India’s Cannes Lions 2023 report is shining bright. Mondelez and Ogilvy India won the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix. It was awarded to Mondelez’s ‘Shah Rukh Khan – My Ad’. Ogilvy India was the creative agency behind the work and Wavemaker India was the media agency on board. The brand also collaborated with DeltaX and Rephrase.ai for this piece.
The Creative Effectiveness Lions celebrates the measurable impact of global creative work. Entries in this Lion need to demonstrate how an effective strategy rooted in creativity meets its chosen business objectives, and how it can generate positive customer outcomes and drive sustainable business impact over time.
Much before artificial intelligence (AI) became the buzzword on the internet, Mondelez India started its early experimentations. With the idea of moving the needle from ‘storytelling’ to ‘storydoing’, Mondelez India and its agency partners in 2021 put their bets on hyper-personalisation using AI.
During the festive quarter, the confectionery and snack company created an initiative through which local retailers could create personalised ads for their businesses. Here’s how it worked. A microsite was created that allowed small business owners to generate personalised ads, with Shah Rukh Khan ‘himself’ using owners’ stores’ names in ads that post on social media and other platforms. This happened because the creative idea was infused with AI to create a purpose-led campaign. The company claimed that the campaign garnered 35% growth in business and helped 200,000 small stores across India.
Nitin Saini, vice president – marketing, Mondelez India, tells Storyboard18 the campaign’s formula of using AI to build a scalable solution for a relevant challenge helped the company create impactful experiences. “The work perfectly exemplified our purpose, while creating a tangible positive impact across communities,” he says.
According to Saini, this campaign was among the most impactful campaigns for Cadbury in India. It gave a strong boost to the brand as well as the overall chocolate category during the festive season. It also helped the brand retain its position among the most trusted brands in the country. Saini also believes, “AI definitely opens up a lot of new exciting possibilities for marketers. It is a new tool that allows us to address consumer challenges in newer and more imaginative ways.”
The campaign also received a Silver Creative Effectiveness Lion.
Read more: Cannes Lions 2023: Airtel and Leo Burnett India bag Gold in Brand Experience & Activation