Cannes Contenders 2025: DDB Mudra's bold bet on period talk, gaming love, and Gen Z hacks

The stage is set, the stakes are high, and India’s creative powerhouses are once again ready to dazzle at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. This year, the spotlight is on bold vision, disruptive thinking, limitless innovation and storytelling that transcends borders.

As the Indian contingent steps into the global arena, we take an early look at the campaigns set to make waves on advertising’s grandest stage. In this piece, we take a look at the campaigns eneterd by DDB Mudra Group.

Stayfree: #BetaStayfreeLeAana

Stayfree’s campaign aimed to break period shame by encouraging men to talk about menstruation. Since 2022, it has used Daughter’s Day to reach out to sons—because if boys are comfortable with periods, girls will be too. Parents are urged to add a pad brand to the shopping list given to their sons. Making buying pads as normal as buying toothpaste or bread. The goal was to put India a step closer to breaking generations of period shame.

Krafton Inc: The Great In-Game Wedding

India’s largest gaming platform, BGMI felt it had a responsibility towards the image of the gaming sector and how it is often reduced to addiction and violence. But for gamers, BGMI is more than just a game, it is a hub for connection and socialisation. Players spend three times longer durations in the BGMI lobby, forming friendships and even finding love than they do in the game. To show this emotional side, BGMI hosted an actual wedding inside the game, where this couple first met. In this ‘Great In-game Wedding’ all of India was invited to celebrate love and connection, along with the true spirit of gaming.

McDonald’s (CPRL): Shakashaka

To connect with Gen Z and their love for McDonald’s fries, this campaign focused on creating cultural relevance. The main thought behind the strategy: ‘If you haven’t shaken your fries, do you even know you’ve eaten them?’ Shake Shake Fries was soon transformed into a fun ritual. The brand also launched a mockumentary turning the fries into Shakashaka, a musical instrument. Its beats were all over social media, creating a playful, first-of-its-kind musical that resonated with Gen Z.

Flipkart: Big Billion Days - The Cover Up Coupon

With Gen Z, India’s biggest shopaholics, being the target of this campaign, Flipkart turned its Big Billion Days sale into its biggest Gen Z focused sale ever. But here’s the catch: most Gen Zers depend on their parents financially. So, Flipkart introduced Cover-up Coupons, a collection of fake scratch & win vouchers for every Gen Z favourite item during the sale to make their shopping look like winning gifts. Gen Z could simply order it via Flipkart’s app while shopping, and get it delivered before the actual item. This clever hack helped them shop freely, making it all seem like ‘wins’.

Talking about the campaign, Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group, said,“Our wins at the Cannes have always come from our big clients. And this year has been one, where some of them have shown a big appetite for good work. We have worked with brands across categories like McDonald’s, BGMI, Flipkart, Stayfree & Volkswagen. What makes the spread more delightful is how diverse it is. It has allowed us to cover classic categories like film, radio, media but also new age ones like gaming, entertainment & creative commerce.”