IAPI are pleased to announce the seven winning Cannes Young Lions teams who will represent Team Ireland at the international Cannes Lions Festival, the world's most respected advertising awards festival. The 2020 festival was postponed due to the pandemic so these young stars will now compete in Cannes next June, against teams from all over the world in the Film, Print, PR, Digital, Media, Design and Young Marketer categories.
This is one of my favourite initiatives run by IAPI. To be able to offer Ireland’s young talent the opportunity to represent our industry on an international stage is such a privilege. We all know that Cannes Lions are the most established and coveted awards for creative and marketing talent so winning, even a Young Lions there puts them among the world’s elite.
In addition, we get to work with and provide a wealth of creative ideas for some of Ireland’s most worthwhile charities which I and the team find incredibly fulfilling. While some of our charity partners are well-known, most of those we choose to partner with for this competition are relatively small, so, would not otherwise have the resources to conceptualise, develop or run campaigns of this nature.
Of course, running a competition of this nature, with over 220 young people takes a lot of time, resources and investment. We are incredibly lucky to have such a supportive partnership environment here in Ireland so that we can run this competition for all 7 categories.
And that is entirely thanks to our sponsors who provide the time, support and funds for our Team of Irish Cannes Young Lions. Once again, Pull the Trigger, Independent News & Media, PRII/PRCA, Core, Facebook and Choose Radio have supported this competition with Sky Ireland and Smurfit Kappa joining in for the first time this year. The Cannes Young Lions sponsorship isn’t contingent on producing the winning Irish campaign. However, the winning Film, courtesy of production company, Pull the Trigger and aired by Sky Ireland, will be produced this year. The winning Print campaign, is produced and published courtesy of Independent News & Media each year. And Choose Radio put the Media teams radio campaign on air this year. This adds icing to the cake for these young creatives whom otherwise may have to wait a while to see their campaign in print, on radio or on TV!
And now, IMJ and Adworld.ie have honoured the teams by creating, pro-bono, a wonderful digital publication to showcase the winners this year. Thank you John and Faye!
You can view each category winner's showcase film below or click into the digital publication to learn more about The Ask and The Solution supplied by each winning team.
Finally, huge congratulations to our winners this year and I look forward to celebrating in person with them all over a glass or two of Rosé in June 2021.
Charley Stoney
Rafael Ferla, Art Director, JWT Folk
Raphael Silva, Interactive Designer, JWT Folk
"Assessing the design work produced for Cannes Young Lions alongside the accompanying presentations of the candidates was an enjoyable and engaging experience, and whilst there were a number of well thought out and impressive presentations from the shortlisted candidates the winning entry for me clearly stood out as an excellent creative solution that answered the clients brief in a unique and highly considered way. The chosen project showed how refinement of concept to the presentation of a single outstanding design solution justified its selection as the well deserved winning entry." Rossi McAuley, President, ICAD
Sacha Noyes, Junior Planner, Boys + Girls
Jessie DeBoe, Art Director, Boys + Girls
"This was a very strong campaign idea and there is huge potential for scalability in it. If tested in Ireland it could become a concept that goes much further globally and be used for a variety of issues. Its strength is in its optimism and that can be very galvanizing for a movement." Ciara Harrison, Facebook
Georgia Stevenson, Producer, BBDO Dublin
Sinead Farrelly, Producer, BBDO Dublin
"It was a close call between several of the entered films, with many of them really showing great insight to the issue and how to address those issues creatively. “It’s Grand” stood out as it was a very simple idea using ordinary everyday issues everyone can relate to; its inherently Irish with it’s ‘Grandness’, and gave a lot of space to allow for comedic development, while also opening up the possibility for a rallying call to the nation." Max Brady, Pull the Trigger
Jack Connolly, Account Executive, Group M
Emily Carew, Account Executive, Group M
"I loved the concept and the tagline and felt that it really fitted with the brief. You can really have fun with this one. It's a soft intro into a tough topic to get parents engaged with. They had one central concept that they executed across lots of platforms and it was a very positive campaign that will bring great awareness." Alex Cooney, CyberSafeIreland
Helen O’Higgins, Art Director, JWT Folk
Ben Fraser, Digital Strategist, Havas Dublin
"It was a really arresting and intriguing campaign - the visual was an instant metaphor for the role parents play in helping navigate their children’s digital lives. All great advertising should tell a story and as a reader it is entirely up to you what you read into this. It taps into a human insight between parents and children and really touches their heart." Charley Stoney, IAPI
Lughan Deane, Consultant, Murray
Orna Clarke, Senior Account Executive, Murray
"The team took a twin-track, intergenerational approach, addressing the concerns of parents and millennials. For the older generation, the campaign prompted them to re-think why so much unnecessary plastic was used to wrap vegetables and fruits and, for the younger generation, they tapped into existing interest in and commitment to the future of the planet. The winning campaign was research and information-led and the call to action, different for each target stakeholder group, was designed to resonate with their pre-existing concerns and capacity for behaviour change." Martina Byrne, Chief Executive, PRII/PRCA
Oisin Hayes, Marketing Communications Executive, Fáilte Ireland
Aoife Bolger, Marketing Communications Executive, Fáilte Ireland
"Strategic thinking was spot on and using tree planting as a way of reconnecting as a family and in the broader context, reconnecting with the planet, was an effective and current creative vehicle." Meadhbh Quinn, Strategic Marketing Consultant