India's Top Winner Leo Burnett On What's Next For Creativity

Leo Burnett has once again emerged as India's top performer at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2024. The agency secured five Lions including one Gold, two Silver and two Bronze and 11 shortlists.

Burnett's winning streak spanned across multiple categories. Their work for major brands like Gatorade, Oreo and Lay's garnered recognition in Creative Data, Creative Effectiveness, Sustainability Development Goals, and Glass: The Lions for Change categories.

Quality Over Quantity

Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Publicis Groupe South Asia and Chairman, Leo Burnett South Asia, expressed mixed emotions about the agency's performance. "We expected more, but it's a tough year. A lot of things have changed," Das admitted. However, he emphasized the significance of winning for their biggest accounts and campaigns across multiple categories. "We are winning for Gatorade, Lay's and Mondelez. We have won gold for data which is the future of advertising," he stated, underlining the agency's focus on modern, data-driven creativity.

Das also highlighted Leo Burnett's consistent performance in categories like Sustainability Development Goals and Glass, demonstrating their commitment to purpose-driven advertising. "That shows our commitment to our biggest brands winning the biggest thing," he added.

Amitesh Rao, CEO of Leo Burnett South Asia, echoes Das's sentiments, emphasising the quality and relevance of their winning work. "What's even more important is the fact that the work is all on our biggest clients and our biggest brands," Rao points out.

The agency's 'Turf Finder' campaign for Gatorade clinched the Gold Lion in the Creative Data category, leveraging data-driven insights in their creative process. The same campaign also secured a Bronze in the Entertainment for Sport category.

Oreo's '#BringBack2011' campaign earned a Silver Lion in Creative Effectiveness, while Lay's 'Project Farm Equal' bagged a Silver in the Glass: The Lions for Change category. The 'Drops of Joy' campaign for Lay's rounded off the agency's achievements with a Bronze in Sustainability Development Goals.

While India's overall performance at Cannes Lions 2024 saw a slight dip with 18 Lions compared to 25 the previous year, Das remains optimistic. "It is not bad. It is two steps behind the big jump," he predicted, hinting at a bright future for Indian creativity on the global stage.

Next On Creativity

Rao highlights the agency's focus on pushing creative boundaries in the new digital landscape, stating, "We are an agency that is very consciously pushing the boundaries of creative solutions and creative thinking in the new world and not in a legacy model of advertising and creativity."

Rao also touched upon the changing face of creativity in the industry. "The future is really about being able to collaborate with people from many different skill sets, many different walks of life, and many different profiles, all coming together for creative solutions," he explained, pointing to a more democratized creative process.

Looking ahead, Das envisions a transformative journey for creativity in India. "We are on a journey to change the creativity in India. We will do a certain kind of work that is big, that is a new age, modern, using data, using technology, using innovation, having sustainability at the centre of it," he asserts.

Reema Bhaduri

BW Reporters The author is the Editorial Lead at BW Businessworld. Majorly writes on marketing, advertising, experiential marketing and retail. She closely looks upon the vertical of BW Marketing World and BW Retail World.