ACA Young Lions.
The Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has announced the winners of the 2026 Young Lions Competition, who will represent Australia on the stage at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.
The five winning teams, after impressing industry juries in a competitive final pitch round held at WPP House in Sydney on Friday, presented their ideas for the Australian charity Project Planet, whose Build a Ballot tool aims to help Australians do their research, understand party positions, and plan their vote accordingly.
“Young Lions is all about discovering the very best emerging talent Australia has to offer,” said ACA CEO Tony Hale.
“We’re incredibly proud of this year’s winners and look forward to seeing them compete against more than 70 teams from around the world when they represent Australia on the world stage.”
Media was won by Initiative's Ashu Matai & Joe Douglas with ‘CAPTCHA the Ballot.’
“The calibre of entries was outstanding, with smart insights and bold ideas,” said WPP Media ANZ CEO Aimee Buchanan.
“Our winners stood out with a powerful, original solution and strong commercial rigour. We’re confident they’ll do Australia proud in Cannes.”
Marketing was won by Reckitt’s James Oxford and Google’s Henry Van Laeren with ‘Taco Tuesday Takeover.’
“Our winning team brought a strong, unique insight and an original idea,” said Suncorp Group executive general manager brand & customer experience, Mim Haysom.
“They presented brilliantly, thinking on their feet and handling tough questions with confidence. They’ll make the most of Cannes.”
Digital was won by The Taboo Group’s Alicia Spyropoulos & Zoe d'Orey with ‘The Ballot Burrito.’
“The entries were outstanding, tackling a tough challenge: not just driving access to Build a Ballot, but getting Gen Z to engage,” said M+C Saatchi chief creative officer, Emma Robbins.
“The best ideas made politics visible, participatory and shareable.”
FILM was won by Juicebox’s Cathal Mongey and Moonsail’s Joseph Wilkie with ‘Dunno?’.
“An exceptional group of finalists,” said Cocogun creative partner, Ant Melder.
“The level of thinking, insight and ambition made it a tough call. Joseph and Cathal stood out for their chemistry, energy and problem-solving. They’ll be formidable in Cannes.”
PR was won by Marketforce’s Jamie Wyatt and Thinkerbell’s AJ McLaughlin with ‘The Policy Sausage.’
“The shortlisted teams all showed strong cultural insight and distinct ideas,” said Supermassive co-founder Simone Gupta.
“We chose AJ and Jamie for the simplicity of their idea and the strength of their strategy across channels and measurement. That rigour will matter in Cannes.”
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