Cannes Contenders: Indian Networks' Best Bits of '24
As we wrap up our Cannes Contenders ahead of next week's festival, LBB are taking a closer look at some of the big campaigns out of Indian agency networks, FCB, DDB, and MullenLowe. Indian network agencies have been instrumental in crafting campaigns that make a meaningful impact on society, brands, and individuals.
Indian agencies are showcasing innovative campaigns at Cannes Lions 2024, such as DDB Mudra's initiatives for LGBTQIA+ respect and colour-blind accessibility, and FCB Ulka's inspiring dairy farmer stories for Amul. These efforts highlight their creative excellence and societal impact, positioning them as standout contenders at the event.
Read on below to see all the projects from DDB Mudra, FCB India, and Mullenlowe Lintas Group.
Words of Pride - Disney Star
DDB Mudra
DDB Mudra: India has 700 spoken and 22 major regional languages. But for 125 million LGBTQIA+ folks, there were no known words. Only words of disrespect were popular and content has often been guilty of spreading/seeding these words. Disney Star, as India’s largest regional content creator, wanted to introduce India to words of respect for the community. And their many channels/platforms taking these words to 700 million homes, to make these words a part of everyday vocabulary.
EatQual Colours - McDonald’s India
DDB Mudra
DDB Mudra: When it comes to food, we eat with our eyes first.
Food paints us a picture, and it is this picture that triggers cravings and builds anticipation. This is why visual representation is one of the most important parts of the customer journey when it comes to food. However, for the approximately 70 million colour-blind individuals in India, this magic diminishes. Picture juicy red tomatoes, traditionally associated with deliciousness, losing their lustre and appearing as dull grey. The excitement vanishes. We believe that choosing food should not be a guessing game and that everyone should enjoy the delightful excitement and promise of a McDonald’s meal.
Royale Pass - Battlegrounds Mobile India
DDB Mudra
DDB Mudra: Battlegrounds Mobile India, an online multiplayer battle royale game by Krafton launched its new Royale Pass, a seasonal gateway to exclusive gear and a key to enhancing a player’s rank. But it's more than just in-game goodies. In today's world, our online personas are growing in importance. With people’s identities and achievements increasingly tied towards their digital lifestyle, other related elements also followed suit - more specifically, their online clout, which became tied to their virtual presence.
Floating Stories - Amul
FCB Ulka
FCB Ulka: Inspiring true stories of financially and socially successful Amul-female-dairy-farmers Which have the power to motivate and change the lives of underprivileged women Told through a unique, first-time-ever, novel manner, by printing these photo-stories on milk for the viewer to see liquified photo-portraits (and read each success story alongside) In order to grab the attention of Indian women and be inspired.
Mr. India Meets Google Pixel - Google
FCB India
FCB India: India, the world’s 3rd largest $400+ smartphone market, is growing at an impressive 60-70% annually, making it a crucial battleground for premium brands. In this fiercely competitive market dominated by Apple and Samsung, Google Pixel struggled with a mere 1% market share and just 6% awareness. Pixel needed to gain mindshare, and in a country obsessed with Bollywood, the obvious strategy would be to use Bollywood stars. However, between the 8 biggest smartphone brands, they had already ran through 20 Bollywood stars. Pixel needed a unique approach. Instead of leveraging Bollywood superstars, Pixel harnessed the enduring appeal of a timeless Bollywood hero, Mr. India—a character beloved for decades and immune to brand shifts.
EOSS: End of Scam Sale - HDFC Bank
FCB Kinnect
FCB Kinnect: Online financial fraud is rampant during festive and sale seasons, and fraudsters are now employing AI to scam innocent people. Traditional PSAs fail to engage with Indians as they harbour an optimism bias. India's first fraud awareness influencer, Vigil Aunty from HDFC Bank had to protect, awaken, and empower the masses. During this End-Of-Season-Sale, Vigil Aunty in collaboration with Nora Fatehi replicated the modus operandi of fraudsters by creating an entirely fake brand - Lulumelon. Fake social media pages, fake websites, and even ads where Vigil Aunty deepfaked herself into Nora, they did it all!
Brave New Art - Lenovo
FCB Kinnect
FCB Kinnect: Lenovo Yoga is a creator-first laptop series. But while our competitor’s market share was growing 2x year-on-year in India our laptop share remained stagnant. We decided to remind creative individuals that an Intel-powered Lenovo Yoga is not just a laptop—it's a creator's best friend. For our audience the creative process is gold. Apart from the artwork they want to see the creative thinking that goes into making something. We created a reality series that is a one-of-a-kind product video.
Perry Powerful Punch - Tata.ev
FCB Kinnect
FCB Kinnect: In the second season of the TATA Women’s Premier League, a moment of accidental brilliance became the catalyst for a ground-breaking marketing strategy. When Ellyse Perry shattered the window of a Punch.ev display car with her powerful shot, it wasn't just a mishap — it was an opportunity to celebrate women's cricket and challenge stereotypes. Turning adversity into triumph, a special award, the 'PerryPowerfulPunch', was presented to Perry, made from the shattered glass in just 7 days.
UNTANGLING THE POLITICS OF HAIR - STIR Magazine
FCB India
FCB India: Since time immemorial, a woman’s hair has been intertwined with religion, culture, sexuality, and patriarchy, binding her to society’s rules. The protests in Iran highlighted this injustice bringing support from countries across the world, except India, that chose to remain silent. This campaign aims to raise a voice of support to the women of Iran by bringing their plight close to home and heart, awakening Indian women to the truth that Iran's issue is not Iran's alone, but every woman’s issue.
Gift of the Ganga - Lifebuoy
Mullenlowe Lintas Group
Mullen Lintas: According to a recent UNICEF Report, around 818 million children in the world lack basic handwashing facilities at their schools, which puts them at increased risk of COVID-19 and other transmittable diseases. Furthering its global mission to improve handwashing behaviour especially amongst children, Hindustan Unilever Limited’s number one hygiene soap brand, Lifebuoy kicked-off the largest virtual hygiene drive in the Metaverse - Gift of the Ganga.
Mullen Lintas: According to a recent UNICEF Report, around 818 million children in the world lack basic handwashing facilities at their schools, which puts them at increased risk of COVID-19 and other transmittable diseases. Furthering its global mission to improve handwashing behaviour especially amongst children, Hindustan Unilever Limited’s number one hygiene soap brand, Lifebuoy kicked-off the largest virtual hygiene drive in the Metaverse - Gift of the Ganga.
Strange Rewards - Pepsodent
Mullenlowe Lintas Group
Mullen Lintas: According to the Oral Health Observatory, Indians are the world’s largest consumers of sugary food — both in quantity and frequency. The most popular sweetener in the world, sugar, was invented in India. Needless to say, most Indians have a sweet tooth. There are literally thousands of sweet recipes across cultures that are still intrinsic to Indian rituals and traditions from ancient times.
Britannia – Nutriplus App
Mullenlowe Lintas Group
Mullen Lintas: Britannia NutriChoice pioneered the health biscuits category in India. Since its inception the brand has championed the cause of motivating Indians to pursue healthy lifestyle by encouraging them to make healthy choices. However, to own the larger narrative on ‘health’, it became imperative for NutriChoice to go beyond ‘biscuits’. This is the story of how a leading health biscuit brand came up with a mobile-based solution, NutriPlus app, that for the first-time empowered Indians to measure health in the most holistic manner and breaking a long-held notion that of being physically fit is equal to being healthy.
