Dentsu Creative Bengaluru crowned Agency of the Year on Cannes Lions 2022’s final day

It and Ogilvy each win a Titanium Lion, and Leo Burnett scores Grand Prix in the Sustainable Dev Goals Lions category.

Aaaand Cut. India’s dream run at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity reached an epoch on day five with Dentsu Creative being crowned Agency of the Year after it and Ogilvy Mumbai won a Titanium Lion each, a first-ever for the country.

India won a total of eight Lions on the festival's final day, taking its festival tally to 47, a record that also includes the most Grand Prix (4) in a year, beating the two from 2018.

“Chuffed that Unfiltered History Tour ends it week as India's most awarded campaign at Cannes Lion, ever - now also with India's first Titanium. We're even happier than on India's first year of winning a Titanium... we've won two! Huge congratulations to our friends at Ogilvy India and their brilliant work on Cadbury," said PG Aditiya, Co-founder Talented, Ex-CCO Dentsu Webchutney.

“As a country, I doubt we could have asked for better work to represent our best year yet at Cannes Lions. It's a great time to be a creative in Indian advertising. From Monday, we roll up our sleeves and begin work on how to outdo this. This is a great milestone but only to remind us as an industry that we're capable of much, much more.”

Amit Wadhwa, CEO India, Dentsu Creative said, “Honestly, I am speechless right now, so it is challenging to find words and new adjectives to express how I feel. To say this is historic almost seems like an understatement. When you start the week with a Grand Prix, then add two more along the week besides a Gold, 4 Silvers and 3 Bronze, you feel it’s a dream run. Then you end with a Titanium and it is that ‘top of the world’ feeling. But guess what this is not where it ends, we are ‘The Agency of the Year!’.

Ajay Gahlaut, Group Chief Creative Officer India, Dentsu Creative, “Winning the Agency of the Year is an emotion I cannot even begin to describe. When I used to watch other agencies win the title I often wondered if I ever would get that same honour. What they say is true. Dreams Do come true! I’m over the moon with the Titanium win along with the hat trick of Grand Prix and a whole lot of other metals."

"Not just me I think no one in the entire Indian ad industry has been part of such a huge haul of Lions ever before. And I do believe we are the first full-service Indian agency to win the title of Agency of the Year. I doff my hat to the entire team responsible for the Unfiltered History Tours. Those who are with us now and those who have moved on. Congratulations all. For now, it’s party time!”

Sukesh Nayak, Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officers, Ogilvy India: This is a piece of work that has found love with the masses in India and we are grateful that the idea has also found love with the hugely accomplished Titanium Jury at Cannes. This is a salute to our brave Ogilvy Team, Mondelez India Team, Tech partner - Rephrase, Content partner - Pack Films and Media partner - Wavemaker.

Piyush Pandey, Chairman Global Creative & Executive Chairman India, Ogilvy: "I am delighted that the people's choice is also the jury's choice. I am very proud of the team that worked on it."

Also, Leo Burnett scored a Grand Prix in the Sustainable Development Goals Lions category for its The Missing Chapter work for P&G India’s Whisper.

Picking up a Silver Lion each was VMLY&R Commerce’s Smart Fill for Unilever in the Sustainable Development Goals category and FCB India/Kinnect India/FCB Chicago’s Chatpat for SOS Children’s Villages India under the (Film Lions category.

VLMLY&R added a Bronze Lion to its kitty with Adeli for Unipads in the Glass: Lion for Change while Chatpat won a Bronze in the Film Lions category along with DDB Mudra’s Machine-Gun Mouth for Battlegrounds Mobile India.

“As a piece of work, Battlegrounds Mobile India has done quite well for us, this year. And a Cannes Lion is the perfect addition to its list of wins,” said Rahul Matthew, chief creative officer, DDB Mudra Group.