The Globe and Mail, the Canadian representative for Cannes Lions, has announced the semi-finalists in Marketer and Media categories for the 2020 Canadian Young Lions competition.

Though the state of Cannes Lions has gone through varying levels of uncertainty and change in response to the pandemic, the contest’s main idea stayed the same. Two-person teams of industry talent under the age of 30 had 24 hours (48 hours in the Film category) to use their skills and expertise to come up with their best idea for a pro-bono client.

This year, the strategic brief was for Gender Creative Kids Canada, a non-profit group dedicated to helping affirm trans, non-binary and gender-fluid children and youth within their families, schools, and communities. Marketers were tasked with coming up with a new product or service to support Gender Creative Kids’ mission, while Media teams were tasked with engaging the target audience by raising awareness of discriminatory behaviours and advocating for change.

The semi-finalist teams will compete in virtual live judging sessions on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. Entrants in the Print, Film and Digital competitions have already been judged, and winners from all five categories will be announced during a live ceremony on Oct. 15.

With the 2020 Cannes Lions cancelled, this year’s Canadian Gold winners will get the chance to represent the country at the global competition set to occur at the 2021 edition of the festival. Should the plans for next year’s festival change, The Globe and Mail will be awarding the winning teams an alternate prize.

Young Marketers

“Doritos All Shapes”
Omar Elmezaini, marketing manager, Pepsi, PepsiCo Beverages Canada
Pedro Haguiara Porto Alegre, field marketing manager, PepsiCo Foods Canada

“Centrum for All – Nourish the Real You”
James You, senior brand manager, Buckley’s and Robitussin, GSK Consumer Healthcare
Tasnia Jabber, brand manager, Advil, GSK Consumer Healthcare

“#Unmask Your True Self”
Keir Sullivan, senior assistant brand manager, Johnson & Johnson
Sam Gu, assistant brand manager, Johnson & Johnson

“Fairlife’s Nourishing Conversations”
Galen Howe, manager, grocery channel strategy, Coca-Cola
Kristina Komhyr, customer marketing manager, Coca-Cola

“Google Classroom Pronoun Check”
Brendon Holder, product marketing manager, Google
Natalie Wallace, head of premium flower, Canopy Growth

Young Lions Media

“A Genderless World”
Dustin Wilson, strategist, OMD Canada
Naveed Ahmed, senior social and search strategist, OMD Canada

“Check Yourself”
Brooke Robinson, senior content strategist, Initiative Media
Victoria Marshall, strategist, Initiative Media

“Beyond Labels”
Anne-Sophie Collins, media planner, Cossette Media
Simon Richer-Bond, media trader, Desjardins

“trans-ZE-tion: The Journey to a Gender-Neutral Future”
Soumita Banerjee, associate director, search and social, OMD Canada
Hanny Ali, director of marketing science, OMD Canada

“Colour Me Different”
Anaïs Cotton-Caveen, platform manager, display and video, Omnicom Media Group Montréal
Alex B Larichelière, platform specialist, Omnicom Media Group Montréal