Cannes is India's true national advertising award show

Comparison and benchmarking is the genesis of creative energy. And this will remain the eternal truth of human progress. Without cave drawings there would have been no paintings; without paintings, no photography; without photography, no cinema; without cinema, possibly no Internet. That is why we must come together every year. To feel good, bad, envious and sad. And, most importantly, to feel inspired. At the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival.

One question often asked is, who are THEY? They, who sit in a big room and decide whether OUR work is good enough or not.

For starters, the Cannes Jury is not, as is sometimes perceived, a First World jury seeking ideas that are obedient to a First World culture. It is more like a United Colors of Benetton panel. It is more an eclectic mix of pop psychologists, creative geniuses, social thinkers and communication specialists from vastly differing cultures and backgrounds who come together to seek common ground on mass communication ideas.

So does that make it unfair to a good idea that is not universal in its appeal? Possibly. But then, the same applies to the real marketplace. The most successful Indian advertising campaigns have not necessarily been the best but almost always the most widely liked. That’s what I like about Cannes. If you have a cynic, an optimist and a capitalist agree on the same thing, you definitely have something that works.

More importantly, the THEIRS vs OURS argument is well past its sell-by date. We live in one world and the holistic notion of excellence cannot be sacrificed at the shallow altar of parochialism and cultural ghettoisation.

It is important that Rahman wins an Oscar and Adiga bags a Booker. It is inspiring when Amartya Sen is awarded the Nobel. After all, national passions like cricket and films entered our shores through an open mind.

Lastly, as things stand, unfortunately, the Cannes Festival is perhaps the only truly INDIAN Advertising Award Show — the only one that all our advertising agencies are open to taking part in.