BBDO India sends five campaigns to Cannes Lions 2024

BBDO India is set to showcase five campaigns at Cannes Lions 2024. Of these, four are for Ariel, and one is for Mumbai Police.

The agency is entering Ariel's "HomeTeams" and "#ShareTheLoad" campaigns in the Film, Integrated, Media, and PR categories. Additionally, the "103 Helpline for Women’s Safety" campaign for Mumbai Police will compete in the Glass Lion and Design Lions categories.

Home Teams #ShareTheLoad (Integrated)

57% of women decline work-related travel opportunities. Because they worry about their partner’s ability to manage the household chores in their absence. The mental load of household chores is holding women back.

The campaign was further complemented by the development of a tech solution, Home Map. It functions like a map for your home, showing men where things are kept, which reduces the constant calls to women while they are away.

But that was not all. Ariel also hijacked prime-time news. The news anchor’s husband took over the news screen, reassuring her that he had the home covered, surprising both the anchor and millions of viewers.

Home Teams #ShareTheLoad (Film)

In its latest edition, Ariel's #ShareTheLoad campaign asks: How strong is your home team? This year, the campaign tackles the mental load women shoulder in addition to physical housework. Can men become trusted allies, fostering a true partnership? Watch the film and see how sharing the load strengthens your HomeTeam! #ShareTheLoad

Ariel ‘Times News Hijack’

In India, many women decline work-related travel opportunities, because they worry about their partners’ ability to manage the household chores in their absence. Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad movement wanted to change mindsets and persuade men to step up at home, to share their partner’s mental load. For one night, while millions across India were tuned in, Ariel hijacked Prime-Time News to surprise the news anchor with a heartwarming message from her husband – showing him taking care of the home, while she was at work. This News Hijack was part of a larger integrated movement HomeTeams #ShareTheLoad that grew the conversation around the mental load of household chores on women.

Ariel ‘Home Maps App’

To reduce the mental load on women, Ariel, India’s leading detergent brand, developed a tech solution, Home Map. It’s like Maps for your home. With Home Map, men can find things at home without the constant calls to their wives. Putting an end to weaponised incompetence! Ariel’s ‘Home Map’ tells men where everything is kept at home. Home Map was part of a larger integrated movement HomeTeams #ShareTheLoad, that grew the conversation around the mental load of household chores on women. The combined impact of the HomeTeams movement was seen on the brand and society.

The ‘103 Rakhee’ for Women’s Safety

103, a women’s safety helpline was launched by the Mumbai Police. Despite announcing the helpline across mainstream media, very few women knew about it. 88% of women in Mumbai said they had no idea about 103.

In India, culture reaches a point where mainstream media can’t. So, BBDO turned to culture – to Raksha Bandhan – a traditional Indian festival, wherein the agency took the Rakhi and turned it into a medium to spotlight the helpline. ‘The 103 RAKHI’ was launched with a guerrilla act.

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At a women’s safety event, a well-known activist surprised the Mumbai Commissioner of Police with this specially designed 103 Rakhi to raise awareness about the helpline. This captured the attention of the press and women present at the event. The Commissioner of Police shared this special moment on his widely popular Instagram page. This created news and celebrities grew the movement. 103 Rakhis were available at stores, capturing the attention of women shopping for Rakhis. The 103 Rakhi took up further traditional media couldn’t and awareness about the helpline spread wider.

In a city of 8.5 million women, awareness about the helpline grew and reached people – ‘Women Safety Helpline 103 Help will be there in 10 minutes.’

Josy Paul, Chairman at BBDO India said, "You can never tell exactly where the future is going but you can get a strong sense of the forces that are shaping it. People talk a lot about the future of advertising being immersive, seamless, interactive experiences, hyper-personalized and expanding into new untapped areas of the digital world and everything data-driven and measurable – thus helping brands reach their customers more effectively. Never in the history of our business have so many different shifts hit us at the same time with such immediate effect. The only way to respond to the tectonic shifts in our business is to let go, and enjoy the game. The unpredictability, the surprise, the new learning will be our greatest reward.

If we study our performance over the last 10 years, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the work from India is influencing creativity, the jury, and the sentiment of the world. If we take the Cannes Lions as an indicator - in 2022, Indian ad agencies scooped a record haul of awards - 47 trophies including five Grand Prix, two titanium lions, eight golds, 18 silvers and 14 bronze Lions. The year 2022 was the ‘1983 of the Indian advertising industry – in a way, we won the advertising World Cup for the first time. "