Cannes Lions 2021: India wins seven metals on Day 1, FCB Interface brings home our first Gold

• Cannes Lions has announced Bronze, Silver, Gold and Grand Prix for Design Lions, Print & Publishing Lions, Health and Wellness Lions and Pharma Lions.
• FCB Interface has won Gold Lion, 2 Silver and 2 Bronzes, Lowe Lintas Mumbai brought back home a Bronze Lion and Geometry Encompass won a Bronze Lion.

Starting Day 1 of Cannes Lions 2021 on a high, FCB Interface won five Lions, including the Gold Lion, for Mumbai Police's ‘The Punishing Signal’ campaign in the PR subcategory.

With the core focus on Purpose, Innovation, and Tech, the Punishing Signal has been awarded a Gold Lion and a Silver Lion in the Health & Wellness category under the category description Non-profit/Foundation-led Education & Awareness. The campaign also won a Silver Lion and 2 Bronze Lion in the Outdoor category under the category description Ambient Outdoor, Single-market Campaign, and Social Behaviour.

With 6.6 billion impressions, the campaign became the Most Liked & Shared, and the #1 Indian topic, all social media taken. International news outlets in over 35 countries covered the campaign in over 1000 articles.


On the occasion of winning Gold Lion for consecutive three years at Cannes and FCB’s commitment to purposeful creativity, Rohit Ohri, Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India, said, “Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a habit. Our Gold Lion hat-trick at Cannes is testimony to FCB Group India making creative excellence a habit.”

Delighted with the win, Robby Mathew, Vice Chairman & CCO, FCB Interface, said, “All the credit for these 5 Lions goes to Mumbai Police, for believing in the idea, installing the Punishing Signals across Mumbai, and then tweeting the humorous video to the whole wide world!”

On the other hand, Lowe Lintas Mumbai picked a Bronze Lion for Lifebuoy’s ‘H for Handwash’ campaign in the Brand-led education and awareness sub-category.

Lowe Lintas' COO, Sagar Kapoor said, "Behaviour change cannot get any more critical, given the era we are living in. For that change to happen something fundamental has to change. Handwashing is pivotal in saving lives in the pandemic yet data shows its rate is still declining. Lifebuoy having championed behaviour change decided to play a key role, one that goes way beyond than just being a soap. We decided to change the alphabet H forever. H will not be for HAT or HORSE. Now H is for HANDWASHING. Making this intervention at a really young age will ensure the hygiene habit is instilled at an age that would never let anyone forget handwashing. Winning a Cannes Bronze for the act just reinstates our faith in real work getting global recognition."

Lifebuoy's 'Hackwashing’ also won a Bronze Lion in the Direct subcategory. The campaign was conceptualised by Geometry Encompass.

Speaking about the win, Roshan Abbas, MD, Geometry Encompass said, "In a tough year for the experiential business this is a shot in the arm. Fiinally, we have an Experiential Lion siting on our shelf. Thanks to all the hard work of the team at VMLYR Commerce Encompass."

Five campaigns, including three for ‘The Punishing Signal’ by FCB Interface for Mumbai Police and one each for Lifebuoy’s ‘H for Hand Washing’ by Lowe Lintas Mumbai and ‘Hackwashing’ for Lifebuoy, were shortlisted in the Health and Wellness category from India.