Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has announced the winners of the 2026 Young Lions Competition, who will now represent Australia at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.
After impressing industry juries in a competitive final pitch round held at WPP House in Sydney on Friday, the five winning teams demonstrated sharp thinking and creativity under pressure as they 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.
Tony Hale, CEO, ACA, said: “Young Lions is all about discovering the very best emerging talent Australia has to offer. 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.”
2026 Young Lions Australia winners
MEDIA – sponsored by Nine and supported by Media Federation of Australia
Ashu Matai & Joe Douglas, Initiative, with “CAPTCHA the Ballot”
MARKETING – supported by the AANA
Henry Van Laeren, Google & James Oxford, Reckitt, with “Taco Tuesday Takeover”.
DIGITAL – sponsored by Meta and supported by IAB Australia
Alicia Spyropoulos & Zoe d’Orey, The Taboo Group, with “The Ballot Burrito”
FILM – supported by Advertising Council Australia
Joseph Wilkie, Moonsail & Cathal Mongey, Juicebox, with “Dunno?”.
PR – supported by Advertising Council Australia
Jamie Wyatt, Marketforce & AJ McLaughlin, Thinkerbell, with “The Policy Sausage”
Aimee Buchanan, Media jury chair and CEO at WPP Media ANZ, said: “The calibre of entries was outstanding, with smart insights and bold ideas. Our winners stood out with a powerful, original solution and strong commercial rigour. We’re confident they’ll do Australia proud in Cannes.”
Mim Haysom, Marketing jury chair and EGM brand and customer experience, Suncorp Group, said: “Our winning team brought a strong, unique insight and an original idea. They presented brilliantly, thinking on their feet and handling tough questions with confidence. They’ll make the most of Cannes.”
Emma Robbins, Digital Jury Chair and Chief Creative Officer at M+C Saatchi, said: “The entries were outstanding, tackling a tough challenge: not just driving access to Build a Ballot, but getting Gen Z to engage. The best ideas made politics visible, participatory and shareable.”
Ant Melder, Film jury chair and creative partner at Cocogun, said: “An exceptional group of finalists. 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.”
Simone Gupta, PR jury chair and co-founder at Supermassive, said: “The shortlisted teams all showed strong cultural insight and distinct ideas. 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.”
