e4m@Cannes:  Cannes calling: India gears up for Day 1

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2025 officially kicks off today at the iconic Palais des Festivals, setting the stage for five days of celebrating creativity, culture, and commerce. Day 1 not only sets the tone for the week but also offers the first look at where global creative excellence is headed this year. Cannes has received 26,900 award submissions in 2025, with a noticeable rise in participation from India. Indian agencies have submitted 982 entries, a significant jump from 826 in 2024, reflecting the growing confidence and creative momentum from the market.

Award announcements today will cover the following categories: Audio & Radio, Health & Wellness, Outdoor, Pharma, and Print & Publishing, making it one of the most awaited moments of Day 1. Meanwhile, shortlists will be revealed for Creative B2B and Creative Data categories. In the past few years, India has performed well in categories like Outdoor, Entertainment Lions for Music and Sport, and Film Craft, so expectations are high as the week unfolds.

The shortlists for most other categories, including Titanium Lions, Innovation Lions, Glass: The Lion for Change, Audio & Radio, Design, Digital Craft, Direct, Entertainment, Entertainment Lions for Music, Entertainment Lions for Sport, Entertainment Lions for Gaming, Film Craft, Health & Wellness, Industry Craft, Media, Outdoor, Pharma, PR, Print & Publishing, and Social & Creator, were unveiled ahead of the festival’s official start.

India’s Cannes Lions 2025 tally stands at 68 shortlists across 22 categories so far. However, there are no Indian entries shortlisted in the Innovation, Glass: The Lion for Change, Audio & Radio, Digital Craft, and Entertainment Lions categories this year. India’s footprint is strong this year, not just through campaigns but also through jury representation. Several Indian professionals are serving as jurors:

• Sustainable Development Goals Lions Jury President: Josy Paul, Chairperson and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO, India.
• Entertainment Lions: Prasoon Joshi, Chairman - McCann Worldgroup, APAC
• Entertainment Lions for Music: Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, India
• Glass: The Lion for Change: Harman Dhillon, Executive Director - Beauty & Wellbeing, Hindustan Unilever Limited, India
• Media Lions: Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia
• Outdoor Lions: Pallavi Chakravarti, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Fundamental
• PR Lions: Archana Jain, CEO, PR Pundit Havas Red, India
• Brand Experience & Activation Lions: Russell Barrett, Chief Creative Experience Officer, TBWA India.
• Creative Data Lions: Vikram Pandey, Chief Creative Officer, Leo, India
• Design Lions: Mahima Mathur, Creative Director, DDB Mudra Group, India
• Entertainment Lions for Sport: Murtuza Madraswala, Head of Marketing, Content & Communications, NBA, India
• Social & Creator Lions: Mayuresh Dubhashi, Chief Creative Officer, FCB India

Apart from the campaigns, the global festival will also honour Adobe Chair and CEO Shantanu Narayen as the inaugural Creative Champion of the Year, a newly introduced recognition celebrating leadership in advancing creativity across industries. Adding to India’s presence at Cannes are industry leaders who will speak at the festival this year. The lineup includes Sumit Virmani, Global CMO at Infosys; Josy Paul, Chairperson and CCO at BBDO India; Gurbaksh Singh, Chief Creative & Innovation Officer at Dentsu Creative; and Ananya Srikanth Rao, Brand Director – Strategy at Saatchi & Saatchi.

India will also be represented at the Young Lions competition by two agency teams—one each in the Print and Digital categories. Notably, this marks India’s debut in the Digital category. Representing India are Saachi Shriyan (Art Director, Dentsu Creative) and Twisha Pandya (Senior Copywriter, Dentsu Webchutney) in Digital, and Punya Arora (Copy Supervisor) and Yugant Gosavi (Creative Controller), both from Ogilvy India, in the Print category.

Several Indian agencies will be in attendance at Cannes this year, including Ogilvy, DDB Mudra, BBDO, Leo Burnett, FCB, VML, Talented, and Atom. While some of these names are familiar faces on the winners' list, others are aiming to make their presence felt on this global stage. As the curtains rise on Cannes Lions 2025, India enters the festival with strong participation, sharp ideas, and growing ambition. The results from Day 1 will set the pace for the week ahead.