MUMBAI: McCann Erickson takes home India’s first gold at Cannes Lion 2012, holding high the trophy for its Western Union Money Transfer campaign.

The agency’s win after a long gap at Cannes comes in the Outdoor category.

McCann’s was the solo win in a category where India enjoyed 22 shortlisted entries.

McCann’s win was expected as it converted a static into an interactive medium, communicating images of Abraham Lincoln to Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth II on a billboard that represented the change from Dollar or Pound to Rupee and demonstrated the strength of Western Union in transferring the money of Indians working overseas to their folks in India.

The Outdoor category had two Grand Prix winners this year. Ogilvy Shanghai won for the Coke poster, created by 19-year-old artist Jonathan Mak. The campaign used the traditional media, showing the Coca-Cola logo as the bootle of drink passed on to a couple of hands.

The other Grand Prix victor was the Mercedes Benz campaign that used technology by showing the invisible car from Germany. LED tiles covered the car to make it appear invisible. The basic communication was to stress on the zero emission proposition of the car.