MAM
Cannes 2011: Indians begin winning, wait for gold
MUMBAI: India begins it winning account in Cannes, but is yet to reap a gold metal. Among the first bag of winners in three categories at the Cannes Lions Festival 2011, BBDO has won two silver, followed by Mudra Communications with 1 silver and two bronze.
Celebrating the 58th International festival of Creativity, BBDO bagged two silver metals in the PR Lions category for its Shave Sutra campaign. The two minute long viral video was a spoof of Kama Sutra — created for Procter & Gamble’s men skincare brand, Gillette. The video’s relativity with the ancient Indian art, with a punch of aesthetic wit, has done the trick.
Mudra Communications’ Silent National Anthem won silver in the PR category and picked two bronze in the Promo & Activation group. The Indian national anthem was shot in sign language and enacted by children with hearing/speech impairment.
Interestingly, both the campaigns had very strong Indian culture influence.
No awards were won by the six finalists in the Direct Lions category.
Brands
Beyond Appliances’s latest campaign takes the duct out of India’s chimney debate
New campaign pitches ductless chimneys as lifestyle upgrades, not renovations
BENGALURU: Beyond Appliances has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at dismantling one of the most stubborn barriers in India’s kitchen appliance market: chimney installation.
Titled Engineered to delight, the campaign shifts the category conversation away from suction power and steel bulk towards convenience, flexibility and design. At its centre is the company’s plug-and-play chimney, which it bills as India’s first ductless solution designed to work straight out of the box.
Chimney adoption in India has long been hampered by invasive installation. Conventional models require ducting, core cutting and irreversible structural changes: an ordeal that can stretch across days and often clashes with modular kitchens, premium interiors and open-plan layouts. The result has been hesitation, delay or outright avoidance, despite growing demand for cleaner cooking environments.
Beyond Appliances is positioning its ductless chimney as a direct fix to that friction. The product eliminates the need for ducting and professional installation while promising high suction, low noise and a contemporary profile suited to modern homes. By removing what it sees as the category’s biggest pain point, the company wants to turn chimneys from renovation commitments into plug-in lifestyle upgrades.
The new ad film brings this idea to life through a slice-of-life setup. Set at a house party in an open kitchen, a guest notices a sleek chimney, but no duct. She searches cabinets and corners, puzzled. The reveal is simple and deliberate: there is no duct to find. The humour does the heavy lifting, allowing the product’s proposition to land without technical jargon.
“For too long, Indian consumers have been told that inconvenience is the price of upgrading their kitchens,” said Beyond Appliances founder and CEO Eshwar K Vikas. “We believe technology should adapt to people, not the other way around. This campaign is about setting a new standard where performance, design and ease coexist.”
Founded in 2024, the Bengaluru-based company sees itself as part of a broader shift towards smart, intuitive kitchens, where appliances are modular, reversible and ready to use, rather than structural decisions locked in for decades.
