Cannes Lions 2019: FCB Ulka hits a Gold for India, finally

On the final day of Cannes Lions 2019, FCB Ulka Delhi brought a face-saver Gold for the country in Sustainable Development Goals category. The agency won the Gold Lion for The Open Door Project done for Millenium School. The work had also won a Bronze Lion in Brand Experience & Activation category.

Also read: Cannes Lions 2019: Underdogs shine amid India’s dismal outing

An elated Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB India, said, “This Gold Lion is true testimony to FCB's creative transformation journey. I'm proud and humbled to have the honour to win India's only Gold Lion of Cannes 2019.

WARC Creative 100 named us the Number One creative agency in India. It was a flaming debut for FCB. This gold lion win reaffirms that we deserve to be there and will stay there, hopefully, for a long long time to come.”

Swati Bhattacharya, CCO, FCB Ulka, said, “To address the biggest problems of our world using creativity as a tool is the most heartening joy for us at FCB. The open door project is a simple idea that can solve India's biggest problem- education.”

Shantanu Prakash, Founder The Open Door Project, said, “I am very happy that The Open Door Project has received this amazing honour of winning a Gold at Cannes! This will allow the mission of the project to get the international attention it deserves. The project seeks to eradicate illiteracy in India by opening the doors of hundreds and thousands of schools to children from under-privileged class and community. This award will go a long way in getting the message of the Open Door Project to our supporters and other likeminded people and shines a spotlight on what we need to do, to bring literacy and education to the young generation of India.”

Watch the ‘Open Door Project’ case study:

The other shortlist from India in this category, Stayfree’s #ProjectFreePeriod by DDB Mudra Mumbai, won a Bronze Lion.

Watch the #ProjectFreePeriod case study:

With this, India took a total of 18 Lions home including a Gold, five Silver and 12 Bronze.

Agency wise tally:  

All Indian winners at Cannes Lions 2019: