This year, the entry count from India for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, increased by 18.82% to reach 982, the highest in the last five years.

In a conversation with Manifest, during the festival, Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, attributed that increase to a passion and patriotism of representing India on the global stage.  

"It’s been great to see increased participation from India. We have had such a strong history with Indian creativity. There have been some peaks and troughs, but that’s happened with other markets too. When we visit India and meet the creative community, there is the same passion and patriotism and a real sense that India needs to show up on the global stage here at Cannes Lions," he said.

However, a bulk of the 982 entries come from the network agencies. In fact, some of the newly formed independents, do not consider awards like the Lions, at all, citing multiple reasons for the same.

How can that change?

"We try to ensure that our program is as relevant and future-focused focus it can be. We are constantly talking to the market about what they need – which awards they would like to be represented on the global stage so that we can reflect the industry landscape in real time. At the same time, we are also planting the seeds for a way forward," he said.

Cook added that the global entry count from independents did see a rise.

"We are also seeing more brands participating this year. Yes, some new independents might not think that the Cannes Lions is a great platform. We engage with them and start to surface work from the past few years which has won – it opens their appetite. They see it as the kind of work that they are leaning towards, whether it’s nimble or innovation-led. It’s not just traditional advertising that’s winning here at Cannes. We also speak about the exposure and what it can do for the business of the agency. It helps attract talent and new clients," he said.

Catch the full chat with Cook in the July issue of Manifest. Click here to buy it. 

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