Cannes, France: Indian agencies have made a measured but meaningful entry at the 73rd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, securing 17 shortlists across nine categories ahead of the festival’s main awards week, which runs from June 22 to June 26. With shortlist announcements continuing through June 24, the country’s final tally could climb further — though the current count already marks a notable dip from the 85 shortlists India had accumulated across 22 categories at the same stage last year.
Ogilvy India and VML India have emerged as the standout performers so far, each earning multiple shortlists across categories. Their consistent presence across Health & Wellness, Film Craft, Design, Direct, and Media Lions underscores the growing creative depth at both networks.
A Strong Health & Wellness Opening
India kicked off its Cannes account on June 20 with eight shortlists across seven categories — and the Health & Wellness Lions delivered the biggest haul, contributing four of those entries. The category, with Kainaz Karmakar of Ogilvy India presiding as jury president, saw a rich spread of purpose-driven campaigns.
Ogilvy India led with two shortlists: Renu vs The City for St. Jude India ChildCare Centres and the Ek Tara Project for Titan Eye+. McCann India’s Project Golden Minute for Johnson’s Baby and Indianis Dentris for Colgate — jointly created by The Refinery Mumbai and Brand David Communications Mumbai — completed the quartet.
The breadth of brands represented — from maternal health to eye care to oral hygiene — signals a maturing of purpose-led advertising in India, moving beyond token gestures into campaigns with genuine narrative and social intent.
New Categories, New Recognition
India also picked up shortlists in four other categories in the opening round. Leo India earned a nod in the Audio & Radio Lions for The Unofficial Sound of F1, a campaign for Sting in the Challenger Brand sub-category — a creative flex for a beverage brand in a motorsport-dominated sonic space.
In the newly introduced Creative Brand Lions — a category that recognises brands whose internal systems and cultures make world-class creative output consistently possible — P&G Whisper’s From a Sanitary Pad to a Basic Right secured a shortlist under Brand Positioning. It is a fitting entry for a category built around the idea that great advertising starts from within an organisation.
VML India earned India’s sole Print & Publishing shortlist for The Kolhapuri, a campaign for the artisanal footwear brand Kalapuri, in the Publications for Good sub-category. And Humour Me, a Mumbai-based independent agency, earned recognition in Pharma Lions for Sawaal Uthao (Raise the Question), created for Tata 1mg in the Disease Awareness & Understanding category.
Film Craft, Design, and Direct Add Depth
The second wave of shortlists, announced on June 21, added nine more entries and significantly broadened India’s category footprint.
Film Craft emerged as the strongest category in this round. TBWA\Lintas Mumbai earned recognition for Don’t Look Up, created for Steadfast, in the Script sub-category. Ogilvy Mumbai’s Renu Vs The City — already shortlisted in Health & Wellness — added a second nod, this time in Casting. ZigZag Films Mumbai and TALENTED.AGENCY Bengaluru jointly secured a shortlist for Jeere Mein Heera, a Coca-Cola campaign, in the Use of Licensed/Adapted Music category, demonstrating the growing creative collaboration between production houses and independent agencies in India.
In Design Lions, 22Feet Mumbai (in collaboration with London-based Butterfly Cannon) earned a Packaging Design shortlist for The Art of Survival, a campaign for Godawan — Radico Khaitan’s premium single malt whisky. VML India’s The Slooowest Vending Machine in the World, a distinctly playful campaign for KitKat, secured a shortlist in Brand Environment and Experience Design.
The Direct Lions added two more entries: VML India’s The Kolhapuri for Kalapuri (notching a second shortlist for the campaign, this time in Cultural Engagement), and 82.5 Mumbai’s Blinkstop in Experience Design.
Media Lions rounded out the round, with Mindshare India Mumbai’s Vim Ka Mahakadhai Record shortlisted in Single-Market Campaign and Ogilvy Mumbai’s Box to Beds for Amazon recognised in the Social Behaviour category.
The Agencies Driving India’s Cannes Story
Ogilvy India leads the pack with the most shortlists — appearing in Health & Wellness (twice), Film Craft (twice), and Media Lions — making it the most decorated Indian agency in the current tally. VML India is close behind, with shortlists in Print & Publishing, Design, and Direct Lions. Both agencies represent the WPP network’s continued dominance in India’s awards circuit.
Among independents, TALENTED.AGENCY (Bengaluru) stands out as a co-creator on the Coca-Cola Film Craft shortlist, signalling that independent shops are increasingly capable of competing on the global stage. Humour Me‘s recognition for Tata 1mg in Pharma Lions is another notable independent showing.
Production house ZigZag Films (Mumbai) also deserves a mention — their collaboration with TALENTED.AGENCY on Jeere Mein Heera highlights the evolving ecosystem of agency-production house partnerships that is reshaping how Indian creative work gets made and recognised globally.
The Categories India Missed
Not all the news is positive. India drew blanks in several significant categories — Digital Craft, Industry Craft, PR, Social & Creator, and all four Entertainment sub-categories (Music, Gaming, Sport, and general Entertainment). The absence from Social & Creator Lions is particularly notable given the scale and sophistication of India’s creator economy, and may prompt introspection about whether the country’s most culturally resonant social content is being entered at Cannes at all.
The country also received no shortlists in the Glass: The Lion for Change, Innovation Lions, or the Dan Wieden Titanium Lions — traditionally harder categories to crack but ones where India has made inroads in past years.
Context: A Leaner Year, With Room to Grow
India’s 17 shortlists heading into the festival’s main week compares to 85 at the same stage in 2025 — a significant drop that will raise questions about the volume and quality of entries, as well as broader competitive dynamics in a year where Cannes received nearly 7,000 fewer entries globally following a revamped submission process introduced after last year’s controversy over fraudulent entries.
That said, the festival’s shortlist announcements are not yet complete. Categories including Brand Experience & Activation and Creative Data Lions are still to be revealed, with shortlisting running through June 24. India’s final tally — and its medal count — could yet look very different by the time the last Lion is awarded on June 26.
For now, the early picture is one of focused excellence over broad volume: fewer entries making the cut, but some of them carrying genuine creative and cultural weight.
