The second day of the 55th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival has begun on a high note. The shortlists of the Media Lions and Outdoor Lions were announced on the day.

Outdoor Lions

There are 23 Indian entries that have made it to the Outdoor Lions shortlist. O&M has nine entries; McCann Erickson has four; Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett have three each; JWT India has two; and Rediffusion DY&R and Bates David Enterprise have one each.

Ogilvy & Mather entries are ‘48’ for Hindustan Unilever; ‘Hutch Pigeon’ for Hutchison Essar; three for WWF India -– ‘Illusion Rhino’, ‘Illusion Turtle’ and ‘Illusion Tiger’; two for Orbo -- ‘Taj Mahal’ and ‘Rainbow’; ‘Window Stickers’ for Visage Media Services and ‘Swimming Pool’ for HSBC Corporate.

McCann Erickson’s four shortlisted entries include ‘Building’ for Anando Milk, and three for Perfetti Van Melle –- ‘Flashpan’, ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Sleepless’.

All three shortlisted Saatchi & Saatchi entries are for Cox and King’s. These include ‘Eifel Tower’, ‘Statue of Liberty’ and ‘London Bridge’.

The three entries of Leo Burnett that have made it to the shortlist are ‘Che’, ‘Charlie’ and ‘Adolf’ -- all for its client Luxor.

JWT India has two works that have been shortlisted -- the work done for GM Pens International and the entry titled ‘Madonna’ for MW.com India.

Bates David Enterprise’s work done for Tata AIG ‘Mirror Image’ too is in the shortlist, as is Rediffusion DY&R’s work done for Xerox India titled ‘George Bush’.

The Press & Outdoor competition was introduced in 1992. Since 2002, the Festival has recognised Press and Outdoor as separate advertising media, awarding each their own Grand Prix. Since 2006, Outdoor is judged by a separate and dedicated jury. This year, the category has seen 5,842 entries from 73 countries, an increase of 1.5 per cent in comparison with last year. Unlike Radio Lions, Media Lions and Promo Lions, Outdoor Lions has seen an increase in the number of entries sent by Indian agencies. This year there are 296 entries in this category compared to 252 last year.

Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman, McCann Worldgroup India & Regional Executive Creative Director-Asia Pacific, is the Jury President.

Media Lions

In Media Lions, nine Indian entries have been shortlisted. Leo Burnett has three; Maxus has two; and MindShare, Publicis India, TBWA\India and O&M have one each.

Leo Burnett’s shortlisted entries are ‘Ruler’ for advertiser Micro Technologies; ‘Blue Highlighter’ for Luxor Writing Instruments and ‘Ketchup’ for P&G. Maxus India’s two shortlisted entries are for Nokia -– entry titled ‘360 degree feedback model’; and for Vodaphone Essar -- entry titled ‘If you like it’.

MindShare’s shortlisted entry is ‘Virgin launches in India’ for Virgin Mobile.

The Media Lions was created in 1999 to honour excellence in media strategy, planning and execution. Each entry will receive four marks, which will make up the total vote in the ratios of Innovative Media Strategy (40 per cent), Creative Execution (20 per cent), Target Audience (20 per cent) and Effectiveness (20 per cent).

This year, a record 2,000 entries from 64 countries have been submitted -- an increase of 20.4 per cent compared to last year. However, India has seen a dip in the number of entries this year -– from the 105 works entered last year to 92 this time.

Dominic Proctor, Chief Executive Officer Worldwide, Mindshare, UK, is the Jury President. Lodestar Universal's Chief Executive Officer Shashi Sinha is also on the Media Lions jury.