At this year’s Spikes Asia Awards, a prestigious celebration of creative excellence in advertising and marketing, India emerged as a dominant force, securing five Grand Prix honors alongside Australia. The event, held in Singapore, reaffirmed India’s growing prowess in global advertising through a blend of innovative storytelling and socially driven campaigns.
Among the standout winners was Leo Burnett Mumbai, recognized in the Creative Data category for its campaign “Turf Finder” on behalf of hydration brand Gatorade. The project tackled the dearth of recreational spaces in India’s urban centers by using real-time Google traffic data to identify low-traffic zones, which were then temporarily repurposed for sports like cricket and basketball.
McCann Gurgaon took home the Design Grand Prix for “Fit My Feet”, a campaign for Buckaroo Footwear that addressed the mobility challenges faced by individuals with clubfoot—a birth defect disproportionately affecting lower-income populations. The initiative involved the creation of orthopedic shoe kits designed in collaboration with medical professionals and tested with local cobblers, ultimately benefiting more than 228,000 people while generating new income streams for community artisans.
In Film Craft, the Grand Prix was awarded to “The Steel of India”, a cinematic tribute to the resilience of the Indian spirit created for Jindal Steel and Power by Early Man Film (Mumbai) and Kondurkar Studio (Delhi). The two-minute visual narrative portrayed the raw intensity of daily life, drawing a parallel between human grit and the forging of steel.
Ogilvy Bangalore earned the top honor in the Healthcare category for “Eye Test Menu”, a campaign for Titan Eye+ focused on long-haul truck drivers. To promote eye health among this underserved group, the brand launched eye camps at roadside eateries (dhabas) and introduced vision tests disguised as food menus. Drivers who required corrective lenses were offered glasses at subsidized rates, delivered directly to their routes.
Lastly, in Print and Publishing, Havas Mumbai was honored for “Ink of Democracy”, a provocative campaign by the Times of India aimed at increasing voter turnout. In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, the newspaper printed its front pages in a striking purple ink—symbolizing the inked fingers of voters—to represent the 33 percent of eligible Indians who abstained from voting in the previous general election. A total of 2.28 million such editions were printed, each serving as a quiet protest and a call to civic duty.
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