AD Agencies
Cannes gets a WIN-dow to the future of creativity and inclusion
MUMBAI: The Women Inspiring Network (WIN) turned up the volume at Cannes 2025 with its buzzing #WINLounge, a high-energy hub at Hotel Martinez that celebrated diversity, daring ideas and disruptive conversations. With over 50 speakers from more than 20 countries, the event proved WIN isn’t here to whisper—it’s here to roar.
WIN’s golden moment? Anupama Ramaswamy, chief creative officer at Havas Worldwide India CCO Anupama Ramaswamy and a #WINLounge speaker, clinched India’s first Gold Cannes Lions of 2025 for Ink of Democracy. Cue the standing ovation, and a thousand proud hearts back home.
The day-long creative jam on 18 June opened with a keynote from Bridget Evans, global head of business marketing at Spotify, and segued into 10 powerhouse panels, interactive workshops, and fireside chats featuring everyone from Snap AR’s Resh Sidhu to Vevo’s Natalie Gabathuler-Scully and TikTok-famous changemakers from across continents.
If the agenda felt like a mixtape of the future—it was. Panels tackled themes like inclusive innovation, philanthropy 2.0, emotional branding, and the metamorphosis of marketing with AI and AR thrown into the blender. Highlights included ‘The 21st-Century Blueprint for Purpose-Driven Brand-Building’, ‘Culture is Capital’, and ‘Disrupting the Default’—each one as punchy as its title.
WIN also turned up the heat at Spotify Beach, where its podcast platform WIN Voices spotlighted a rising tribe of African storytellers including South African media dynamo Kim Jayde, UK-Nigerian director Meji Alabi, and Kojo Marfo of My Runway Group. From Afrobeats to blockchain, these voices brought cultural currency to the Croisette.
Speaking about Cannes 2025, Women Inspiring Network (WIN) founder Stuti Jalan remarked, “Cannes was raw, electric, and unforgettable—a melting pot of ideas, creativity, and global change makers. It was incredible to see WIN in the middle of it all. Riding this momentum, we are now gearing up for our next chapters across New York, Davos, India and other global stages.I would like to acknowledge and express gratitude for the support from our partners—Dasra, Camphouse, Masimo, and Vevo. Their belief in our mission made this powerful exchange of ideas and inspiration possible.
Workshops kept the spark alive. Bonnie Wan’s The Life Brief helped guests craft purpose-driven roadmaps, while Leading Beyond Imposter Syndrome by Trust Your Creative was an emotional tune-up for leaders navigating uncertain terrain. In a special fireside chat, Jalan went tête-à-tête with Caspar Lee, former YouTube star turned co-founder of Influencer.com, who shared his $65 million journey from creator to VC.
With New York, Davos and India in its crosshairs.
AD Agencies
Microsoft shifts global media account from Dentsu to Publicis Groupe: Reports
Closed review ends decade-long tie-up; Xbox remit may remain with Dentsu
MUMBAI: Microsoft has reassigned its global media planning and buying business to Publicis Groupe, according to media reports, ending Dentsu’s long-standing stewardship of one of the advertising industry’s biggest accounts.
The move follows a closed review and marks a notable shake-up in the global media landscape. Dentsu, which managed the account through Carat, had held the mandate since 2014 and successfully defended it in a 2018 review.
While the broader business is shifting, Dentsu is expected to retain media responsibilities for Xbox, according to media reports, though the exact contours of that arrangement remain unclear. None of the parties involved have publicly outlined the transition timeline or the full structure of the handover.
The scale of the account underscores the significance of the change. Estimates from COMvergence, cited by Ad Age, peg Microsoft’s global media spend at roughly $700 million last year.
For Publicis Groupe, the win deepens an already expanding relationship with the tech giant. Earlier this year, Microsoft Advertising partnered with Publicis Media Exchange and Epsilon to integrate Epsilon’s data into its platform, aiming to sharpen targeting across search, native and display formats.
The decision reflects a broader industry shift, as large advertisers increasingly favour agency partners with strong first-party data capabilities, AI integration and platform-led solutions. Publicis Groupe has been leaning into this model, positioning its data assets and technology stack as a central differentiator.
For Dentsu, the loss is significant. Media remains a core pillar of its global business, and the development comes close on the heels of leadership changes, including the appointment of Takeshi Sano as global chief executive officer.
The shift also carries a touch of irony. Microsoft and Dentsu have worked closely beyond the client-agency relationship, including collaborations around AI tools such as Copilot to support media and creative workflows.
As the dust settles, the message is clear: in today’s data-driven, AI-powered media world, relationships may be long, but they are rarely permanent.
