AKQA Announces 2014 Future Lions Call for Entries

The Future Lions global student creative competition has issued its 2014 call for entries. In collaboration with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, AKQA is hosting Future Lions for the ninth year in a row. This year’s theme, ‘Rise’, encourages students to ascend to greatness and create the future. 

In celebration of the competition’s focus on creativity and innovation, AKQA has officially partnered with Google to bring Future Lions 2014 to life. 

The annual Future Lions competition challenges students to come up with an idea that was not possible five years ago, for a brand of their choosing. There are no rules in terms of media or technology, and no specifics around product, service, or target audience. The deadline for entries is April 21, 2014 at 18:00 GMT.

Winning ideas will be honoured at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 16:00 CET in the Grand Audi Theatre at Les Palais des Festivals. 

“Future Lions is an incredible opportunity for students to demonstrate their creativity on the industry’s most prestigious global stage,” said Rei Inamoto, AKQA VP/Chief Creative Officer. “This year, with the theme ‘Rise’, we’re challenging students to ascend to greatness by giving them an opportunity to shape the future with their ideas, and kick-start their careers.” 

Last year the competition received a record number of more than 1,500 entries from 40 countries, making it one of the largest global student competitions ever.  An influential platform for emerging talent, Future Lions winners are highly sought-after and quickly employed by many of the world’s leading agencies. 

Last year’s winners include:

- Awaken by Amazon: Konomi Tashiro, Tatsuki Tatara, Kenji Shimo, Taichi Nihei and Tomoki Hayashida

- Editorialist: Alexander Norling and Sara Uhelski

- The Pebble: Sense Danger: Thomas Bender and Thomas Corcoran

- Keepit: Alejandro Ladeveze and Caroline Escobar

- IBM Project Accel: Jarrett Jamison and Verenice Lopez

The five global student teams submitting the best ideas will win registration to the Festival in Cannes, France, June 15-21, 2014, and will be honored with the Future Lions Cub trophy designed by AKQA. 

Future Lions will also recognize the Future Lions School of the Year: the individual school achieving the most student submissions to reach the final round. In 2013, for the third consecutive year, this accolade was awarded to the Miami Ad School Europe in Hamburg, Germany.

To learn more about the 2014 Future Lions competitions and how to enter, please visit futurelions.com.