AKQA is hosting the Future Lions competition for the ninth year in a row, in partnership with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The competition (which counts Google amongst its partners) challenges young minds in the creative industry to come up with an idea that wasn't possible five years ago, and this years competition is now open for entries. The winners will be announced at the Festival of Creativity on the 18th of June in the Grand Audi Theatre at Les Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.
The competition challenges young minds in the creative industry to come up with an idea that wasn't possible five years ago
The theme for this year is simply titled “Rise”, and challenges entrants to (in the words of AKQA's VP-Chief Creative Office, Rei Inamoto) “Ascend to greatness in a contest which gives students an opportunity to shape the future with their ideas, and kick-start their careers.” Inamoto believes that Future Lions is “An incredible opportunity for students to demonstrate their creativity on the industry's most prestigious global stage.” Students are allowed to direct their idea towards a brand of their choosing and there are no strict rules in terms of media, technology, service, product or target audience. The deadline for all entries is set at the 21st of April.
Winners from last year's contest included such creative ideas as 'Awaken by Amazon' by Konomi Tashiro, Tatsuki Tatara, Kenji Shimo, Taichi Nihei and Tomoki Hayashida. This was an initiative which collected unused books from developed countries and used the boxes new books were shipped in to send them to people in India who can't read. The trade off is that for every old book an Amazon customer donates, they'll get one free book for their Kindle e-reader. Another winner came in the form of Alexander Norling and Sara Uhelski's 'Editorialist,' an app which allowed users to customise content from various publications to create their own, self-curated online magazine.
The contest will also be acknowledging the most creative Schools with the Future Lions School of the Year award
Last year there were over 1500 entries received from 40 countries, and the competition this year is expected to be even more fierce (apt considering the contest's cuddly, yet fierce mascot). The five global student teams submitting what are deemed to be the best ideas, will win registration to the festival, and will be honoured with a Future Lions Cub trophy designed by AKQA. The contest will also be acknowledging the most creative Schools with the Future Lions School of the Year award. Last year this award was picked up by the Miami Ad School Europe in Hamburg, who have received the award for three consecutive years now. Could 2014 be the 4th year in a row for the German school?
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer from the UK who has never had a million dollar idea, but that doesn't mean he isn't due one!
