When lions don't roar in the market: Creative vs Commerce divide haunting Indian agencies

A campaign wins a prestigious international award. But when it gets to the boardroom, the client asks one simple question: did it sell anything? That’s the paradox gripping India’s top ad agencies, where the pursuit of creative accolades from awards like Cannes Lions and others often clashes with the demand for measurable business growth.

The fundamental disconnect runs deeper than surface-level creative preferences.

Read more on agencies and AI

"Cannes Lions celebrates big cultural ideas with originality, symbolism, and storytelling that feels timeless. The jury asks: does this surprise me, does it move the craft forward? Clients flip that. Their only filter is: did it sell, did revenue growth this quarter, did it cut through clutter?" explains Ganesh Pareek, Executive Producer, Creative Director, and Partner at First December Films.

"That's the gap. Cannes equals value creation, sparking stories that shift culture. Clients on the other hand look for value capture, distribution, and consumer action."

First December Films, a Mumbai-based production house with over 150 international awards, including Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, D&AD Pencils, and Clio Awards, has seen this tension firsthand. Its films, recognized by prominent publications like The New York Times, Time Magazine, BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal, reflect a commitment to emotional depth and creative clarity, yet navigating client expectations remains complex.

The Jury Room vs The Boardroom

The philosophical divide becomes more pronounced when examining how creative work gets evaluated. International juries often celebrate campaigns that push boundaries and challenge conventions, while Indian boardrooms focus on immediate, measurable impact. This creates a scenario where creatively ambitious work might struggle to find commercial validation.

Cannes and Accountability

But what about the ideas that truly matter to India? The divide isn't just philosophical, it’s also cultural. The ideas that win big abroad may not resonate with local audiences at home.

Abhijat Bharadwaj, Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative Isobar, highlights another layer of complexity, saying, "At Cannes, juries can feel removed from Indian realities, often judging Asian ideas through a Western lens. Inside that room, the 'big problems' are treated as already awarded; bring a strong breast cancer solution and you are told it has been done. That habit sidelines locally relevant progress."

Read more on Cannes Lions

This cultural disconnect means that campaigns addressing uniquely Indian challenges or leveraging local insights might not receive the international recognition they deserve, even when they deliver exceptional business results.

Presenting Bold Creativity To ROI-Focused Clients

The challenge of selling award-worthy concepts to commercially minded clients has forced agencies to evolve their presentation strategies. The traditional creative pitch deck is being replaced by more dynamic, results-focused approaches.

"Clients don't buy 'art,' they buy ROI. In plain terms: if I put in one rupee, do I get five back?" says Pareek. "And in 2025 September, I can't just pitch ideas, I have to stage them like content that already feels alive. Think less 'deck,' more 'Reel drop' or 'YouTube Short'. The idea has to play in the room the way it would play in the feed."

This shift toward experiential pitching reflects broader changes in how creative work gets consumed and evaluated. Agencies now map emotional narratives to business outcomes, connecting disruption to attention metrics, and packaging creativity within comprehensive business cases.

Megha Marwah, Vice President of Strategy at White Rivers Media, emphasizes the importance of grounding bold concepts in business objectives, saying, "When we present bold ideas, we always root them in the client's business objectives first. The creative is then shown as a lever to drive visibility, engagement, and ultimately sales. By linking the concept to data, insights, or past examples, we position boldness not as a risk but as a calculated way to break through clutter.”

The Tanishq "Ekatvam" ad serves as a famous example of this divide. The ad, which was lauded for its artistic merit and progressive message of interfaith unity, was met with a social media boycott, forcing the brand to take it down. It was a masterpiece of creative storytelling that failed commercially because it misjudged the social and political climate.

The Decision Matrix

When forced to choose between creative recognition and commercial success, industry leaders are increasingly pragmatic about prioritizing business results. This decision-making process reflects a maturing industry that understands sustainable creative excellence requires commercial viability.

"It's business results, every time. Awards like Cannes Lions are cherries. But brands don't survive on cherries; they survive on cake: sales, trust, market share," states Pareek firmly. "I tell my team: bake the cake right, and we'll always have more chances to add cherries later." This philosophy extends beyond individual campaigns to long-term agency positioning. Commercial success creates the foundation for creative ambition, providing bigger budgets and greater creative freedom over time.

Bharadwaj takes an even more direct approach to this dilemma, saying, "I avoid the patli gali. Jungle mein mor naacha, kisne dekha? Applause in a jury room means little if the market does not move. Work that wins a few oohs but lifts no sales is pointless; advertising without commercial effect is a contradiction."

Building Bridges Between Creativity and Commerce

The most successful agencies are finding ways to bridge this gap rather than choosing sides. They're developing frameworks that satisfy both creative ambition and commercial necessity, recognizing that the best work often achieves both objectives.

Marwah outlines this balanced approach, saying, "It's a simple filter: what matters the most to the client's success. Awards are motivating and help build reputation, but they can't replace measurable impact like sales uplift or brand growth. When the team sees how commercial outcomes strengthen relationships and create long-term value, alignment becomes much easier."

The industry is also witnessing clients becoming more receptive to creative excellence when presented within a proper business context. "We are fortunate to work with clients who look beyond a simple two-dimensional sales graph, and more now openly ask for Cannes-calibre ideas,” notes Bharadwaj. “Nobody joined marketing to crank out 15-second functional films; the ambition to be a great marketer still burns. Our job is to fan that fire and steer it into scalable work."

The most successful agencies are no longer choosing sides. They're proving that the most powerful advertising doesn’t require a choice between recognition and results, it achieves both. The future belongs to those who can create work that satisfies a festival jury and moves the needle in the market, turning creative excellence into a cornerstone of a brand's long-term success.