Young Lions Australia at Cannes.
Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has announced the finalists in the 2026 Young Lions Australia Competition, now in contention to represent Australia at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
This year, hundreds of competitors across media, digital, film, PR and marketing categories responded to a brief from Project Planet for its Build a Ballot platform.
Teams had four days to develop and submit their responses. Entries were judged anonymously by more than 200 industry leaders, before five executive juries selected the finalists.
The finalists include, from:
Media, presented by WPP Media ANZ CEO Aimee Buchanan.
Initiative’s Ashu Matai and Joe Douglas, This Is Flow’s Sophie Stone and Wavemaker’s Olivia Hawkes, Nine’s Tayla Orr and Starcom’s Lizzie Nan Tie.
Marketing, presented by Suncorp Group executive general manager brand & customer experience, Mim Haysom.
Carsales’s Isabelle Lee and Yasmin Chagas, L’Oreal’s Liliana Neame and Marion Arque, Google’s Henry Van Laeren and Reckitt’s James Oxford.
Digital, presented by M+C Saatchi Group chief creative officer, Emma Robbins.
TBWA\Melbourne’s Noa Shenker and Michael Orfanos, The Taboo Group’s Alicia Spyropoulos and Zoe d'Orey, ABEL’s Tyla Rose and Margaux Dalgleish.
Film, presented by Cocogun's co-founder and creative founder Ant Melder.
TBWA\Sydney Louis Royle and Sophie Verheul, Juicebox’s Cathal Mongey and Moonsail’s Joe Wilkie, Dentsu Creative’s Lachlan Collie and Paris Elwood.
PR, presented by Supermassive co-founder Simone Gupta.
Poem Group’s Jake Jamieson and Ruby Clarke, Marketforce WA’s Jamie Wyatt and Thinkerbell’s AJ McLaughlin, Roc Cloudy’s Yin Yin Wu and The PR Group’s Phoebe Kee.
Winners will be revealed on March 27 following a live judging event in Sydney.
The five winning teams will travel to France to compete at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.
“Young Lions is intentionally demanding,” said ACA national head of engagement, Hannah Sturrock.
“Teams have just a few days to respond to a real brief, and the finalists must then present that thinking live to the Executive Jury.
“It’s a great test of how people think under pressure. The judges aren’t just looking for a strong idea, but for teams who can clearly articulate their thinking and show they have the composure and resilience to represent Australia at Cannes.”
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