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India has won 14 Lions so far. McCann India has won a Gold and a Bronze Lion but what do you think about India's performance so far, especially given that last year the country won 24 Lions and a Grand Prix and before that 47 Lions in 2022?
I think it has been a good year. It is a good year for McCann. The first day I came here, we won and that too a Gold and Bronze together. I am very happy that the youngest team member was also here with us. This is his first year and seeing him and his excitement on stage, I was reminded of when I won my first Gold Lion. So, I am happy. I celebrate every win and I try to celebrate for everyone. It's not about how many pieces of work you win.
I don't look at creativity in numbers. If you look at India today, we are buzzing with creativity. If you see the kind of creative work people are generating in the rural areas or the semi-urban areas, it will blow your mind. It would be very narrow to judge India's creativity solely by performance at one time. It is much more complex than that, and I think India is creatively thriving right now.
I meet young people from smaller towns and see the work they are producing and shooting on their own. For instance, a young boy I met recently from a small town in Uttarakhand is living a good life, providing for his parents and all by shooting content at home. Creativity in India is thriving. Performance at award shows is one indicator. Sometimes you have good years and sometimes not so much. It is cyclical. For us, it is a good year, so I am celebrating that with my team.
One of the comments we heard from jury members from India is that despite Cannes Lions' efforts, the cultural context in which India plays is still not clear. Any thoughts on this?
The cultural context has always been very important. I have been a Jury President twice at Cannes Lions - once for Titanium and once for Outdoor - and my recommendation has always been to become more culturally sensitive. Sometimes, because the cultural context is not understood, the work does not get its due. It is important to provide context to ensure that no good entry is missed because its significance is not clear. Cultural significance and context are crucial and help in understanding why a piece of work is important. Even within India, with its diversity, cultural context is necessary to understand our own country, so, naturally, the world needs it too. How finely it gets defined is the question, but I believe cultural context and background are important for a fair evaluation.
You are right in saying that Cannes Lions is making its efforts but this is a continuous process to ensure that it is making the right difference.
Do you think it is a good idea to read too much into what wins and what loses at Cannes Lions?
No, you should not but at the same time, it is important to see where our creative minds are going. For example, our work, both pieces we are proud of, is about transforming lives through design and technology. If a case like UPI (Unified Payments Interface) was entered here, it would sweep every award because of its transformative impact on digital payments in India. Technology and creativity should be used to empower people, and we are seeing signs of that in the work being done. People should learn from that.
Last year, we talked a lot about generative AI (artificial intelligence). Some jury members said that while technology was used, generative AI has not yet played a significant role. Do you think this will change?
It has already started getting used and people are adapting to it. As AI gets smarter, it will reflect more in the future. These are only early days, and AI is a new reality. It will manifest itself in creativity, but the form it will take and how much it will be relied upon is yet to be seen. But yes, it is being used and will continue to be used, and we will see more of it.
Any lessons or insights you are taking home from the festival to share with your creative team?
Every time I come to places like Cannes, I realise that today, we live in a world where one can watch all kinds of content from home. But there is still huge value in human connection, in meeting people face-to-face. There is a different kind of value in that personal interaction that you cannot get from a phone call or virtual meeting. So, go out there and enrich your mind, your bonds and your creativity.
