Three Young Lions teams have been selected to represent the UK at the 2013 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, having won a competition run by Guardian News & Media.
The Guardian Young Lions competition recognises the brightest new talent in the communications and advertising industries, with entrants being asked to respond to a creative brief set by charity Save the Children. Entrants had just 24 hours to respond, and produce their ideas in one of three categories: media, print and cyber.
Each country involved in the festival has one national sponsor, and for the fifth year running Guardian News & Media is the official UK representative. The competition is open to young advertising professionals aged 28 or younger.
The winners are:
Media
Georgia Lindsay, Maxus
Yewande Sokan, Maxus
Matt Roach, M&C Saatchi
David Lawrie, M&C Saatchi
Cyber
Sarah Watson, BBH
Laura Osbourne, BBH
The shortlisted entries were judged by a panel of experts, made up of representatives from creative agencies, Save the Children and the Guardian.
David Pemsel, Chief Commercial Officer, Guardian News & Media, said: “It is fantastic to be able to recognise and reward the new stars of the creative and advertising industries. The flair and originality which each winner demonstrated proves what an exciting time it is for the sector and its future. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity gives us a great platform to work with agencies and I am looking forward to seeing all of our winning teams in action in June.”
Helena Wiltshire, Head of PR at Save the Children, said: “Cultivating and supporting creativity in the young generation of marketing professionals is vital to the success of both the industry and brand evolution. Being the 2013 partner of Young Cannes Lions allowed Save the Children to experience the breadth of young talent and innovation we have here in the UK. We saw countless entries which were so inspiring that we really struggled to choose a winner from the shortlist. What is clear is the next generation of creatives promises a bright future for the marketing industry.”
The three winning teams also receive registration for the festival, which allows access to the seminars, award ceremonies and showcases.
The judging panel for this year’s film category – which had not been included in the Guardian competition before 2013 – could not choose a winner of a sufficient standard to take to Cannes to compete in this challenging category. Guardian News & Media looks forward to developing and supporting this category in the future.