Metal Factor along with the Advertising Agencies Association (4A’s) concluded the competitions to select the teams to represent Sri Lanka at the Cannes Young  Lions Competitions which are considered the “Olympics of the advertising world”

 A team of sixteen dynamic young professionals from Sri Lanka’s marketing communications industry, were recently selected to compete at the Young Lions Competitions, which will take place on line . This year’s local competition, was conducted by the Four A’s under the auspices of Metal Factor. This is the 14^th year that this competition has been conducted in Sri Lanka by Metal Factor who is the Sri Lanka Representative for the Cannes Lions International festival of Creativity.

After a rigorous evaluation process, seven teams emerged victorious at the local Young Lions Competition. This year’s winners in the Cyber category are Ramaaya Gunaratne & Kalana Gihantha from Popkorn. The winner in the Design category are Liv Ratnayake & Thisal Samarasinghe from Magic Mango. The Media category was won by G A Avishka Induwara & Hashan Illupitiya from Shift. The PR category was won by Pranavith Sivanathan & Rukshani Liyanapathirana from Triad. The Print category winners were Pasini Withanage & Viraj Lakshan from Phoenix O&M. The Film category winners were Tasneem Shakir Hussain & Naveen Abeysinghe from Phoenix O&M.

Kevin Fernando of Academy of Design was selected to attend the Roger Hatchuel Academy which will be held alongside the Cannes Lions festival in Cannes France. He was selected by the academic team of the academy after reviewing his portfolio.

This year’s Young Marketer’s Competition was once again conducted under the auspices of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. This year’s competition drew a record number of teams to compete for the local title. A total of 120 young professionals participated in the local competition. Minidu Alles & Samaridu Vitharana of Nestle Lanka won the local competition to represent Sri Lanka at the Young Marketer Competition under the auspices of the Cannes Lions Festival.

The winning teams are now set to compete on the global platform. The Cannes Young Lions competitions are heralded as the “Olympics of the advertising world”,

The Young Lions Competitions and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, draws the very best talent from all corners of the globe. The competitions run across multiple categories and provide youth in the industry with a once-in-a-life time opportunity to compete against each other, whilst learning and broadening their horizons at the same time.

Commenting on this year’s competition, Sugibun Sathiamoorthy – President 4A’s stated, “Sri Lanka’s top young professionals will represent our country at the Cannes Young Lions competitions. The festival itself and the Young Lions Competitions serve as an extremely important platform for our youth - who will play a pivotal role in taking our industry forward. Through this programme, our teams will receive valuable exposure and acquire new skills and insights, which they will be able to use, to infuse a fresh burst of creativity into the local industry. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the heads of all the advertising agencies that participated for believing in our young people and for giving them this opportunity despite the current challenges faced by the industry. We wish them all the very best at the competition.”

Also commenting on the programme, Ranil de Silva of Metal Factor said: "We are proud to continue our tradition of having Sri Lanka's top young professionals competing at the Cannes Young Lions competitions, even during these challenging times. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the world's most prestigious advertising festivals. At the Cannes Young Lions Competitions, our teams will be able to showcase their skills and knowledge in a global competition. I have no doubt that they will make our industry and country very proud. Metal Factor was launched to help nurture and groom the industry's young talent to help shape the future of the industry. The exposure that our team will receive will transform them as communications professionals, and give them an edge. They will also have an opportunity to learn from the industry's global leaders."

Kavi Rajapaksa – VP / Head of Marketing, Softlogic Life, who chaired the committee on behalf of Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing stated “I am delighted to note the growing popularity of the competition as this year recorded the highest ever number of participants with 20 teams competing. This opportunity enables budding marketers to understand the strength of a well-crafted brief and how it can truly inspire big ideas that can win both awards and most importantly, consumers. This opportunity will surely enable Sri Lankan marketers to drive the marketing industry in Sri Lanka to greater heights by experiencing the global benchmarks first hand.

The Sri Lankan competition also drew on the expertise of 22 the country’s leading advertising professionals, who came together to evaluate all the submissions.

The seven Young Lions Competitions is where the next generation of creative stars go head-to-head with each other, all vying for the coveted gold. The programme is only open to professionals who are 30 or under and it is designed to celebrate and unleash the potential of the industry’s young talent. Founded in 1954, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a five-day programme that focuses on creative inspiration, celebration, education and networking. Over 15,000 delegates from around 100 countries attend the festival, making it the only truly global meeting-place for communications professionals to connect, share and discover the latest advancements, trends and innovations in the industry. The most coveted creative accolades, The Lions, are also judged and presented at the festival.

Metal Factor the facilitator of the Young Lions Competition in Sri Lanka, was established by renowned advertising professional Ranil de Silva who set up the project as a CSR initiative to support the industry, which has been personally rewarding for him. Metal Factor is the Sri Lankan representative for some of the world’s most respected festivals. By its association with these festivals, Metal Factor provides young professionals in Sri Lanka with the opportunity to gain valuable experience by participating in the various competitions. Metal Factor is committed to uplifting the standards of the marketing communications industry in Sri Lanka and is dedicated to helping Sri Lanka’s ad industry to gain global acclaim.

The Accredited Advertising Agencies Association or 4A's is a non-profit organisation that work towards the betterment of Marketing Communications and Advertising of all member agencies in Sri Lanka.

Photo caption: The winners of the Young Lions local competition with members of the organizing committee