Cannes-Bound: Australia's Young Lions 2025 Winners Announced

Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has announced the winners of the 2025 Young Lions Competition — exceptional talent who will now represent Australia on the global stage at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.

After impressing industry juries in a competitive final pitch round in Sydney yesterday afternoon, the five winning teams demonstrated bold thinking and creativity under pressure to present their ideas for the award-winning sustainability app Saveful.

Tony Hale, CEO, ACA, said, “Young Lions is all about discovering the very best emerging talent Australia has to offer. We’re incredibly proud of this year’s winners and look forward to seeing them compete against more than 70 teams from around the world when they represent Australia on the world stage.”

2025 Young Lions Australia winners:

MEDIA – sponsored by Powered by Nine and supported by Media Federation of Australia

Elizabeth Nan Tie and Tayla Orr – Nine with “#savethecrust”

MARKETING – supported by the AANA

Keira Spencer and Jenney Kim – Google Australia with “Fridge First Bonus”

DIGITAL – sponsored by Meta and supported by IAB Australia

Amy Morrison and Laura Murphy – M&C Saatchi with “FAST-ER FOOD”

FILM – sponsored by Val Morgan

Loz Maneschi and Lewis Clark – Cocogun with “Choose Me Again”

PR - supported by Advertising Council Australia

Annabel Begeng and Lily Lazzarotti – Thinkerbell with “The Helpful Hot Potato”

Imogen Hewitt, media jury chair and chief media officer at Publicis Groupe ANZ, said, “The calibre of entries was outstanding, with smart insights, sharp thinking and bold ideas. Our winners stood out unanimously with a powerful, original solution and commercial rigour -- we’re confident they’ll do Australia proud in Cannes.”

Jenni Dill, marketing jury chair and CMO, The Arnott’s Group, said, “Keira and Jenney delivered a clear, insight-driven idea backed by strong rationale and bold thinking. Their confident presentation won over the jury.”

Seamus Higgins, digital jury chair and chief creative officer at R/GA Australia, said, “'FAST-ER FOOD' is a clever behavioural hack that turns a moment of laziness into inspiration -- tapping into food culture to make saving food feel crave-worthy and cool. It’s smart, timely, and culturally spot-on.”

Tara Ford, film jury chair and chief creative officer at Droga5, said, “Creating a film from brief to execution in just days is no small feat. The winning team stood out for both idea and craft—we believe they’ll do extremely well in Cannes.”

James Wright, PR jury chair and global CEO, Red Havas and global chairman, Havas PR Global Collective, said, “The standard was exceptional. The winning idea stood out for its clarity, creativity and ability to extend across channels and audiences -- it impressed us all.”

Next month, the Australian team will be put through their paces in a full-day boot camp hosted by Nine -- a rigorous session designed to sharpen their strategic thinking, polish their presentation skills, and ensure they're match fit to compete with precision and confidence against on the global stage in Cannes.

Young Lions Australia is proudly sponsored by Meta, Nine, and Val Morgan and supported by the AANA, MFA and IAB Australia.