Listen up all you advertising students. This your chance to the advertising industry’s biggest boondoggle, the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. Ad agency AKQA has organized the first ever Future Lions Competition for all you global ad students. The competition is now open and accepting entries. The goal of the competition is to “showcase forward-thinking ideas and concepts created by the next generation of global advertising superstars.” The Future Lions site provides you a creative brief, FAQs, winning tips from AKQA’s creative geniuses, downloadable posters and an online submission form.
As if to motivate you, AKQA Executive Creative Director PJ Pereira’s has offered up some puff-speak advice saying, “Winning entries will be work that transcends the current parameters of advertising by using new and exciting ways to communicate with consumers. Work that makes the established advertising community shake with fear.” Because he’s been working in advertising so long and drinking far too much Kool Aid, we’ll translate for you. “Don’t create ads that actually sell anything. Create ads that make goateed art directors raise a disinterested eyebrow and show you the door because they’re afraid if anyone else sees your work, you’ll get hired and he’ll get fired.” Make sense now?
The presentation of the “Future Lions” will take place on Tuesday, June 20th at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in a seminar titled “Hire Them Before they Steal your Job: Meet the World’s Most Forward-Thinking Students”. The seminar will feature the top five entries of the competition so you can see who you’re up against. The deadline for submissions is May 21, 11:59 p.m. PST. There is no entrance fee and few creative restrictions.
