Young Lions hard at work

Five Competitions In One Week

The Young Lions Competition is open to advertising professionals up to 28 years old. The participating teams, comprising an art director and copywriter, are selected through a pre-selection process in their own country, with the winners attending Cannes Lions in June and participating in the Young Lions Competition there, where they compete against teams from all over the world.

There are four competitions that take place during the Festival week at the Palais des Festivals. These are for Cyber, Film, Media and Print. Each competing team is briefed by a client to create and execute a campaign within 24 hours (within 48 hours for Film).

This year sees the launch of a fifth competiton: the Young Marketers Competition, sponsored by StrawberryFrog. Teams will be made up of two young marketers from a client organisation. More >>

With the world's top young creative teams competing under intense conditions, pressures and tempers can run high! Winning the Young Lions Competition, however, is a hugely rewarding experience that will change your career forever. Also, you'll be handed your medal on stage at the official Cannes Lions Awards Ceremony and receive free registration and acccommodation for the following year's Festival.

Young Lions teams receiving the brief

Participate

If you would like to get involved in the competition, please contact your local Cannes Lions representative as soon as possible, as pre-selection in your region may already have started. Get in touch now so they know you're interested.

Competition Rules

Prior to the competition, the ‘Notes to Competitors’ will be sent to each Young Lions team, detailing the dos and don’ts of the competition, including details of the hardware and software to be used in the competitions.

Previous Competitions

Entries of previous competitions can be viewed on Lions+. Check them out and see the incredible quality of work coming from your peers from around the globe.

Gold for team from Mexico

Young Lions Film Competition

The Young Lions Film Competition is held in Cannes during the Festival week.

Two creatives will have 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a 30-second commercial. At the beginning of the week, the teams will receive a brief from a charity chosen by the Festival. Forty-eight hours later, the teams' work is judged by the Film Lions jury.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded to winners, with the Gold-winning team receiving its prize on stage at the Film Lions, Titanium and Integrated Lions Awards Ceremony on Saturday 26 June 2010 and receiving free registration and acccommodation at the following year's Festival.

If you would like the chance to compete in this competition, please contact your local Cannes Lions representative as soon as possible. They will be organising a national Young Lions Competition from the start of 2010. The winning team members will then be sent to participate in the competition in Cannes and make their country proud!

Cyber competition in progress

Young Lions Cyber Competition

The Young Lions Cyber Competition is held in Cannes during Festival week (20 to 26 June 2010).

This competition is open to a copywriter and a web designer who have 24 hours to create a web ad.

The brief, provided by a charity of our choice, is disclosed to all competitors at the first start of the competition. The Cyber teams then consider the brief overnight and work between 8am and 8pm the following day to create their work.

The winners are chosen by the Cyber Lions jury.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded to winners, with the Gold-winning team receiving its prize on stage at the Press, Design and Cyber Lions Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 23 June 2010 and receiving free registration and acccommodation at the following year's Festival.

If you would like the chance to compete in this competition, please contact your local Cannes Lions representative as soon as possible. They will be organising a national Young Lions Competition from the start of 2010. The winning team members will then be sent to participate in the competition in Cannes and make their country proud.

Nick Brien with the 2009 winning team

Young Lions Media Competition

The Young Lions Media Competition is held in Cannes during Festival week.

The competition challenges teams from all over the world to develop an innovative media strategy. The teams work to a brief presented by a charity or non-profitable organisation, whose name, objectives, strategies and target audience remain secret until they are disclosed at the briefing session.

With just 24 hours to work on their media strategy, the competing teams
prepare their submission in the form of a five-minute presentation that is presented to and judged by a panel of four top media experts.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded to winners, with the Gold-winning team receiving its prize on stage at the Media, Outdoor and Radio Lions Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 22 June 2010 and receiving free registration and acccommodation at the following year's Festival.

If you would like the chance to compete in this competition, please contact your local Cannes Lions representative as soon as possible. They will be organising a national Young Lions Competition from the start of 2010. The winning team members will be then sent to participate in the competition in Cannes and make their country proud.

The winning print team from Australia in 2009

Young Lions Print Competition

The Young Lions Print Competition is held in Cannes during Festival week (20 to 26 June 2010).

An art director and a copywriter have only 24 hours to create a print ad. The brief, provided by a charity, is disclosed to all competitors. The print teams then consider the brief overnight and work between 8am and 8pm the following day to create their ad.

All work created during the competition is judged by the Press Lions jury and exhibited at the Festival.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded to winners, with the Gold-winning team receiving its prize on stage at the Press, Design and Cyber Lions Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 23 June 2010 and receiving free registration and acccommodation at the following year's Festival.

If you would like the chance to compete in this competition, please contact your local Cannes Lions representative as soon as possible. They will be organising a national Young Lions Competition from the start of 2010. The winning team members will be then sent to participate in the competition in Cannes and make their country proud.

New for 2010 - The Young Marketers Competition

In response to the increasing number of client organisations attending the Cannes Lions Festival, this year we are launching a new competition – the Young Marketers Competition.

Teams will be made up of two young marketers from a client organisation aged 30 years or under (born on or after 26 June 1979). 

The competition

Each team will be expected to:

• Produce a brief (maximum two pages) that would be presented to an advertising agency. For this competition, the advertising agency is represented by a select jury of creatives and strategists.
• Give a five-minute presentation to the jury using PowerPoint. A maximum of eight slides are allowed. The jury will then take five minutes to ask questions immediately following the presentation.

Teams will be judged on the clarity of the brief in terms of the level of knowledge about the product or service, their organisation and its aims, as well as the aims of this specific campaign.

Please note that to ensure a fair competition the details of the product or service that the teams will need to compile the brief for will remain a secret until the Festival.

The winners

Gold medals will be presented to the winners during the Film, Film Craft, Titanium and Integrated Awards Ceremony on Saturday 26 June. The Gold winners will receive a full delegate registration to Cannes Lions 2011 including hotel accommodation donated by the Festival.

The Young Marketers Competition 2010 is kindly sponsored by StrawberryFrog.