Havas India roars at Cannes Lions: ‘It’s not a peak, but a beginning,’ says Anupama Ramaswamy

New Delhi: After several quiet years at Cannes Lions, Anupama Ramaswamy, Joint MD & Chief Creative Officer, Havas Creative India, sees the agency’s Gold Lion — and India’s first Gold at Cannes 2025 — for The Times of India’s campaign ‘Ink of Democracy’, not as a peak, but a beginning. “We have just started. I hope next year is even better,” she told BestMediaInfo.com.

For Ramaswamy, the win is both personal and transformational. “This year has been fantastic for us. We already won big at Spikes Asia and Adfest this year. This Cannes Lions Gold just seals it for us,” she said.

While the agency is still eyeing more metals, the Gold already represents a turnaround for Havas India, which has not seen a Cannes moment of this scale in years.

“These wins always matter. We all want glory. And it’s a lovely cycle — the more you win, the more clients you get, the more talent you attract,” she said.

Ramaswamy explained that award wins like Cannes Lions not only bring prestige but also directly impact business. “Everybody wants glory. We all want business, and we want glory. The more you win, the more clients you get. Clients you get, the more you win,” she said. It's a self-sustaining cycle that also helps attract better creative talent.

Not just business, such wins also uplift employees' motivation and attract young and better talent to companies, believes Ramaswamy.

“This movement absolutely promotes young talent. We make sure that they're seen, they're heard, they're visible. We promote them. So, keeping all that in mind, I'm hoping that this will also lead to a good influx of creative talent — good people, youngsters who want to make some meaningful difference.”

One major takeaway for her at Cannes Lions this year is the importance of clarity. “It is not just about data or emotion. It’s about a nice balance of idea, how you package it, and keeping it simple,” she said.

“People don’t want to see an over-dramatic case study. They want it to state the facts, state it simply, and package it in interesting storytelling. If it's not presented well in a case study, even a great ad won’t be understood.”

She highlighted that the cultural context must be explained clearly. “In Ink of Democracy, the idea of using purple ink for voting is unique to India. If you do not explain that very clearly, people wouldn't understand why you made this ad.”

“Considering Cannes Lions is truly a global forum, you must be cognizant of the fact that there are people from different ethnicities and parts of the world in the jury room. Don’t over-complicate it. Make it well-subtitled. Clarity is key.”

She elaborated further: “What works in India, for example, in Ink of Democracy — the fact that the purple ink is used for marking the fingers of people who vote, and also to prevent duplicacy — this is not a concept that exists anywhere else in the world. It is because we, as a country, are so full of people who can get swayed into voting twice.”

Ramaswamy is optimistic about India’s overall performance at Cannes this year. “You’ve got good work coming from Leo, FCB, Ogilvy and Talented. We have many shortlists this year. Let’s hope this is a very good year — better than last year.”

For the record, India’s performance at Cannes Lions 2024 ended on a modest note, with 18 awards (2 Gold, 7 Silver, 9 Bronze) — the lowest tally since 2019, when India also secured 18 Lions. This year, India has so far bagged 2 Gold, 6 Silver, and 4 Bronze Lions on the first two days at Cannes Lions.

With many brands globally pulling back from bold purpose-led narratives due to political polarisation, Ramaswamy’s win with a purpose-driven campaign stands out. “Every brand exists for a purpose. Purpose will never go out of fashion,” she stated firmly.

Beyond her own campaign, Ramaswamy called out some of the global work that stood out to her this year: SickKids (“it hit hard”) and India’s own Lucky Yatra (“people are loving it”).

As one of India’s leading female creatives, Ramaswamy reflected on the state of women in the Indian advertising arena. “We are not doing enough. But people are working towards it. I can vouch for my network. At Havas, the number of women in senior leadership is much higher than any other network.”

Quoting Serena Williams from a Cannes Lions session she attended, she said, “The more women who sign the cheques, the bigger the difference it will make to young girls.”

Her advice to young women in the industry? “We need to start somewhere. We need to include many more women, train them better, and make them believe that they can reach positions of power.”