The Loudest Roar: A Cannes Lions Fantasy Premier League
Do you have the eye to choose a Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning piece of work? This is the question which UAE-based creatives Chirag Khushalani, Tobbi Vu, Teena Mathew, and Jack Rogers have answered with ‘The Loudest Roar’. An interactive Cannes Lions prediction platform, similar to Fantasy Premier League, The Loudest Roar allows creatives worldwide to step into a Cannes Lions jury member role and predict the campaigns they think will roar loud enough to win some awards.
With live voting, juror badges for participation, portfolio support for winners and Amazon gift card rewards, the aim is to get younger creatives involved in the process. “If the world can have a say on who can win the Super Bowl or Premier League, why can't they cast an iron on the Cannes Lions too,” asks Chirag, the platform’s ideator. “The Loudest Roar was born from my love for creativity and desire to geek out with other ad nerds. It's a space where everyone has a say on what’s great, and can feel inspired to create more great work.”
Keeping this in mind, Chirag and Jack tell LBB’s Nisna Mahtani more about the platform they created, and what it’s like to be in contention.
[Jack Rogers - green top, Chirag Khushalani - orange top, Teena Mathew - purple top, Tobbi Vu - pink top]
LBB> Why were you passionate about engaging young and emerging talent in the Cannes Lions Festival?
Chirag> I grew up following Cannes Lions as a benchmark of great work. Like every ad nerd, I looked deeper into what Leo Burnett and other veterans were predicting as their contenders, and discussing these with other industry friends. However, our conversations ended there, as we didn’t have a platform that gave us a voice to be heard. 'The Loudest Roar' was born from a core belief that by learning how to judge why something’s great, we all can feel more inspired to create great work ourselves. Now, young talent from across the world have an opportunity to test their instincts, develop their perspectives, learn tips and tricks from industry veterans, and discuss them with one another.
LBB> When did the idea of combining Cannes and the Fantasy Premier League first get mentioned?
Chirag> In 2022, I first thought of the idea during an internal Cannes Lions agency event where we all gathered to watch the case studies and write down our predictions for the winners. After realising how much everyone enjoyed this session, I thought about taking it to the next level and inviting everyone around the world to cast their predictions. However, we didn’t just want to allow people to predict randomly, but rather to make an informed choice - as the judges in Cannes Lions do. Furthermore, the fantasy league aspect brings in a gamification element that makes learning more fun and engaging. Fast forward a few months, I teamed up with Tobbi our UI/UX designer, Teena, our art director, and Jack, our copywriter, to create a unique community for emerging creatives around the world.
LBB> Winning not only allows for rewards but also a 'Pimp My Portfolio' revamp. Why was it important to include incentives to encourage people to take part?
Chirag> We didn’t just want to introduce incentives, but rather meaningful rewards. Young creatives need mentorship, guidance, recognition and opportunities to upskill themselves. The Loudest Roar focuses on each of these aspects by partnering with unique initiatives that have championed young creatives. For example, 'Pimp My Portfolio' has championed over 700 creatives in bringing them closer to working at their dream agency. Furthermore, the 'Breaking and Entering Podcast' is a go-to resource for young talents in navigating the advertising landscape. They are inviting one of the winners to recognise their exceptional judging skills. Our third partner, The University of Planning has a network of 600 mentors and they will connect our winner with an industry veteran of their choice.
LBB> How long did it take to ideate and then create this platform?
Chirag> We began ideating in January 2023 with countless hours of brainstorming, ideation, and mentorship from our managers like T.K. Tennakoon, Vylan Dalmaida and veterans in the industry. Our core intention was to make this an experiential platform that invites everyone around the world to connect on what they’re most passionate about, learn from one another, and have fun. Overall, the process took five months and comprised of us creating a digital platform, inviting Cannes Lions judges from all over the world, iterating based on their feedback, and sharing it with agencies, universities and ad associations worldwide.
LBB> This platform not only allows creatives to get in the mindset of industry experts but is a tool for agencies and universities too. Why did you want to make it a platform to benefit all sides of the industry?
Chirag> Everyone in advertising loves to have a say. But, until now, there’s been a sense of segregation between where young creatives discuss their perspectives, and where agencies discuss theirs. While our core focus is on young talents, The Loudest Roar, brings the entire industry together, because everyone’s perspective is unique and meaningful. If great ideas can come from anywhere, so should opinions about those ideas. Especially when it's around what gets awarded at the world’s biggest festival of creativity - everyone cares about it and when done right, it has the ability to shape our industry’s future. Whether you’re a student, or a veteran CCO, you can join our platform, cast your predictions and discuss your predictions on our discord channel.
LBB> What is your ambition for the future of The Loudest Roar? What would you like it to do in the coming years?
Chirag> We’d like to extend The Loudest Roar to become the fantasy league for other global awards festivals and sources of creativity as well. We’re also hoping to introduce more unique interactive elements like a simulated Cannes Lions virtual jury room for young talents to collaboratively pick their Grand Prix winners. Agencies and universities will also have their own private leagues under our platform where they can gather insights into how their employees and students think, and learn from the community’s feedback on how they can improve their entries to be more successful in the awards circuit.
In the coming sessions, we’re looking to reach more students, judges, and partners to create a collaborative network where everyone is learning and discussing their perspectives. So far, we’ve already got 350 participants from 16 countries and judges from nine countries. We’re hoping to take this further to more countries across Asia, Africa, South America and beyond. In turn, we hope this will also encourage more initiatives to partner with us in making the experience for young talents more meaningful.
After the awards festival, The Loudest Roar will invite this year’s jury members to share revelations about the official Grand Prix selections. During these sessions, the gamified platform will also reveal what the emerging talents chose as their winners, and foster discussions on differences in perspectives. For future dialogue, clients and non-industry individuals will be invited to talk about the work they value the most.
Based on these learnings, we’ll be publishing a report with Baiba Matisone that dives deeper into the differences in perspectives between the official jury and emerging creatives’ predictions, and why.
Ultimately, The Loudest Roar aims to be a year-round community that inspires, educates and provides networking opportunities.
LBB> What are some of your predictions for winning work this year?
Chirag> There’s so much amazing and inspiring work this year, especially seeing how far, wide and unexpected every idea is. Not to be biased, but I genuinely found AKQA’s 'Transparency Card' to be a very unique idea that can solve a topical issue like corruption, as it's something that impacts so many facets of the economy and people’s lives. The fact that it was done with existing pieces of technology like a mobile wallet and didn’t need an app is genius. I also loved Vow’s 'Mammoth Meatball' and its immersive digital experience and story.
LBB> What is some of the best advice you received from judges?
Chirag> “Don’t romanticise the problem so much that you forget the solution. Often, we love the problem so much, but we forget whether the work is actually solving it,” says Publicis MENA’s chief innovation and growth officer, Jennifer Fischer.
“The work you choose will inspire the next generation of creatives as their benchmark, just as how, in awarding 'This is America' for the entertainment category, the jury created history,” says WE ARE THE BOARD’s Amani Duncan.
“Be subjective in what you believe in but willing to change your mind through discussions,” says Publicis Italy’s chief creative officer, Mihnea Gheorghiu.
“Make work that makes you proud throughout your career, not just the moment,” says Serviceplan Middle East’s chief creative officer, Akhilesh Bagri.
“The most innovative ideas balance novelty with familiarity,” says ‘The Future of You’ author Tracey Follows.
LBB> How does it feel being a young creative who was part of a campaign that got shortlisted at Cannes Lions?
Jack> The Cannes Lions Awards always seemed like a height that'd be difficult to reach, so to have something I worked on shortlisted is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s this kind of ‘unattainable’ feeling I’m hoping The Loudest Roar will dispel, showing that all the glory of being part of these awards shows is closer for emerging talents than they might think, and that you don’t need to be some mega-awarded creative genius to have an opinion on the world’s largest campaigns.
