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Indian ideasmiths Cannes do, will do

India's ad community has a reason to rejoice - a record 58 nominations across six categories at the 53rd Cannes Lions 2006.

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The country gets 58 nominations at the global ad festival.

MUMBAI: A soft warm breeze from the Mediterranean carries the scent of victory through the corridors of Indian advertising. A record 58 nominations across six categories at the 53rd Cannes Lions 2006 means India's ad community can rejoice — at this grand validation from the most definitive global ad award.

What's more, the awards have also started coming in. JWT Chennai and Rediffusion Mumbai are roaring, with the former bagging a Promo Lion for Kurkure "Firestarter" (the sole Indian entry in the promo category) and the other winning a Silver Lion in direct segment for Midland Bookshop's "Which Book". Rediffusion's Midland work, Lord of the Rings, also bagged gold in the outdoor category. JWT Chennai's entry was a promo for a spicy variant of Pepsico's chips, Lehar Kurkure.

It shows a man who catches fire after eating the spicy chips. Charles Victor, creative director, JWT Chennai, is delighted: "This is the first time that a category for promos has been created at Cannes, and winning a Lion is a great honor for our team."

Victor says promo caught people's attention as it had a stuntman who had a trigger attached to him. While walking down a street, he would actually catch fire after eating the Kurkure. Totally extreme for a spicy chips brand, it created dollops of buzz in the market.

The other winning ad was "Which Book" by Rediffusion DY&R for Midland Bookstore. This won a Silver Lion in the direct category. Conceived by Hemant Jain, creative director Rediffusion, it took forward the brief from Midland Bookstore that they wanted to encourage people to read. "We released a series of small books which made a potent argument about how, by reading, one can be stirred to create great things, using examples like filmmaker Peter Jackson and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara," explains Jain.

They wanted to tell people about the kind of books they should be reading to be inspired enough to go to the bookstore. An on-going exercise, these little books have been placed at the stores as well as sent as direct mailers to all the regular customers of Midland.

Among other winners announced from the outdoor advertising category, O&M bagged a gold for Discovery Channel. Two other agencies that won bronze were Leo Burnett for Dinodia Photo Library and Everest for the Cancer Patients Aid Association.

Several other Indian entries are raring to go, with Victor from JWT expecting a win for JWT's Levis Slim Jeans in the press category. With this being just the start of the week, Indian creatives are confident the Lion is only just raising its head; there will be much to more roar about in the coming days.

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