a part of the Entertainment Lions, is being introduced as part of a long-term plan that started when Cannes Lions separated out the Entertainment Lions for Music in 2016 and then later the Entertainment Lions for Sport in 2019.

    The jury, which will be announced early next year, will be multidisciplinary and comprise creatives, brands, gaming experts, publishers, platforms and producers.

    The Entertainment Lions for Gaming will celebrate creative work that connects people to brands through gameplay. Submissions will need to demonstrate how brands successfully tapped into complex gaming communities and seamlessly added real value to the overall gaming experience while driving commercial success.

    Speaking about the new introduction, Lions CEO Simon Cook said, “We’ve seen the number of Lion winners that feature gaming rise by 74 per cent in the last five years. Based on the velocity at which this space is evolving, and the increased relevance that gaming now holds within the creative marketing community, this feels like a natural progression.”

    He added, “We also can’t ignore that gaming is bigger than Hollywood and the music industry combined. I’d like to thank all the many agencies, brands, gaming experts and passionate advocates from around the world who have helped shape this new Lion. Our belief is that this award will offer a new benchmark, and shine a spotlight on creative work that sits at the intersection of brands, creativity, gaming, customer experience and communities. I’d like to thank Li for agreeing to lead the first Entertainment Lion for Gaming jury in 2023, we are grateful for her wealth of talent and expertise.”

    About her role, Li said, “I’m honoured and excited to serve as the inaugural jury president of the Entertainment Lions for Gaming. This new Lion is being introduced at a time when the gaming industry is truly reaching new heights. I believe that gaming is the future of entertainment, bringing together passionate global communities in shared immersive and interactive experiences. The creative work in gaming is community driven, deeply rooted in insight and adds value to the player experience, a true definition of modern marketing. I look forward to celebrating groundbreaking work and awarding the first ever Entertainment Lions for Gaming with a jury of my esteemed peers.”

  • DDB Mudra’s “Game Responsibly” campaign wins Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions Awards 2022

    DDB Mudra’s “Game Responsibly” campaign wins Bronze Lion at Cannes Lions Awards 2022

    Mumbai: In a first for Indian gaming, DDB Mudra’s “Game Responsibly” campaign for Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) bagged the Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions Awards 2022. Conceptualised by DDB Mudra, the first-of-its-kind campaign from Krafton addressed issues of continuous gaming, while reinstating in-game safeguards introduced by BGMI.

    Widely recognized as the global benchmark for creative excellence, the Cannes Lions Awards celebrate creativity across disciplines with specialist awards. As a crowd-favourite game with over a hundred million registered users, DDB Mudra and Krafton campaign focused on building awareness amongst players to cultivate healthy gaming habits while promoting responsible gameplay.  

    The slew of awards for this campaign began with a Grand Prix at Spikes Asia Awards, supported by two Golds, a Silver and three Bronze. The film then went on to win a Gold and a Bronze Lotus at Adfest 2022, three golds and a silver at the ABBY’s, a Graphite Pencil and three Wood Pencils at D&AD, seven Blue Elephants and ten Baby Elephants at Kyoorius. The icing on the cake came at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, wherein the film garnered four shortlists and bagged a Bronze Lion in the Film category.

    The campaign film employs the iconic gameplay sounds of BGMI as a metaphor for excessive gaming wherein the protagonist is shown mimicking the sounds incessantly. Humour is employed to drive home the features introduced by BGMI to combat continuous gaming, including OTP authentication for minors and limits on daily in-game spending. The film organically embeds the problem of over-gaming and its subsequent solution of parental control features into a relatable narrative that appeals to multiple audiences.

    Speaking on the film’s stellar performance at awards shows, DDB Mudra Group chief creative officer Rahul Mathew said, “Film isn’t usually the medium that we’re known for as a country. So, to have a film that has been celebrated on every stage globally is quite an honour for all of us.”

    “This is a historic moment for us, and we are incredibly proud that our collaborative work with DDB Mudra has been so highly awarded. The campaign had a plethora of challenges to creatively spreading awareness about in-game safeguards, and bringing gamers, families, and friends on the same page. Here at KRAFTON, Inc., our efforts are focused on ensuring safe, and responsible gaming while prioritising our gamers’ mental and physical wellbeing. The campaign was successful in reiterating BGMI’s responsible gaming measure in a manner that resonates with multiple audiences.” said Krafton head of India Publishing Minu Lee.

    “The Game Responsibly” campaign not only speaks to gamers but also brings their friends and parents into the conversation. By educating all three audiences, the campaign shows that there are simple solutions for an obsession that may otherwise have serious long-term effects.

  • Cannes Lions 2022: Decoding Pixel Party’s award-winning campaign

    Cannes Lions 2022: Decoding Pixel Party’s award-winning campaign

    Mumbai: A wholly independent Indian content and experience company and one of the key partners behind the ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign Pixel Party has created history at the Cannes Lions: The International Festival of Creativity. This is the first time an India based firm has won the highest number of Lions, including a Titanium Lion, three Grand Prix, one Gold Lion, four Silver Lions and three Bronze Lions. This stellar campaign was created by Dentsu Webchutney and Pixel Party, thus creating an unparalleled interactive tour of the British Museum using augmented reality technology.

    Being the most awarded campaign at Cannes Lions 2022, ‘the Unfiltered History Tour’ captures the story of the British Museum’s stolen artefacts. For this award-winning campaign, Pixel Party developed the filters for the British museum tour by using the first of its kind technology – LiDAR (light detection ranging), which was employed to create a dynamic auto adapting Instagram filter that blends satellite data with augmented reality, to account for changing lighting conditions in the Museum.

    Using Instagram augmented reality filters, visitors can scan the museum’s disputed artefacts and see them being teleported back in time to their countries of origin. It also relays violent moments in history with the help of ten experts from those countries. The visuals were inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s black and white films and were designed to match the emotional stories told by the experts.

    Pixel Party founder and director Kalpit Dwivedi said, “This has been one of the most exciting and rewarding journeys for us. The entire process of creating an immersive experience was fascinating and challenging. It forced us to think out of the box and tackle unique situations, and we are very proud of the results. Working with a hardcore creative advertising technologist like Gurbaksh Singh (chief innovation officer of Dentsu Creative) was very thrilling and inspiring. Technology enables more powerful, impactful storytelling. So, we decided to try this using a social platform that can build a rich experience for every user – which is how Instagram’s augmented reality filters became part of this project.”

    Pixel Party director Sumit Grover said, “Executing this entire campaign took almost 18 months and the entire journey was exhilarating. It feels truly incredible to be recognized on the biggest international stage. From the entire team that poured their heart into crafting this campaign, this is our commitment to further discourse that will make room for underrepresented voices in the industry. Well, it’s been a long journey and now it’s getting the rewards that it truly deserves”

  • Charu Gupta appointed as director of brand & content marketing at Hiver

    Charu Gupta appointed as director of brand & content marketing at Hiver

    Mumbai: Hiver has appointed Charu Gupta as director of brand and content marketing. She has more than 13 years of experience in brand, social and digital media marketing.

    Charu is based in Bengaluru and is an award-winning creative professional, having led engaging social campaigns for brands across various sectors – FMCG, lifestyle, apparel, finance, travel, and food & beverages, amongst others. She spearheaded the Whisper – ‘Touch The Pickle’ campaign, which won several awards including the Cannes Lion for the TVC. She has also created the highly acclaimed “TATA Tea annual property – The Photography Escapade”.

    Prior to Hiver, Charu has worked in leadership roles in organisations like Ola Electric, Chtrbox, Licious and GroupM amongst others.

    Hiver CEO and co-founder Niraj Ranjan Rout says, “It gives us great pleasure to welcome Charu to Hiver. Charu’s role will be to integrate Hiver’s brand messaging across traditional as well as new media communication channels. I have no doubt that with her experience and passion, she is well equipped to take the brand forward in this journey.”

    Charu Gupta said, “I am excited about my role and the opportunities that Hiver provides at such an interesting juncture where they are revolutionising the customer service ecosystem and changing the norms of accessibility. I’m looking forward to working with this exceptional team to grow the company’s brand and its strong base of customers and partners worldwide.”

  • Cannes Lions Day 2: A Gold for Dentsu Creative, Byju’s & DDB Mudra win 2 Silvers

    Cannes Lions Day 2: A Gold for Dentsu Creative, Byju’s & DDB Mudra win 2 Silvers

    Mumbai: The Indian contingent carried forward its winning act into Day two, clinching three more Lions- a Gold and two Silvers, taking its metal tally to 10. Vice Media’s ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ created by Dentsu Webchutney (now Dentsu Creative) added one more feather to its cap by winning a Gold Lion in the Digital Craft category under the Personalised Storytelling & Experience subcategory.

    DDB Mudra picked up a Silver for ‘A Silent Frown’ – a book on the untold story of Charlie Chaplin – created for the Charlie Chaplin Foundation in the Industry Craft category under the Print & Publishing subcategory.

    The second silver came for BYJUS in the Entertainment Lions category under the Talent: Film, Series & Audio subcategory for its ‘Master Ji’ campaign created in-house by the brand and produced by Dora Digs Mumbai.   

    Cannes Lions announced its second day of winners in the Industry Craft Lions, Digital Craft Lions, Film Craft Lions, Design Lions, Entertainment Lions, Entertainment Lions For Music and Entertainment Lions for Sport categories in a live awards show in Cannes, France.

    Furthermore, India’s shortlist tally increased to 57 with 20 additional shortlists across Brand Experience & Activation (10), Creative Business Transformation (1), Creative Commerce (4), Mobile (4), and Creative Effectiveness (1).

    Reacting to the Gold win, Dentsu Creative CEO India Amit Wadhwa said, “It has been a fantabulous Day 2 at Cannes Lions. After an exciting start with a Grand Prix, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze, we are ecstatic to add a Gold to our kitty. This is indeed a mesmerising experience. A big, big thank you to all our ex and present teammates for making this happen. It has indeed been a breathtaking miracle. Also, my deepest gratitude to everyone who has held their faith in our teams and work. Thank you!”

    Dentsu Creative group chief creative officer India Ajay Gahlaut added, “After the Grand Prix yesterday, the Gold today comes as yet another validation of the quality of the Unfiltered History Tour campaign. Winning against fantastic campaigns from around the world is a great feeling. While we are extremely grateful for the recognition that our campaign has received so far at the Cannes Lions, we are hungry for more!”

    Byju’s vice president –Brand and Creative Strategy Vineet Singh said on the win, “It’s a proud milestone for us at BYJU’S. The ‘Master Ji’ campaign is a testament to BYJU’S belief in creating and driving meaningful messaging to connect with its audience. We are extremely grateful for everyone who supported us in achieving this dream run and kudos to our brilliant in-house team for ideating and executing the film so beautifully.”

     Sharing his thoughts, DDB Mudra Group chief creative officer Rahul Mathew said, “A Silent Frown is a tribute to the man who regaled us all with his craft. And to be awarded for the craft of the book is quite poetic.”

  • Cannes Lions Day 2: Indian agencies win eight more metals

    Mumbai: Outdoing its seven Lions haul on day one of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2021, Indian agencies clinched eight metals on day two, bringing the country’s overall tally to 15.

    The eight metals won include one Gold, four Silver and two Bronze Lions, with DDB Mudra Group’s ‘Project Free Period’ campaign for Stayfree bagging India’s second Gold Lion at this year’s fest. The campaign won the metal in Creative Strategy category under the audience insight sub-category.

    Dentsu Webchutney’s The eight-bit journo for Vice Media bagged two Silver Lions and one Bronze Lion in Direct Lions, Creative Strategy Lions and Direct Lions, respectively.

    Continuing its winning spree on day two, FCB India brought home a Silver Lion for Mumbai Police’s Punishing Signal in the PR category and Not-for-profit / Charity / Government subcategory. With this latest win, the agency leads India’s tally with six metals.

    Ogilvy Mumbai bagged a Silver Lion for Dove #StopTheBeautyTest campaign in the Creative Strategy category under FMCG. Ogilvy Mumbai’s #NotJustACadburyAd campaign for Mondelez also won a Bronze Lion in Creative Data under Data-Driven targeting category.

    Lowe Lintas’ Bronze Lion win for its HUL’s Lifebuoy ‘H for Handwashing’ campaign in Media under Excellence in Media Execution sub-category rounded off day two’s haul for India.

    Tuesday’s wins were in the Creative Data, Creative Strategy, Direct, Media and PR categories. Here’s a look at the winning campaigns on day two of Cannes Lions 2021:

     DDB Mudra Group’s ‘Project Free Period’ campaign for Stayfree

    DDB Mudra Group’s campaign showcases how women in the sex trade actually look forward to periods as a welcome pause and time off from their regular work, in contrast to the opinions usually expressed by women during periods. The campaign #ProjectFreePeriod in collaboration with Stayfree India, attempts to change the conversation around two of India’s biggest taboos- periods and prostitution by reaching out to commercial sex workers in the country and helping them step out of the trade, by equipping them with other skills, one period at a time.

     Dentsu Webchutney’s The 8-bit journo for Vice Media

    This unique campaign was launched in 2019 when the people of Jammu & Kashmir were facing a communications blackout. Mobile networks and more importantly, internet access had been severely curtailed following the revocation of Article 370 by the government. Due to which, the average person who stayed updated through these channels, couldn’t. As SMS services resumed, the campaign combined decades-old technology and launched the world’s first teletext news portal: The 8-Bit Journo. Relevant news stories that came out in the last 4 months were recreated and sent out as text messages to lakhs of Kashmiris, thus connecting a generation of internet users, without the internet.

      FCB India’s The Punishing Signal for Mumbai Police

    Through this brilliant campaign, Mumbai Police and FCB Interface collaborated to teach Mumbai’s reckless honkers a lesson. They transformed a passive street signal into a Punishing Signal – one that taught Mumbaikars ‘how to #HonkResponsibly’.

     Ogilvy Mumbai #StopTheBeautyTest campaign for Dove

    This film by Ogilvy captures what Indian women go through during a typical arranged marriage matchmaking setup. It highlights society’s fixation with certain beauty ideals, wherein anyone falling short of those standards are made to feel rejected or

    undesirable. The film questions ‘How much beauty is enough?’and exhorts us to ‘Stop The Beauty Test’.

    Ogilvy Mumbai’s #NotJustACadburyAd campaign for Mondelez

    Here’s how Ogilvy made a Cadbury ad also an ad for hundreds of small local businesses across the country through this much talked about campaign for Mondelez. Which’s the reason they called it ‘Not Just A Cadbury Ad’.

     Lowe Lintas’ ‘H for Hand Washing’ for HUL’s Lifebuoy

  • Cannes Lions 2021: Seven Indians part of the jury panel

    Cannes Lions 2021: Seven Indians part of the jury panel

    NEW DELHI: The jury line-up for Cannes Lions (International Festival of Creativity) that will take place from 21-25 June has been revealed. Organisers of the annual gala celebrating the advertising, marketing, and communications network, have scrapped the on-ground event due to Covid fears, and have taken the digital route.

    Interestingly, the proportion of women in the jury panel this year is 51 per cent, up from 48 per cent in 2019. The complete jury list includes a total of 285 awarding jurors. Cannes Lions organisers will announce the list of shortlisted jurors later. 

    There are seven jury members from India in this list, and they are as follows. 

    · McCann Worldgroup India COO & CSO Jitender Dabas (Creative Effectiveness)

    · Taproot Dentsu India creative officer & founder Santhosh Padhi (Direct Lions)

    · Zee Studios India head content Ashima Avasthi Chaudhuri (Entertainment Lions) 

    · FCB India chief creative officer Swati Bhattacharya (Glass Lions) 

    · Lowe Lintas India chief creative officer Prateek Bhardwaj (Health and Wellness Lions) 

    · TBWA India managing partner Parixit Bhattacharya (Pharma Lions) 

    · Tribha India writer/director/creative consultant Sonal Dabral (Titanium Lions) 

  • Cannes Lions scraps on-ground event, goes the digital route

    Cannes Lions scraps on-ground event, goes the digital route

    NEW DELHI: Organisers of the annual gala celebrating the advertising, marketing, and communications network, Cannes Lions (International Festival of Creativity), have announced that the on-ground event will not be conducted in 2021. The prestigious affair will now run as an online event from 21-25 June. 

    The decision to scrap the on-ground festival comes at a time when France is witnessing a rise in Covid2019 cases. With a new round of restrictions in place, the organisers of Cannes Lions decided to call off the physical event. 

    "Over the last year, we’ve been consulting with our customers and working on our plans, including the development of Cannes Lions Live as part of the new Lions Membership platform. We are now able to move fully to this format for 2021 – which will have all the celebration, inspiration, and participation of Cannes Lions – to unite the global community virtually during Cannes Lions Live this June," said Lions chairman Philip Thomas. 

    Lions managing director Simon Cook revealed that Cannes Lions Live will also signal the return of the Lions awards. 

    "After the benchmark of the awards was paused last year, we want to be able to give our community the chance to immerse themselves in the creative work once again. We’ll be championing the work on a huge scale – tracking progress throughout the week, analysing the winners, delivering insights, identifying new talent – it’s the return of the benchmark and a moment for the industry to reflect but also look forward," added Cook. 

    Further information regarding the Cannes Lions will be unveiled in the coming weeks. It is expected that all Lions members will get complimentary access to Cannes Lions as part of their membership. Annual Lions membership is priced at €249. 

  • ITC Savlon’s Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks earns a place in the Cannes Lions Creativity Report of the Decade

    ITC Savlon’s Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks earns a place in the Cannes Lions Creativity Report of the Decade

    ITC Savlon’s Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks won a Grand Prix for the 2018 Creative Effectiveness Lions, showcasing how creativity can be harnessed to drive change. Only 3% of all work that is entered goes on to win a Lion which makes the earlier win and recognised as part of the decade’ creativity report extremely prestigious not just for the brand, but also the country. This year the work has been included as part of the Cannes Lions Creativity Report of the Decade released recently.

    Conceptualised by Ogilvy India, the Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks format renewed children’s interest in the hand hygiene conversation and demonstrated increase in a proper hand wash ritual. The most effective behaviour drivers are the ones that are not overt. They are  simply and engagingly tied into everyday routines. This initiative did just the same while proving Savlon’s commitment to improving hand hygiene – in 2018 towards reducing child mortality, and now in 2020 towards combatting the global pandemic.

    Ogilvy India CCOs Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha commented on this news, “Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks featuring as one of the iconic campaigns of the decade is truly an achievement we will not forget as long as we live. This campaign is a dear part of Ogilvy emerging at the top of Indian agencies in the Lions Creative Rankings. For that, we have Mahesh Ambaliya to thank and our extraordinary ITC clients. “

    The campaign was introduced under the brand’s Swasth India Mission programme has been a front runner in driving behavioural change towards good hand-hygiene habits since its inception in 2016.  It has reached over 15,000 schools in 82 cities and nearly 5.6 million children with its innovative outreach. The ongoing program has delivered measurable success in effectiveness to help inculcate hand hygiene habits in primary school children.

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