Grey Dhaka wins at Cannes Lions International Festival

Often dubbed the Oscars of the advertising industry, The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2019 awarded three lions to Grey Dhaka, two Silver Lions and a Bronze Lion.

Advertising agencies submit their best creative works in different categories to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity held every year. Each category has a Cannes Lions Award and a certificate under it.

Since 2014, Grey Dhaka has been actively submitting its creative work to Cannes Lions. Until 2018, Grey has been getting its entries shortlisted, however in 2016 Grey Dhaka won a Gold Lion, the first for Bangladesh.

This year, Grey Dhaka submitted their project AgroBanking in several categories at Cannes, out of which they were shortlisted in eight. The categories in which the project was submitted were PR, Direct, Mobile, Sustainable Development Goals-Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals-Decent Work for Economical Growth, Sustainable Development Goals-Reduced Inequalities, Brand Experience-Event & Activation and Creative eCommerce. Out of all the categories, Grey Dhaka won two Silver Lions and a Bronze Lion.

The project was a joint effort between United Commercial Bank and Shwapno which focuses on the small farmers of Bangladesh. These small farmers sometimes grow more than they need, but are forced to sell it off at a loss. AgroBanking, gives these small farmers an experimental method of banking. It allows them to open bank accounts with just their excess produce, while helping them save through mobile banking platform, Ucash. On the other hand, Shwapno, buys the fresh produce at fair prices and transposrts it to retail outlets across the country.