What can Indian awards learn from Cannes Lions?

It is awards season and Indian agencies and brands are gearing up to put their best work forward to win metals that define the agency and brand’s image. Seeing their work put under the microscope, months of hard work played on a screen and being scrutinized by multiple rounds of judges–leaders who they admire, can be a daunting experience. 

However, it is no cakewalk on the other side of the table either. With the power that these jurors hold, comes a lot of responsibility. It takes years of experience to identify a creative work and develop the ability to say, ‘Yes, this campaign meets the mark and deserves a Gold metal.’ Because, this power, if misused, can lead to a lack of recognition for impactful work that can go unnoticed under a barrage of ads that are released every day.

What happens when you are responsible for shortlisting creative work on a global level? It becomes even more important to understand the nuances of each country and respect every piece of work that is presented to you. 

The International Festival of Creativity, Cannes Lions, has set a benchmark for excellence and is known for its rigorous judging process. This year, the international festival has appointed over 15 Indians to the prestigious jury. 

Last year, the festival saw over 26,992 entries, a number that is anticipated to be surpassed this year. So, the stakes are higher. 

We reached out to a few Indians on the Cannes Lions jury to learn insights from their experience that might serve as valuable lessons for improving the judging process at national-level awards.

Bias Training Workshops & More

At Cannes Lions, significant emphasis is placed on pre-evaluation preparation to ensure that jurors have a clear understanding of the criteria and objectives of the awards they are judging. 

Kopal Naithani, Director and Founder, Superfly Films believes that it is the key differentiator between Cannes Lions and our national awards.  

She said, “The main difference has been the prep before the actual evaluation process began.”

Sharing her experience, she mentioned that an online meeting was conducted for all the jurors with the Cannes organising team and the jury president for the category. During this meeting, clear guidelines were chalked out for them regarding how to view a film, along with its craft and the objectives it’s trying to achieve for the brand. She emphasised that this preparation helps bring clarity to the whole process.

Similarly, Kartikeya Tiwari, National Creative Director, FCB Kinnect said, “Since the first interaction itself, it's very clear that Cannes is the international festival of creativity and a very sacred space where creativity is everything. You're not here to represent anything else but great creative work and help identify that.”

Comparing Cannes with our national awards, Tiwari suggests that while progress is evident in Indian awards, there remains room for improvement in aligning judging parameters and lenses.

Tiwari said, “A lot of Indian awards don't set the expectation correctly as to what the jury is supposed to judge from a parameter and lens is becoming clearer now, but there's still some way to go.”

To further ensure a fair evaluation process, Cannes Lions also implements a bias training program for its jurors prior to the evaluation. This initiative is designed to eliminate unconscious biases and promote a more inclusive and balanced assessment of entries.

Gurbaksh Singh, Chief Innovation Officer, DENTSU CREATIVE India said, “Cannes’ bias training program for jurors further enhances fairness and objectivity in the judging methodology. Emphasising diversity among jurors brings varied perspectives and encourages open debates and diverse viewpoints which leads to a more comprehensive assessment of entries. The inclusion of all these measures in our national-level awards will pave the way for a higher benchmark.”

For Naithani, the bias training workshop was a key takeaway. She said, “A training programme like this not only brings in objectivity but also expands your worldview and perspective especially while judging on a global platform.”

Implementing similar training programs in Indian award processes can lead to more objective evaluations and a broader perspective among jurors.

Learning Cultural Context

At Cannes, the diversity and expertise of the jury play a crucial role in ensuring a balanced and fair evaluation of entries. A diverse jury ensures that a range of perspectives, experiences, and cultural backgrounds are considered when evaluating entries. This representation helps prevent biases and ensures fair judgement.

Nitin Mantri, Regional Executive Managing Director (APAC), WE Communications, and Group CEO, Avian WE, highlighted the role of cultural context in the judging process. 

Mantri said, “Cannes stresses the importance of understanding the cultural context of every campaign. This helps the jury in assessing how effectively the campaign resonates with its target audience on cultural, national, or regional levels.”

Similarly, Naina Meattle, Vice President - Brand Planning, BBDO also emphasised that cultural context is meticulously highlighted to ensure that jurors from different parts of the world can fully understand and appreciate the nuances of each campaign. 

Sharing her experience, she said, “While it was crucial to avoid any biases or misinterpretations that may arise due to lack of cultural knowledge, it also became interesting yet challenging to judge cases while keeping these 'foreign' contexts in mind.”

This diversity not only enriches the judging process but also offers a comprehensive view of the entries, ensuring that a variety of voices are heard and valued, leading to more comprehensive evaluations.

Hephzibah Pathak, Executive Chairperson, Ogilvy India, said, “The awarding jury represents the global industry’s leading talent from diverse fields and cultures. This brings in rich and diverse perspectives, truly raising the level. What's interesting is that leaders can share cultural nuances in discussion (on work that's not theirs), so ideas are better appreciated.”

Similarly, highlighting the importance of diversity needed on a jury panel, Singh said, "Emphasising diversity among jurors brings varied perspectives and encourages open debates and diverse viewpoints, which leads to a more comprehensive assessment of entries."

Understanding Categorisation 

Well-defined categories ensure a thorough evaluation of entries. Each category at Cannes serves as a distinct lens through which entries are scrutinised, capturing the industry's essence in all its diversity and vibrancy ensuring that awards remain relevant.

Meattle shared that while the rating criteria are pretty similar across Cannes Lions as well as the national-level awards, she feels that a few more interesting categories could be included in our national-level awards.

She said, “I was a part of the jury for the Direct category. And it was really interesting to see how brands have dissected the population (From gamers, bald people, people who have recently broken up, to cat lovers etc.) and targeted them for maximum impact.”

Similarly, Mukund Olety, Chief Creative Officer, VML highlights the meticulous crafting of entries at Cannes, which is reflected in the diversity and preciseness of its categories. 

He said, “The biggest difference is the sheer number of quality entries. At Cannes, the stakes are high and you see that reflected in the work that gets submitted. Every case study and every piece of execution is thought through and crafted for the category.”

He highlighted that Cannes Lions also has a well-defined set of categories that has evolved with the industry and captures the full breadth of what the industry has to offer. Sharing examples he said that the categories such as Glass and Sustainable Development Goals have purpose at the core of it. On the other end, they also have ‘Use of Humor’ which is a great spectrum of work that the festival celebrates. 

The additional categories also reiterate the importance of evolution. In an industry that is greatly shaped by technology and changing culture, it is only fair that the categories of recognition in award shows evolve with it. 

Talking about the work India needs to celebrate, Olety said, “More Indian Creative shows need to reflect the work an ad agency does today. I would love to see us celebrate work that covers Business Transformation, Gaming, Technology and Innovation. Coming to the judging process itself, it’s a bit more elaborate at Cannes when compared to the Indian shows.”

Tiwari draws a sharp contrast between global and Indian awards, noting the meticulous categorisation in the former.

Tiwari said, “With the experience of some of the global awards, the categories there are very well thought through. You'd really find no overlaps of categories and therefore, even if you see the same case study across three categories, you will see modifications made to suit that particular category because the category's expectations are very well defined.”

He observes that Indian awards often lack clear category bifurcation. He believes this stems from a desire to reward everyone, resulting in overlaps and a lack of clear boundaries.

Tiwari said, “Majority of the Indian awards have an intention of awarding everybody and rewarding everyone. And that results in a lot of categories. A lot of them are just created out of thin air and don't really have a strong territory marking the perimeter. You'll find two or three other categories also having an overlap in terms of description and expectation and it just feels wrong. It just feels like a lot of it is done to accommodate everyone's work and everyone's egos and that is not ideal according to me.” 

The intention to recognise all participants dilutes the significance of each category and undermines the clarity and integrity of the judging process. Therefore, streamlining and clearly defining categories is crucial for recognising creative excellence fairly in Indian awards, too. 

The evaluation process at Cannes Lions, in a few words, is elaborate, fair and diverse, and India can learn a lesson or two.