The 2024 Young Lions Canadian Competition Announces the Top 5 Teams in Media and Marketers

The Globe and Mail, the Official Festival Representative in Canada for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, is pleased to announce the shortlisted teams for the 2024 Canadian Young Lions Competition.

Modelled after the Cannes Global Young Lions Competition, entrants received a brief and had to complete the challenge for their respective category within a 24-hour or 48-hour 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, founded in April 1985 in Toronto, started by collecting surplus food from local eateries and distributing it across the city. Today, it’s Canada’s largest food rescue organization, renowned globally for its work on perishable food redistribution. Operating at the intersection of hunger relief and environmental protection, Second Harvest addresses food loss and waste through redistribution, research, and education. 

By collaborating with thousands of food businesses and leveraging logistics and technology, Second Harvest diverts edible food from going to waste, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This surplus food is redirected to charities and non-profits across the country, providing essential nourishment to millions of Canadians in need.

Marketers Category

Teams in the Marketers category were given 24 hours to create a big idea (product, service, promotion, campaign) that represents the organization/brand they work for and answers Second Harvest’s brief in their mission to drive awareness and persuade people to fight/prevent food waste. Submissions were judged by panel of industry leaders, led by jury chair and member of the Canadian Cannes Lions Advisory Board, Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products Inc.

In no particular order, the semi-finalists in the Marketers category are:

• DYNA MC’S
  • Abigail Rigonan, National Marketing Specialist, McDonald’s Canada
  • Jordyn Posluns, National Marketing Consultant, McDonald’s Canada
• GOOGLE LENS FOOD FILTER
  • Lydia Yoon, Associate Product Marketing Manager, Google
  • Veronica Vivero, Assistant Brand Manager – Above Core, Labatt Breweries of Canada
• THE NO PICKLES PROJECT
  • Nick Carson, Partnership Marketing Manager, Brizi Inc.
  • Jenn Bailey, Marketing Specialist, McDonald’s Canada
• KERNEL CLASSICS
  • Tristan Ruffo St-Amour, Coordinator, Global Partnership Marketing, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
  • Mateo Molinaro, Strategist, Commercial Strategy & Commercial Group, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
• CHILL SNACKS
  • Ava Gladman, Senior Marketing Manager, Molson Coors Beverage Company
  • Arielle Uwonkunda, Brand Manager – Strongbow, Molson Coors Beverage Company

Media Category

Competitors in the Media category were given 24 hours to develop a media strategy to drive awareness and persuade people to fight/prevent food waste. Entries in the Media category were judged by a 15-member jury, led by jury chair and member of the Canadian Cannes Lions Advisory Board, Cathy Collier, Chief Executive Officer, OMD Canada. New for this year, the Media category is sponsored by Snap Inc. 

In no particular order, the semi-finalists in the Media category are:

• THE LARGEST FOOD SCAM IN CANADA
  • Éléonore Trahan, Group Supervisor, Touché!
  • Rosemarie St-Amand, Marketing Manager, Omnicom Media Group
• THE HUNGER GAMES FOR CHANGE
  • Catalina Nituleac, Media Manager, Havas Media
  • Shiwangi Singh, Search Specialist, Havas Media
• BREAK THE MOLD
  • Gabriel Lafond, Media Strategist, Cossette Media
  • Alphée Lamothe, Media Strategist, Cossette Media
• THE NAKED BIN
  • Ingrid Andrade Castro, Senior Project Manager, Media Experts
  • David Santiago Rondon, Coordinator, Investment, Media Experts
• BUY UGLY
  • Kelsey De Melo, Manager, Weber Shandwick
  • Carter Gibbins, Manager, Weber Shandwick

These Top 5 teams in Marketers and Media now move on to a second round of judging and will present their case live to the jury at The Globe and Mail Centre in Toronto, on April 15 and April 16. Winners will be announced on April 24^th.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the juries will deliberate and determine the Gold-winning teams, as well as silver and bronze placing teams (in Film and Print), which will be revealed live on April 24th, at the CMDC Media Summit at the Design Exchange in Toronto.  

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 371 competing teams across the five categories: Digital, Film, Print, Media, and Marketers – 37 teams for Marketers,180 teams for Media, 70 teams for Print, 15 teams for Film, and 69 teams for Digital.

To view the profiles of this year’s competition jurors please visit the competition jury page.

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