Young Lions Competition | Comms Council

Compete against the world

Aotearoa Young Lions is the ultimate creative challenge.

Open to professionals under the age of 30 from across our industry, we are offering two categories of competition in 2025.

Winners of each category will be announced in front of a sell-out crowd at AXIS Speaks in March. But the real prize is the opportunity to travel to Cannes in June to compete in the global competition, attend the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity and have the experience of a lifetime.

Categories

Unleash your creativity in one of the two unique categories for 2025.

Each category is designed to test your skills, strategic thinking, and creativity. Choose the category that best matches your strengths and passions—whether it's crafting a compelling story through film or designing an innovative media strategy. Dive in to explore the opportunities and prepare to make your mark on the global stage.

1. Film

The Film Category challenges participants to craft a 60 second film that solves the brief. The idea is more important than the craft, so don't worry if your cinematography isn't perfect.

Participants will have limited time to conceptualise, produce and deliver their film based on the brief provided. The winning entry will be judged on the strength of the idea, response to the brief, and ability for the judges to visualise the final product.

Who is it for?

To be eligible to compete in the Film competition the team must be:

Made up of two young professionals.
Age 30 or under, born on or after June 21 1995.
Working in creative communications/advertising/digital agencies.

Freelancers will be accepted to compete in this competition.
In-house creative teams from client companies will be accepted to compete in this competition.

Deliverables

A 60 Second Film

The written explanation (300 words)

A short synopsis of the Film

2. Media

The Media Category challenges participants to create a standout media strategy with a creative media idea at its heart.

Participants will be tasked with developing a media strategy, a clear idea that drives the media choices, and convincing evidence that the plan will reach the right audience, at the right time, in the most impactful way.

Who is it for?

To be eligible to compete in the Media competition the team must be:

Made up of two young professionals.
Age 30 or under, born on or after June 21 1995.
Working for media agencies or specific in-house media departments in agencies.

Freelancers will be accepted to compete in this competition.
In-house media teams from client companies will be accepted to compete in this competition.

Deliverables

10 slide Powerpoint

The written explanation (450 words)

Describe the idea/insights, research, and data gathering (150 words)
Describe the strategy (150 words)
Describe the execution (150 words)

A presentation board summarising the idea

Webinar

To help you get started, we're hosting a webinar - led by Simon Lendrum, CEO of the Comms Council - to guide you through the competition, share insights behind what a global entry looks like, and demystify the categories.

Webinar Details:

Date: 23 January 2025
Time: 1pm - 2pm

Eligibility Criteria

The Young Lions competition is open to teams of 2 advertising professionals.
Both participants must be under 30 years old, born on or after June 21, 1995.
All advertising professionals, including freelancers and in-house specialists, are eligible.

Some category-specific restrictions apply:

Media category: Entrants must work for media agencies or be in-house media specialists within client organisations. Freelance media specialists are also eligible to enter.
Film category: Entrants must work for creative agencies or be in-house creatives within client organisations. Freelance creatives are also eligible to enter.

Teams (or individuals within a team) may only enter one category.
Past winners may enter again if they meet the above criteria.
Entrants must be New Zealand citizens or hold a valid New Zealand work permit.
Entrants must be available to travel in June 2025 and hold valid passports at the time of entry.
No prize alternatives will be available.

Rules of Entry

Any images, music, and/or film in the entry must either:
a) Be created by the entrant, or
b) Not contain third-party content unless permission has been obtained from the rights holder for competition purposes.
Cannes Lions and the Competition Partners reserve the right to use your entry in accordance with the competition rules.
Concept usage: Clients may retain the right to use concepts from submitted entries.
By submitting your entry, you acknowledge and accept that the Young Lions Competitions Terms of Entry apply to your work.
AI usage is permitted, provided it is declared and cleared for usage as outlined above.
Entrants may be required to present their work to a shortlist jury and must be available to present at the allocated time.
The Comms Council will book tickets for your travel to Cannes. Any amendments to the travel itinerary will be at the entrant's expense.

Read full Terms & Conditions

How to Enter

To register, you will need to provide the following details:

Full names of both entrants (as they appear on your passports).
Dates of birth for both entrants.
Confirmation that you meet the entry requirements for your chosen category.
Payment of the entry fee.

Entry Fee:

$300 incl GST per team

Registration Deadline:
You can register at any time up until the closing date of 6 February 2025. No late registrations will be accepted.

Key Dates:

Briefings: The briefing sessions for both categories will take place on the morning of 13 February 2025.

Submission Deadline: All submissions must be uploaded by 15 February 2025.