Cannes Lions launches new projects to support young creatives

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced new initiatives in 2017 to support young creatives to thrive in the industry. To share and promote the voices of young creatives, Cannes Lions has launched ‘The Future of Creativity: The Cannes Lions Young Creative Poll’. This short questionnaire, open to those aged 30 and under, will gauge how young creatives globally feel about the industry and their future within it. The results will be published in May. 

The Cannes Lions School builds upon its world-renowned training and learning offering, with the launch of The Night School. The school Campus, home to the academy classrooms, will be transformed after dark into a space for all Cannes Lions attendees to explore creative ideas and have fun through crafted workshops. Running from June 20 to 22, with a different theme each night, special guests will be interviewed by Night School host Jon Burkhart, co-author of ‘Newsjacking: The Urgent Genius of Real-time Advertising’ and co-founder of Urgent Genius, the world’s first blog dedicated to reactive creativity. 

Cannes Lions launches its third week-long Masters of Creativity programme designed to support industry talent to make the transition into senior management. This year’s challenging brief asks participants to convince European adult consumers that Oreo cookies are not just for kids. It will be led by Jill Baskin, VP - Global Creative, MondelÄ“z International, and Karen Costello, SVP Executive Creative Director, The Martin Agency. 

The 2017 masters are:

Content: Eleonore Ogrinz, Head of International Advertising, Red Bull

Creative Effectiveness: Adrian Farina, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Visa, Inc-Europe

Creative Selling: Beth Rilee-Kelley, President, The Martin Agency

Creativity: Rob Reilly, Global Creative Chairman, McCann Worldgroup

Data: Alan Schulman, National Director of Content Marketing & Creative Experience, Deloitte Digital

Innovation: Scott Galloway, Clinical Professor, NYU Stern School of Business

Media: Nick Brien, Global CEO, iCrossing and President of Hearst Marketing Services

Strategic Leadership: Sarah Watson, BBH Global and NY Chief Strategy Officer

Starting on June 18, delegates attend eight exclusive presentations from leading professionals and are then assigned into multi-disciplined, multi-functional teams, who will present their pitches on June 23. The jury is chaired by Keith Reinhard, Chairman Emeritus, DDB Worldwide, and senior marketing officials of the MondelÄ“z International team. 

“Oreo is the world’s favourite cookie, but there’s still room to grow,” said Baskin. “We look forward to seeing how this dynamic group of creative thinkers and brand activators find ways to get Europeans to consider Oreo as an adult treat, in addition to a biscuit kids love.” 

Steve Latham, Head of Talent & Training at Cannes Lions, explained, “The young generation of creatives are the most valuable asset the industry has. By understanding how they feel, the industry can make sure it remains an attractive career choice. That’s why we’ve launched ‘The Future of Creativity: The Cannes Lions Young Creative Poll.” Latham added, “The Night School is candid, refreshing and unscripted and we’re inviting attendees to share their secret creative lives and celebrate their hidden talents, we can’t wait to open the doors in June.”