What the Young Lions US Team Learned From Its Cannes Competition

NCM is the US rep for Cannes Lions, Delta sponsored the American team

Delta CMO Shannon Womack with seven of the 10 US Young Lions competitors.

CANNES, France—The Young Lions competition ended last week with only one U.S. team making a shortlist, but the group of Young Lions came away with invaluable learnings and advice to the industry about elevating young creatives.

The contest sent 10 U.S. winners to Cannes Lions to compete against nearly 20 countries across five categories: digital, film, print, public relations and media. One U.S. team, Chloe Bayhack and Victoria Rocha, was shortlisted in the print category for their work.

National CineMedia represented the U.S. team, leading the U.S. competition and providing the squad with mentorship, while Delta Air Lines sponsored the travel for the group to attend the festival.

“Our vision for 2025 and beyond is to expand our program with more innovative partners and sponsors, delivering value as a vital hub with career growth opportunities, and directly connecting the next generation of creative leaders to the industry’s current leadership,” said Amy Tunick, chief marketing officer of NCM, the U.S. representative of Cannes Lions.

NCM is focused on driving more engagement between brand and agency executives with creatives at every career stage, Tunick told ADWEEK. She added that the new U.S. Lions Community is pairing rising stars with established leaders “via creativity, mentorship, networking and thought leadership.”

“There’s nothing more important than helping young creatives take their careers to the next level,” said Shannon Womack, Delta’s head of commercial marketing. “As we think about our industry and all of the problems that we face, this is the future. And these creators will be the ones that help solve the problems that we face today.”

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