Tag: Creativity

Cannes Lions 2022 Day 3: India earns 50 shortlists, ups its shortlists tally to 107

Mumbai: Continuing its good run at the Cannes Lions 2022 festival, India on day three saw a record 50 shortlists across six categories – Direct, Creative Data, Media, PR, Social & Influencer and Creative B2B. This takes the country’s total tally to 107 shortlists currently.

Social and Influencer

Under this category, the Indian contingent earned 14 shortlists. Dentsu Creative India’s star campaign ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign done for Vice Media clinched five shortlists.

Ogilvy gained one shortlist for the ‘Shahrukh Khan – My Ad’ campaign.

FCB India and Kinnect’s ‘Chatpat’ campaign got four shortlists. The agency’s ‘Unbox Me’ campaign, created for Unaids, got another three shortlists. It also received another shortlist for the ‘Nominate Me Selfie’ campaign.

PR Lions

There are 13 shortlists for India in the PR category.

FCB India leads this category as well with 6 shortlists. The agency’s campaign in association with Kinnect India titled ‘Chatpat’ secured three shortlists. The other three shortlists are for FCB India’s ‘Unbox Me’ campaign done for Unaids.

VMLY&R clinched three shortlists in the PR category- all three were for the agency’s campaign ‘Adeli’ done for Unipads.

BBDO India’s ‘See Equal Share The Load (Integrated)’ campaign done for Ariel secured two shortlists.

Dentsu Creative’s ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ received a single shortlist. Ogilvy India’s ‘NothingCoin’ created for Cadbury 5 Star gained a shortlist in the PR category.

Media

In the Media category, Indian agencies secured 12 shortlists, of which six were garnered by FCB India along with FCB Chicago. The agency got three shortlists for the ‘Nominate me Selfie’ campaign done for the Times of India and three for SOS Children’s Village India’s campaign ‘Chatpat’. The latter campaign was co-created by the agency along with Kinnect.

The category also saw Ogilvy India getting three shortlists – Two for Cadbury Perk’s ‘Perk Disclaimer’ campaign and the third one for Cadbury Celebrations’ ‘Shahrukh Khan – My Ad’ campaign.

BBDO India scored two shortlists for P&G’s ‘Name Change Pack ‘#ShareTheLoad’ and ‘See Equal #ShareTheLoad’ campaigns.

Mindshare’s ‘Bring Colors Back in the Lives of the Weavers’ campaign created for Sunlight Detergent fetched it one shortlist.

Direct

In the Direct category, Indian agencies scored nine shortlists.

FCB India gained six shortlists- three for its ‘Chatpat’ campaign done for SOS Children’s Villages India and jointly executed by FCB India and Kinnect India. FCB India’s ‘The Nominate Me Selfie’ done for Public Pressure Group earned two shortlists. ‘Unbox me’ for Unaids done by the agency secured one shortlist in the Direct category.

Ogilvy India secured two shortlists while McCann Worldgroup India has one shortlist in the Direct Lions.

‘Shah Rukh Khan – My Ad’ campaign done by Ogilvy India has been shortlisted under two subcategories in Direct Lions.

McCann’s ‘Shagun Ka Lifafa’ done for Ujjivan Small Finance Bank got shortlisted in Direct Lions.

Creative Data

‘Shah Rukh Khan – My Ad’ campaign done by Ogilvy India has secured two shortlists in Creative Data Lions category.

June 22, 2022
Cannes Lions Day 1: Dentsu Webchutney, VMLY&R shine with Grand Prix each

MUMBAI: The Indian contingent opened its innings grandly on day one of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022 with a seven-metal haul, which includes two Grand Prix, three Silvers and two Bronzes. It also clinched 20 shortlists across five more categories, taking the total shortlists to 37.

The first Grand Prix was won in the Radio & Audio Lions by Dentsu Creative for the ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign for Vice Media. The campaign was the only shortlist from India and the category, and had got seven nominations. The Grand Prix came under the branded content and podcasts subcategory.

The campaign also won a silver in the media & entertainment subcategory and two bronze lions in the audio-led creativity and cultural insight subcategories, respectively.

The second Grand Prix was bagged by VMLY&R in the Health & Wellness Lions (OTC Products/Devices) for ‘The Killer Pack’ – an innovative 100 percent biodegradeble packaging for the mosquito repellent, which was lined with 5 percent active probiotic bacillus thuringiensis to kill mosquito larvae when disposed of in garbage dumps, dustbins and stagnant water – for Maxx Flash.

The agency also won one Silver Health & Wellness Lion for ‘Adeli’, a unique campaign by Unipads that put menstruating women, colloquially known as adelis in certain parts of the country, into kitchens. The win came in the Brand-led Education & Awareness subcategory.

Reacting to the win, VMLY&R global chief creative officer Debbi Vandeven said, “I am grateful that we get to work with brands impacting the world positively and clients who are passionate about building purpose-driven businesses. And I am very proud that work from around the world is getting the recognition it deserves.”

Dentsu Creative CEO India Amit Wadhwa said, “This is a humongous win. A Grand Prix, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze on Day 1 itself indeed make for a perfect fairytale. The Unfiltered History Tour has won several laurels in the past but this one gets us positioned at the very top in terms of creativity. Kudos to each one from our army of artistic folks, both ex and current, who have invested their blood and sweat to build the masterpiece. This victory completely belongs to you and it deserves to be cherished for times to come.”

Dentsu Creative group chief creative officer india Ajay Gahlaut added, “Winning four metals, including the coveted Grand Prix, on the first day at Cannes is a fantastic feeling. We have great hopes for this campaign and I’m sure it will win a few more metals by the end of Cannes Lions. Meanwhile we’re enjoying the feeling!”

June 21, 2022
Cannes Lions ’22: India scores 20 more shortlists, takes its tally to 37

MUMBAI: The Indian contingent added a dazzling 20 more shortlists to its tally on Day One of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022 being held from 20 June to 24 June 2022. This is in addition to the 17 shortlists the contingent garnered earlier, taking the country’s total score to 37 shortlists so far.

Here is the breakdown of the latest shortlisted works:

Dentsu Creative’s ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’ for Vice Media bagged four more shortlists in the Digital Craft Lions.

In Entertainment Lions, ‘Master Ji’ for BYJUS by BYJUS Bengaluru and Dora Digs Mumbai got one shortlist.

In Film Craft Lions, ‘The Missing Chapter’ for P&G’s Whisper by Off Road Films Mumbai & Leo Burnett received three shortlists, while Care Lives On #Touch0fCare for Vicks by Memesys Culture Lab Bambolim and ‘Master Ji’ for BYJUS by BYJUS Bengaluru and Dora Digs Mumbai got two shortlists each. Machine Gun Mouth for Battlegrounds Mobile India by Early Man Films picked one shortlist.

In Industry Craft, ‘A Silent Frown’ created by DDB Mudra Mumbai for Charlie Chaplin Foundation scored one shortlist.

In Design Lions, Unaids’ ‘Unbox Me’ by FCB India and FCB Chicago, , ‘A Silent Frown’ created by DDB Mudra Mumbai for Charlie Chaplin Foundation got a shortlist each.

‘Polly the Polar Bear’ for Montessori Schools India, created by Landor & Fitch Mumbai & Paris, ‘The Missing Chapter’ for P&G’s Whisper by Leo Burnett got two shortlists each.

However, it was a no-show for the contingent in the Entertainment Lions for Music and Entertainment Lions for Sports categories.

In the earlier announcements made on Sunday, the Indian contingent picked up 12 shortlists in the categories Health and Wellness and Radio and Audio Lions. Dentsu Webchutney, DDB Mudra, Leo Burnett, and VMLY&R scored the shortlists, with the former’s The Unfiltered Historical past Tour for Vice Media harvesting upto seven shortlists. There were no Indian shortlists in the Pharma, Print and Publishing, and Out-of-home categories.

In the Health and Wellness Lions, Killer Pack for Maxx Flash and The Adeli Motion for Unipads- both by VMLY&R, and DBB Mudra’s Machine Gun Mouth for BattleGrounds Cell India got a shortlist each, even as Leo Burnett’s The Lacking Chapter for P&G India’s Whisper picked up two Shortlists.

In the Radio and Audio Lions category, Dentsu Webchutney’s The Unfiltered Historical past Tour for Vice Media picked up seven Shortlists.

Before that, VMLY&R had gained two shortlists for the Killer Pack for Maxx Flash in the Innovation Lions and the Adeli for Unipads in the Glass: Lion for Change.

BBDO India too scored a shortlist in the Glass Lions for the When we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheLoad (Integrated) campaign it did for P&G India’s Ariel.

The Titanium Lions garnered shortlists for Ogilvy India’s Shahrukh-My ad for Cadbury Celebrations and Dentsu Webchutney’s The Unfiltered History Tour for Vice Media.

June 20, 2022
Sociapa wins digital and creative mandate for French Essence

Mumbai: Sociapa has won the digital and creative responsibilities of Spectra Care’s French Essence.

Speaking of this association, Spectra Care director Nidhi Gupta said, “Sociapa is a very competitive firm with a portfolio of many ongoing projects. With the changing dynamics, a brand must keep up and hence we believe Sociapa will do justice to our vision of taking French Essence forward, as we aim to make significant contributions towards strengthening our online and offline presence.”

On winning this mandate, Sociapa founder Dheeraj Raj said, “We are ecstatic to have been given this opportunity by French Essence. This is yet another step for Sociapa towards achieving its goal. We are certain that we will be successful in making the brand reach its target groups through effective communication and campaigns. Sociapa is the company that you can trust to help you promote your brand to the next level.”

“We create real brand experiences that include and inspire audiences in every touchpoint using a full spectrum of creative skills with a cost-effective approach. With a passionate team, we strive to up the game by offering the best strategies including brand communication and campaigns for the brands,” Raj added.

May 30, 2022
Verve Media bags social media mandate for Spring Bio Solutions

Mumbai: The client solution company Spring Bio Solutions has assigned its social media duties to Verve Media. The media agency will be responsible for the company’s social media management, digital creative designing and brand recognition.

Verve Media will also work to enhance the presence of Spring Bio Solution on LinkedIn by curating innovative content, company updates and industry trends.

Verve Media co-founder Vinay Singh Sangwan said, “Marketing for pharmaceutical brands comes with its own set of challenges. We are sure that our energetic team with their digital marketing expertise will empower the brand to strengthen its hold in the market.”

Speaking on this partnership, April Bio Solution director Salim Shaikh commented, “Spring Bio Solution is on a growth path and we are excited to embark on the digital journey for the brand. We are hoping to leverage the benefits of digital in a category that has not yet embraced the medium as widely as consumer brands.”

May 16, 2022
Digital Refresh Network wins the social creative media mandate for Sunstone

Mumbai: The creative and digital marketing solutions company, Digital Refresh Networks, wins the digital mandate for Sunstone. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be looked after by the agency’s Mumbai team.

The mandate includes the overall planning and creative requirements across digital and also priming up the e-commerce presence of the brand. With an experience of a decade in the digital marketing industry, Digital Refresh Networks has worked with some of the leading brands and businesses across FMCG, consumer goods, automobile, E-commerce, Lifestyle, Health, and other sectors.

Sunstone’s head of marketing Alekhya Chakravarty said, “Our association with the team at Digital Refresh Networks is sure to help us organise and scale our digital content ecosystem. In today’s world, having a holistic digital presence is highly crucial to not only boost the brand’s footprint across digital but also to drive business growth for each category. We look forward to DRN’s ability to think the content in every possible form across channels that delivers brand building as well as business growth.”

Digital Refresh Network Co-Founder & CEO Barin Mukherjee said, “It is an honour to be associated with a brand like Sunstone. With our expertise in understanding content across channels/ formats and regions, would be of great value to deliver on building Sunstone as a strong engage in brand enhance the visibility of the institution.”

May 12, 2022
OTT has democratised storytelling and consumption: MX Player’s Gautam Talwar at Goafest’22

Mumbai: The OTT ecosystem in India has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years, with new players coming into the fray every day and novel, edgy content being churned out. The way we look at online streaming is also changing with it emerging as an exciting prospect for an increasing number of marketers and advertisers keen to promote their brands and ads on these upcoming platforms.

The day two of Goafest saw actors Vikrant Massey and Ali Fazal along with MX Player chief content officer Gautam Talwar taking centre stage to talk about the topic ‘OTT Superpower – Freedom and Nuances of Creativity.’ The panelists spoke about how OTT has changed consumer behaviour in regards to content and democratised content, in the session moderated by anchor and creative director Atika Farooqui.

“While still a nascent industry in India, OTT has given a platform for creators and writers to explore their skills, and the exposure to international content made them pull their socks up,” said Vikrant Massey, adding that in the last two years of pandemic the platform presented a tremendous opportunity to explore newer avenues.

Ali Fazal said that with the amount of diverse OTT content available today on the varied players, the competition is spiking, with each show at the risk of being just one button away from rejection. “The relatable and realistic content on these streaming platforms showed that writers are the real stars today. With films still trying to get out of formula-based structure, that’s where OTT gets a little freedom. By pushing the bar and breaking the rhythm. Tell stories as fearlessly as we can within the framework,” said Fazal.

Upon being asked if there is a sense of competition among the two media, Fazal stated, “Cinema must not die. Film watching is community watching. Every person in the industry comes with the dream to be a part of movies and this dream always remains. Idea of OTT is just to be able to tell more stories, follow newer narratives.”

On whether OTT can cater to family audiences like cinema and TV, Gautam Talwar said, “OTT content is for personal watching. 95 per cent of people watch on their personal phones. Only the elite or urban audiences perhaps will have access to chromecast and connected television sets supporting the platforms, adding that these are not necessarily the target audience of players such as MX always. Family viewing is far away for OTT or may never happen as there are less percentage of people who would want to sit with family and watch the online streaming content.”

He further summed it up by saying, “India or Bharat is a time rich and money poor country and that is what we consider while targeting.”

“Freedom cannot be absolute and like in other mediums, with Freedom comes responsibility,” the panelists agreed. “What OTT has managed to do is democratise storytelling. It’s a genre of storytelling that’s not been available to audiences ever.”

The panelists also weighed in upon the changed prototype of the ‘likeable hero/heroine’ brought on by the OTTs. “Every content is essentially an extension of the world and times we are living in,” said Fazal. “We want people who are relatable and accessible on screen, characters whom viewers can relate with- not a demi-god to worship or characters in black and white.”

On the concern that less than 10 per cent of the viewers on the Online streaming sites have subscribed for consumption, Talwar admitted it’s going to be a tough battle towards monetising the content, as Indians inherently don’t believe in paying for content. That’s also the reason why piracy remains a big issue in the country.

“The reach to mass India is one of the greatest advantages for OTT players like MX player,” said Talvar. “There is no appointment viewing, and most viewers on OTT watch as per individual convenience. The OTT ecosystem is a melting pot of all the three platforms of films, advertising and television with both short and long form content,” he added.

May 6, 2022
Can creativity and consumer protection go hand in hand? Industry experts weigh in at Goafest 2022

Mumbai: Goafest 2022 kicked off with a bang after a two-year pause at Goa’s Grand Hyatt Hotel on Thursday, featuring some of the industry’s brightest minds along with the industry awards felicitating notable creative thinkers from South Asia. This year marks the advertising, media and marketing symposium’s 15th edition.

The day one of the adfest saw an interesting mix of panels and speaker sessions with bristling conversations. There was also a knowledge session in partnership with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), wherein the ministry of consumer affairs & food distribution secretary (CA) Rohit Kumar Singh spoke with Ogilvy India chairman of global creative Ogilvy and Worldwide and executive chairman Piyush Pandey on consumer safety. The panel discussed the importance of consumer protection and the responsibility that we have as professionals. The session was moderated by ASCI chairman and BBH India CEO Subhash Kamath who asked some pertinent questions regarding brands promoting and marketing misleading information, bait advertising, and those compromising consumer interest.

“Conceptually, creativity by its very nature doesn’t like boundaries, constantly looking at pushing the envelope and thinking out of the box,” observed Kamath, kicking off the session. “And yet consumer protection does require some responsibilities and boundaries to reign it in. So can creative ideas and consumer safety coexist and go hand in hand?”

Singh spoke about how the keyword is that creativity is not “misleading ” the consumer and taking him for a ride, adding that the moment it crosses that line “we need to intervene.”

“Creativity should raise the bar without crushing or at the expense of someone else’s life,” weighed in Pandey. “If you cannot show any piece of communication to your family then you can’t show it to anyone else’s family.”

“Now, with the CPA 2020 (Consumer Protection Act) in place over the last few years, what are the priorities of the government from the consumer protection perspective, what are the things that you would really keep your eye on.”

Singh spoke about firstly focusing on brands making tall claims and leading the consumer with false expectations and the second is on bait advertising. We have to impose penalties on such brands who try to fool the vulnerable consumer with misleading claims.

He explained how in the new paradigm that has emerged in the past few years, there is a mad race for Customer acquisition and valuations, what is getting compromised is probably “consumer interests.” “And that is the only thing of concern for us, whether you are compromising consumer interest?”

“While there is increased consumer awareness today, there’s also an increased risk of vulnerability with the consumer’s data, because their entire data is now available to marketers,” observed Kamath.

“When they shop, what they do. The data that comes out is mined and those insights and that mining of those in favor leading to performing targeted marketing so is there something that we need to look at for protection from targeted marketing with data mining as well,” Kamath maintained.

Singh said that unless a customer has permitted you to use their data, one cannot use that data. “The Data Protection Bill is before the parliament. And that will define the boundaries of what data can be shared, and widely covers all. You cannot share my data without my permission,” he emphasised.

Singh also called out the taxi aggregators Uber and Ola on their unfair pricing algorithms. “Just last week, I personally issued notices to, I said your algorithms, cancellation charges, and the way you calculate fields are not fair,” adding that here it is literally about taking the consumer for a ride! “If we don’t look out for consumer interests, who will?” he asked.

Singh also spoke about making the grievance redressal system more robust. The national consumer helpline gets over 4000 calls every day and over the last four years, analytics showed that calls pertaining to e-commerce have grown from eight per cent to 44 per cent. “Now, that means there’s something wrong somewhere in this rat race for customer acquisition. Something is going wrong somewhere,” he asserted.

Appreciating that the administration was trying to have a dialogue with the rule violators, Piyush Pandey said it is heartening that the government is trying to have a more robust system in place by guiding and cautioning, rather than by ruling with fear. Speaking about creativity in advertising, he said, “Creativity is about touching millions of hearts, sometimes in three seconds. The consumer is not a moron who can get influenced easily.”

May 6, 2022
Goafest 2022 returns after a gap of two years to inspire

Mumbai: Goafest returns back once again! For advertising and media businesses, it is one of the important celebrations. 15 years of Goafest is truly a special milestone. What makes it more special is that it is being celebrated after a gap of two years. Many have braved the hard times as it got affected due to covid pandemic.

The pandemic brought forth the superpower within each one of us. When we thought we were down and out, we were compelled to dig deeper and find courage and resilience. Not just people, businesses discovered their own unbeatable spirit to survive and thrive, so did governments and countries. Now, it is time to acknowledge this power within each one of us that makes us unique, that enables us to face challenges with ease and helps us make the world a better place. It is time to celebrate “The Superpower Within”.

The event will bring together under one roof 28 highly accomplished, power-packed speakers, who will share valuable insights of their knowledge on content, creativity, strategies, stories and experiences from new-age media like OTT, social media, gaming, health & wellness along with an attention to policies and regulations.

Goafest will have iconic personalities from Indian Sports and Bollywood inspiring us with their achievements and stories of strength. The festival will focus on the superpower of Bharat and its growing digital reach, and on the rich startup ecosystem with Shark Tank India’s Vineeta Singh of SUGAR and Unicorn builder, Ankush Sachdeva. No growth can be achieved if personal well-being is ignored, and for that, we have the exceptional Rujuta Diwekar, nutritionist and influencer.

There will be the presence of stalwarts like SS Rajamouli, Kash Sree and Menno Kluin amongst others. The story of perseverance from a graceful actress like Madhuri Dixit along with stories from the fearless Kiran Bedi, the indomitable PV Sindhu, the courageous Mithali Raj and the man with the unwavering faith to win, Kapil Dev! In addition to this, leaders like Level Ex founder and ceo Sam Glassenberg, Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food Distribution’s Secretary, Aqilliz’s Ceo Rohit Kumar Singh, Gowthaman Ragothaman co-founder Web3 Marketing Association, Sandeep Bhushan, Director & Head of GSM (Global Marketing Solutions) India, Meta will share their invaluable insights.

There will also be nine empowering Knowledge Masterclasses this year including topics like ‘The Power of Camera Marketing’, Creative workshops by FCB Ulka, Snapchat, Publicis Groupe and many more interesting workshops from Meta, Sharechat, and Google.

Entertainers like Sukhbir and Shilpa Rao will be performing at the event. The event will take place between 5-7 May at Grand Hyatt, Goa.

May 2, 2022
Aditya Mehendale promoted as national creative director at Schbang

Mumbai: Digital marketing agency Schbang has promoted Aditya Mehendale as national creative director, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In this new role, Mehendale will oversee the creative products in India for the agency. He will be also responsible to maintain synergies across both North and South zones in India.

He joined Schbang as a creative strategist six years ago. He was earlier the creative director of the agency.

Mehendale crafted various communication strategies for brands such as Fevicol, Amazon Prime Video, Ashok Leyland, Mattel, Castrol, Jio, and Raw Pressery.

“Aditya is a brilliant creative mind and has proven time and again his ability to understand the customers’ requirements and translate them into a fine creative product,” said Schbang’s founder Harshil Karia, as quoted by media reports. “The work that Schbang has done over the last seven years has had his touch on it. I am delighted with the celebration, it’s a growth story that means a lot to us. We wish Aditya all the best in this new role,” he added.

Speaking on his new role, the media reports quoted Mehendale saying, “It’s been awe-inspiring to be part of a journey that has taken us from being a fledgling agency seven years ago to one of the most dominant independents in India. “As I step into the big shoes of overlooking our entire India creative portfolio, I thank Schbang for its unshaken faith and confidence in me and intend to do my best to strengthen our position as an India-born creative powerhouse.”

April 7, 2022