The Globe and Mail Announces the 2024 Young Lions Canadian Competition Winners

The Globe and Mail, the Official Festival Representative in Canada for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, is pleased to announce its gold-winning teams for the 2024 Canadian Young Lions Competition in the Print, Film, Digital, Marketers, and Media categories.  

Modelled after the Cannes Global Young Lions Competition, entrants received a brief over the weekend of March 2 to March 4, 2024, and had to complete the challenge for their respective category within a 24- or 48-hour time period. 

Each year the competition jury chairs select a non-profit organization as the subject of the competition briefs. This year the charity was Second Harvest, and the primary goal of each brief was to drive awareness and persuade people to fight/prevent food waste.  

Second Harvest Background 

Second Harvest was founded in April 1985 in Toronto. The organization began small, picking up surplus food in a hatchback from restaurants and grocery stores and distributing it across the city.  

Today, Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization and a global thought leader on perishable food redistribution. We operate at the intersection of hunger relief and environmental protection, tackling food loss and waste through food redistribution, research, awareness, and education, continually innovating and collaborating to ensure a more sustainable planet.  

Second Harvest works with thousands of food businesses utilizing logistics and technology to reduce the amount of edible food going to waste, thereby diverting unnecessary greenhouse gases from entering the environment. This healthy surplus food is redirected to thousands of charities and non-profits across the country, providing millions of Canadians experiencing hunger access to the nourishment they need.  

Competition submission entries were judged by an esteemed panel of industry leaders, led by returning jury chairs and Canadian Cannes Lions Advisory Board Members, Mary Maddever, EVP, Realscreen & strategy and Editorial Director, Brunico (Print, Film and Digital), Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products Inc. (Marketers), and Cathy Collier, Chief Executive Officer, OMD Canada (Media). 

Announced at the CMDC Media Summit on April 24th, 2024, the medal winners for the 2024 Canadian Young Lions competition are:  

Print Category 

Gold: LEMON. 

  • Jordan Bloom, Junior Art Director, john st.  
  • Benjamin Nusca, Art Director, john st.  

Silver: DINING ON A DYING PLANET 

  • Shalyse Mackay, Copywriter, Public Inc. 
  • Ayaan Abdulle, Project Coordinator, Public Inc. 

Bronze (tie): THE WASTE(LESS) BAG 

  • Brigitte Pinsonneault, Copywriter, Rethink 
  • Elizabeth Maheux, Art Director, Rethink 

Bronze (tie): WASTED HARVEST 

  • Sophia Storti, Copywriter, ZGM Modern Marketing Partners 
  • Brooke Langmaid, Art Director, ZGM Modern Marketing Partners 

Film Category  

Gold: BREAK THIS RULE 

  • Charles Côté, Copywriter, Rethink 
  • Charles-Antoine Thériault, Freelance Director, Rethink  

Silver: THE URGENT DELIVERY 

  • Alexandre Pepin, Copywriter, LG2 
  • Nicolas Robert, Executive Producer and Partner, Carton Rouge 

Bronze: WHAT A WASTE 

  • Mark Flanjak, Integrated Producer, Public Inc. 
  • Dylan Pun, Freelance Director, Public Inc.  

Digital Category  

Gold: SPLIT FOR DIFFERENCE 

  • Sammy Lo, Art Director, Courage Inc. 
  • Emma Lorenzi, Copywriter, Courage Inc.

Silver: EXPIRY DATES 

  • Kimberly Monitto, Copywriter, T&Pm 
  • Laura Baldesarra, Intermediate Designer, T&Pm 

Marketers Category 

Gold: THE NO PICKLES PROJECT 

  • Nick Carson, Partnership Marketing Manager, Brizi Inc. 
  • Jenn Bailey, Marketing Specialist, McDonald’s Canada 

Silver: GOOGLE LENS FOOD FILTER 

  • Lydia Yoon, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google 
  • Veronica Vivero, Assistant Brand Manager – Above Core, Labatt Breweries of Canada 

Bronze: CHILL SNACKS 

  • Ava Gladman, Senior Marketing Manager, Molson Coors Beverage Company 
  • Arielle Uwonkunda, Brand Manager – Strongbow, Molson Coors Beverage Company 

Media Category, sponsored by Snap Inc. 

Gold: BREAK THE MOLD 

  • Gabriel Lafond, Media Strategist, Cossette Media 
  • Alphée Lamothe, Media Strategist, Cossette Media 

Silver: THE LARGEST FOOD SCAM IN CANADA 

  • Éléonore Trahan, Group Supervisor, Touché! 
  • Rosemarie St-Amand, Marketing Manager, Omnicom Media Group 

Bronze: THE HUNGER GAMES FOR CHANGE 

  • Catalina Nituleac, Media Manager, Havas Media 
  • Shiwangi Singh, Search Specialist, Havas Media

“We are thrilled to announce the 2024 Young Lions winners, a group of exceptionally talented individuals who embody the future of our industry,” said Andrew Saunders, President and CEO at The Globe and Mail and Chair of the Canadian Cannes Lions Advisory Board. “This competition serves as a launchpad for our industry’s rising stars, offering them a unique opportunity to showcase their talent on a global platform. Our remarkable 2023 achievements at the global Young Lions competition underscored Canada’s talent and potential – we’re excited to continue the momentum this year. The Globe’s commitment to supporting the marketing and advertising community in Canada remains steadfast, and we take pride in celebrating innovation and creativity year after year.”  

“There is no shortage of exceptional talent and creativity in Canada and it’s energizing to see the effort, creativity and extreme level of passion that has gone into these submissions,” said Matt McGowan, General Manager, Canada at Snap Inc. “It’s an honour to partner with The Globe and Mail in support of the Young Lions Competitions to recognize and elevate the accomplishments of these candidates, but to also recognize a defining moment in the careers of what I would describe as the future of Canada’s creative industry.” 

In addition to being crowned as Canada’s best, Gold winning teams also win a trip to Cannes, France, to attend the five-day Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity from June 17 to 21, 2024, the largest gathering in the creative marketing community, where they will represent Canada in the Global Young Lions Competition, taking place during the festival week.  

As the Official Canadian Representative for Cannes Lions and the Young Lions Competition Sponsor, The Globe and Mail awards a prize per Gold-winning team, which includes registration fees for the Global Young Lions Competition, delegate passes to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, flights, and accommodation. 

This year’s competition saw an increase of almost 10% in registrations, with 746 people signing up to compete, making up 372 competing teams across the five categories: Digital, Film, Print, Media, and Marketers – 71 teams for Print, 15 teams for Film, 69 teams for Digital, 36 team for Marketers, and 181 team for Media. 

In 2023, Canadian Young Lions finalists competed against 228 teams from 70 countries on the global stage in Cannes, France, exceeding all expectations. Young Lions Marketers, Mike Miura and Ryan Grippo brought home Gold, while the Film team, Cory Hansen and Anthony Curran, won Silver. Two teams received shortlists: Thierry Lessard and Olivier Houle in Media, and Andronicus Wu and Jon Dawe in Digital.  

 Canada was one of three countries to win two awards at the global Young Lions competition. We also rank second globally in medals won in Young Lions history. 

To view the profiles of this year’s competition jurors please visit https://globeandmailyounglions.ca/jury/ 

 For complete eligibility criteria and competition guidelines, refer to the Official Rules and Regulations. 

About the Young Lions Competition  

The Globe and Mail has been the official Canadian representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity since 2005, hosting the Canadian Young Lions competitions since 2007. 

Strategy Magazine, Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), The Canadian Media Directors’ Council (CMDC), and Snap Inc. also support the competitions as partners and sponsors of the Canadian Cannes Program.  

Twitter: @CannesLionsCAN 

Hashtag: #YoungLions2024 

LinkedIn: Globe Media Group  

For more information about this year’s Young Lions Competition, visit globeandmailyounglions.ca. To learn more about the Cannes Lions Program in Canada, visit globemediagroup.ca/cannes-lions/. 

About The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity  

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications and encompasses Lions Health, Lions Innovation and Lions Entertainment. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France. As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival.

About The Globe and Mail 

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s foremost news media company, leading the national discussion and causing policy change through brave and independent journalism since 1844. With our award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 6.2 million readers every week in our print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.9 million readers in print and digital every issue. Our investment in innovative data science means that as the world continues to change, so does The Globe. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family.  

About Globe Media Group 

Globe Media Group is a media and marketing company that empowers advertisers with solutions and content to influence ambitious Canadians. As the advertising arm of The Globe and Mail, Globe Media Group’s offerings are end-to-end across multiple platforms, including digital, video, podcasts, app, newspaper and magazines, as well as custom content and special events. Globe Media Group provides unparalleled access to influential audiences within trusted, premium environments, reaching21.5 millionmonthly unique visitors throughGlobe Alliance andCNN.com—a premium digital network of the world’s best news, business and lifestyle sites. Globe Media Group also connects advertisers to 2.7 million weekly readers of The Globe and Mail, Canada’s most trusted news source. Each day, The Globe engages Canadians with award-winning coverage and analysis of news, politics, business and lifestyle topics. 

 For more information, please contact:  

Marcin Zerek 

Head of Trade Marketing 

The Globe and Mail 

437-518-6342     

mzerek@globeandmail.com