Cannes Lions 2017: Leo Burnett bags India's sole Innovation shortlist

Leo Burnett India is one step closer to bringing home a coveted metal at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2017. The agency has bagged India’s sole shortlist in the Innovation category this year, for its work for HP Lubricants’ #RoadsThatHonk. The Innovations Lions honour ground-breaking technology and problem-solving. This year, Leo Burnett India is in the fray for metal alongside tech giants such as Apple, Google and Intel.

Conceptualised, designed and executed by Leo Burnett India, #RoadsThatHonk is an intelligent anti-collision vehicle management system, designed to make Indian highways safer. The technology adopts SmartLife Poles at sharp curves and hairpin bends, employing advanced networked devices with a combination of wireless technology, radar systems, and an anti-collision warning system, all powered by solar PV modules. SmartLife Poles are placed on each side of key hairpin bends. The poles detect speeds of oncoming vehicles, then communicate with each other to caution approaching vehicles on either side with a horn. The first ever set of SmartLife Poles was installed on NH1 along the Jammu-Srinagar Highway in North India, at a hairpin bend touted as one of the most dangerous ones in the world (Source: National Geographic).

Watch the #RoadsThatHonk case study here:

The Innovation Lions category was announced for the first time in 2013. It is only the second time since then that an Indian entry has made the cut for a shortlist.

Speaking about the shortlist, Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, South Asia said, “The Innovation category has historically been India's Achilles' Heel. We are proud that Leo Burnett India has made the cut this year with #RoadsThatHonk, competing with the likes of tech innovation giants like Google, Apple and Intel. The work we have done for HP Lubricants is new-age, Humankind work aimed at making a difference. With this shortlist, we have proved that the lines between an 'advertising agency' and a 'creative technology company' are blurring fast. For now, though, we have our fingers crossed."

The Cannes Festival of Creativity will be held between June 17 – June 24, 2017.