Young Lions competitions

Coming off the back of the local Young Lions Competitions organised by our Cannes Lions Festival Representatives, the Young Lions Competitions are your opportunity to shine at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

We’ve got seven competitions in total – each focused on a different theme, but all following the same structure: upon your arrival at the Festival, you’ll be given a brief by an NGO, charity or company dedicated to a good cause. You’ll then have just 24 hours to create a campaign, which you’ll have to present to our Young Lions Competition Jury – top level creatives from leading agencies around the world, selected from among the Cannes Lions Shortlisting Jury.

You’ll need to have won at your local competition to be eligible for the Young Lions Competitions.

Design – create a mood board that also includes a description of how your design fits the brief and how it could help the brand evolve.

Digital – build a digital-led campaign that utilises the powers of digital technology to respond to the challenge in the brief.

Film – produce an original 60-second film ad in response to the brief. Note: just for this Competition, the deadline is 48 hours.

Marketers – create a product or service that answers the challenge in the brief. Note: this Competition is open to client marketers only, and teams must represent the company they work for. By ‘client marketers’, we mean marketers not working at an agency representing different clients.

Media – develop an innovative media strategy based on compelling insights, showing how you’ll use different media channels and encourage engagement in response to the brief.

PR – construct an effective and engaging PR campaign in response to a communications challenge described in the brief.

Print – create a print ad that answers the challenge described in the brief.

To join our Competitions, you must:

• be aged 30 or under (born on or after 21 June 1993)
• be employed in the creative communications industry (freelancers welcome)
• join with a fellow professional who also meets the above criteria (all competitions require teams of two).

You’ll also need to have taken part in and won at your local Young Lions Competition organised by our Cannes Lions Festival Representative for your location. You can find a list of Cannes Lions Festival Representatives here.

Remember to take everything you’ll need with you when you come to Cannes as we’re unable to provide equipment to participants.

Not sure if you’re eligible or having trouble contacting your local representative? Get in touch with us here.

Timelines differ per region, but most local competitions launch in January and take place in February and March. Get in touch with your local representative for more information.