‘India has been consistently great & getting better at Cannes Lions. We're undeniable now’

Cannes Lions 2023, the celebration of creative excellence in advertising, kicks off on June 19 this year and the Indian ad land will be closely watching it since 13 of the industry's creative bests have been chosen to grace the jury. 

In the Cannes Lions 2023 Jury series, e4m spoke to Hemant Shringy, Chief Creative Officer at BBDO India, who is one of the 13 Indian jury members for the event this year. He will be judging in the Health & Wellness Lions. In a candid chat, he told us that the Indian advertising industry has always been consistent with its work and that is one of the reasons for the world to recognize the industry.

Edited excerpts

Cannes Lions has 13 Indian creative leaders as jurors, how is the world perceiving the Indian advertising industry?

I think more than just India, it's a beautiful and intuitive evolution towards a diverse point of view that is shown in the jury lineup. And of course that is led by path-breaking work that is coming from all these diverse markets. India has been consistently great and getting better each year for almost a whole decade and we're undeniable now.

How has the definition of creativity changed over time?

I don't think it's the definition of creativity that has changed. It's always been about creating something compelling. I think what's evolved and keeps evolving every day is the expression of it. And the less we try and find the pattern, the better it'll be.

Have the judging parameters changed from last year?

While we evaluate work as a group, I think each person brings their own rich perspective to the discussion. And with an increasingly diverse set of minds coming together, the work may have to become more bulletproof and I think it's becoming more culturally rich and nuanced each year.

What constitutes a winning campaign?

I don't think formulas work when you have the greatest creative minds passionately discussing the best work from around the world. I have a feeling that work that is pretending gets filtered out very early in the process.

What are you expecting from this year's Cannes?

What I take back every year - more and more learning. And a newer, higher benchmark.