UK Young Lions Competition Now Open for Entry

The Advertising Association – UK Representative for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – has launched a competition to find a team of under-30s UK advertising professionals to go head-to-head against creative talent from around the world at Cannes this summer. The UK competition, supported by Channel 4, Clear Channel, the Department of International Trade, Framestore and M&C Saatchi, is now open and those wishing to enter should fill in this form by 15 March. 

Cannes Lions is the world’s biggest festival of creativity and takes place in the south of France from 17th-21st June 2019. Its Young Lions competitions have a global reputation as the place where creative talent aged under 30 competes to be recognised as the world’s best, with six competitions covering a broad range of advertising and marketing categories.

Stephen Woodford, chief executive, Advertising Association, commented: “The UK has traditionally excelled at Cannes Lions, winning over 1,500 awards since 2005. Having seen the Young Lions competing at the festival and spoken with some of them, it is a brilliant forum for young talent in our industry to demonstrate their creative strength. We welcome entries from across our industry to win the chance to be a part of the team representing the UK in Cannes this summer.”

As UK representative, the Advertising Association’s role is to help industry – UK media, agencies and brands – get the very best from the festival and, by doing so, support the country’s position as the global centre for creative excellence in advertising. The UK Young Lions competition is one of the many activities taking place as part of Export Month, a coordinated programme with the IPA and DIT to showcase UK advertising services to international audiences.

How to enter

There are six competitions running in the UK – Design, Digital, Film, Marketers, Media and Print. The Advertising Association, together with partners Channel 4, Clear Channel, the Department of International Trade, Framestore and M&C Saatchi we will be flying 12 young people comprising of 6 teams of 2 to Cannes to compete in the competitions. The UK competitions will mirror the wider Cannes Lions competitions as much as possible.

Entry and competition schedule

15 March, 18:00

Closing date for registrations

22 March, 17:00

Competition brief will be emailed to all registered teams

25 March, 12:00      

Deadline for submissions for all categories

25 March-5 April   

Judging

w/c 9 April    

Winners to be notified

Competition categories

• DESIGN: Open to a team of two design professionals e.g. graphic designers, art directors,  photographers

• DIGITAL: Open to a team of two digital professionals e.g. social media managers, creative technologists, UX designers, digital designers/producers

• FILM: Open to a team of two creative professionals e.g. art directors, producers, film makers, creatives

• MEDIA: Open to a team of two media professionals working within a media company or within the in-house media department of an agency (i.e. planner/buyer/strategist) or within an in-house media department at a company.

• PRINT: Open to a team of two print professionals e.g. art directors, producers, film makers, creatives

• MARKETERS: Open to a team of two marketing professionals working for a brand e.g. marketing managers, brand managers, category/product managers, client services managers, channel marketing managers

Those wishing to enter the competition should fill in this form by 15 March. 

You can read more about the news on the dedicated Advertising Association Cannes Lions page on the website. 

Read all about the Cannes competitions on their website here.