Neeta Nair

Omnicom's acquisition of IPG was one of the advertising industry's biggest deals, prompting questions about everything from scale and integration to the future of agency networks.

The lights dim, the bass drops, and the silver screen at the Palais Des Festivals at the Cannes Lions flickers to life. If you are watching an Indian case study, you can almost script the first 10 seconds yourself: a sweeping drone shot of a crowded slum, a poignant sitar or flute swell, and a voiceover starkly rattling off statistics about the country’s population, poverty, or lack of clean water or the uncontrollable crowd and chaos at the colourful Kumbh Mela.

India's performance in the Media Lions category at Cannes Lions 2026 sparked conversations back home. While the country secured two shortlist spots, neither entry converted into a Lion. At the same time, Latin American and Western markets dominated the winners' list, prompting questions about representation, cultural diversity and whether Indian work is being adequately recognised on the global stage.