Dentsu Creative, DDB Mudra, Byju’s are India’s only winners on day two of Cannes Lions 2022

The three entrants won a Gold Lion and two Silver Lions. India had won seven Lions on day one.

India had a poor run on day two of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022 on Tuesday. It won a Gold Lion and two Silver Lions. This compared to the seven Lions, including two Grand Prix that the Indian contingent won on the festival’s inaugural day on Monday.

On day two, India had a chance to win in the following categories:

1. Design Lions – eight shortlists

2. Film Craft Lions – eight shortlists

3. Digital Craft Lions – four shortlists

4. Industry Craft Lions – one shortlist

5. Entertainment Lions – one shortlist

India won metals in only three of these categories.

The tour continues

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Dentsu Creative scored a Gold Lion in the Digital Craft Lions for The Unfiltered History Tour, a campaign it executed for Vice Media. The campaign had already won a Grand Prix, a Silver Lion and two Bronze Lions in the Radio & Audio Lions category on day one.

The Unfiltered History Tour shines a light on 10 disputed items on display at the British Museum in London. It offers an audio and video immersive tour using Instagram filters that challenges the traditional tour a visitor is offered at the museum.

Also Read: Off with their filters; Vice World News and Dentsu Webchutney take on the British Museum’s tour with 'The Unfiltered History Tour’

Commenting on the win, Binaifer Dulani, founding member and creative at Talented, said, “It feels incredible to be recognised on the biggest international stage. To respect The Unfiltered History Tour would be to continue this run with more ideas that create an equally meaningful impact.”

“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 advertising industry. That’s also the challenge my teammates on this project and I have set ourselves in our new agency Talented too.” (Dulani was a former creative director at Dentsu Webchutney.)

Amit Wadhwa, CEO India, Dentsu Creative 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 mesmerizing 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!"

Ajay Gahlaut, Group Chief Creative Officer India, Dentsu Creative, “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!”

DDB Mudra scores maiden win

DDB Mudra Mumbai opened its tally with a Silver Lion for A Silver Frown for the Charlie Chaplin Foundation in the Industry Craft Lions category. It was the lone Indian shortlist in this category.

In Charlie Chaplin’s honour, the DDB Mudra Group and the Charlie Chaplin Museum Foundation created a book dedicated to the life and philosophy of the legendary man.

Developed as a piece of art, each page of the book depicts Chaplin’s life in illustrations on a transparent section. When stacked by closing the book, the illustrations come together to form the visage of the great entertainer.

“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,” Rahul Mathew, chief creative officer, DDB Mudra Group, remarked on the win.

The book was launched at Chaplin’s World Museum in Switzerland on April 16, 2022, to commemorate his 133rd birth anniversary, by his son Eugene Chaplin - a recording engineer and filmmaker.

The book is freely available for public viewing at the museum. Whatever proceeds the museum earns from the sale of A Silent Frown (signed copies were also available for purchase), will be directed towards the humanitarian initiatives led by the Charlie Chaplin Museum Foundation.

Byju’s makes its way in

Another entrant opening its account, was edutech giant Byju’s for its Teacher’s Day campaign, titled Master Ji. It won a Silver Lion in the Entertainment Lions category. Like DDB Mudra in the Industry Craft Lions category, Byju’s was the only Indian shortlist in its category.

Vineet Singh, VP, Brand and Creative Strategy, BYJU’S said, “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.”

The campaign details the trials teachers underwent during COVID-induced lockdown. From learning to use online video to teach, to bringing the classroom to students when they could not attend school, the two long-form ads (over three minutes each) make one tear up. They were released around Teacher’s Day (September 5) in 2021.