Kenya has become the second African country, after South Africa, to win a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The Grand Prix is the highest honour awarded at Cannes Lions, widely regarded as the leading global festival for advertising and creative excellence.
The annual festival brings together agencies, brands and creative professionals from around the world. Thousands of entries from more than 90 countries are judged across multiple categories, with major global brands including Apple, Google, IKEA, Mastercard, Heineken, AXA, Hyundai and L’Oréal competing for the coveted Lions awards.
Kenya secured the historic Grand Prix through The Partnership Agency’s campaign “Paid Sick Leave for Cows,” developed for Kenyan dairy brand Too Good.
The campaign won the Grand Prix in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Lions category, one of the festival’s major categories focused on work addressing global development challenges.
The campaign was developed by The Partnership Agency’s creative leadership team which included Deepesh Jha, Megha Dutta and Rakesh Jha, with support from Ankush Chawla and Sally Sawe.
The winning campaign addressed a very specific problem affecting Kenya’s dairy industry. When cows are treated with antibiotics, their milk cannot be sold during the required withdrawal period. This can leave farmers without income while they wait for the withdrawal period to end.
Too Good’s campaign introduced the concept of “Paid Sick Leave for Cows,” under which farmers are compensated for income lost while their cows are undergoing treatment and the milk cannot be sold.
The initiative was designed to address both the financial impact on farmers and the need to ensure that milk containing antibiotic residues does not enter the food supply. In doing so, the campaign linked farmer livelihoods with food safety and public health.
The Cannes Lions recognition also contributed to a wider African success at the festival. Publicis Groupe Africa was named Regional Network of the Year, with The Partnership Agency’s performance contributing to the network’s achievement.
Commenting on the achievement, Megha Dutta, Executive Creative Director at The Partnership Agency, said: “For years, the conversation has been about whether African creativity can compete globally. We think that conversation is over. This Grand Prix isn’t validation; we never needed permission to believe in our ideas. It’s evidence that when we solve our own problems with honesty, ambition and craft, the world pays attention.”
