The Young Lions are open to anyone in the advertising industry under the age of 30, and each year thousands of people from around the world participate in the competition. This year, Havas Health & You had the best showing in its history, with 32 entries from 11 of their international agencies. We spoke to Benjamin Lin, Art Director at Havas Life New York, and Sarah Park, Copywriter at Havas Life New York, who have been selected as the best digital campaign in the USA.
“I am beyond excited to have Sarah and Ben join me at Cannes Lions this June to be inspired by the best work in the industry.
I couldn’t be prouder of our work and thank each of the teams who poured their hearts into the work.”
Eric Weisberg, Global Chief Creative Officer, Havas Health & You
Can you tell us a bit about what the Young Lions challenged you with for your entry this year, the Represent! Campaign, and Creative Ladder?
Most people in the ad industry didn’t even know their current jobs were a possibility when they were in high school. Creative Ladder challenged us to create a campaign that could help close the awareness gap on careers within the creative industry, specifically for marginalized communities between the ages of 16-21 years old.
What was your inspiration for the ‘Flip your career’ campaign? Can you tell us about the concept?
Our inspiration stemmed from our personal experience. We grew up following the traditional STEM curriculum and were told creative jobs would only lead us to a life as a ‘starving artist’. We were unaware of the wide range of possibilities to thrive in this industry. In this new generation, there is an upsurge of young individuals who were born to be creative. They grew up on social media and have been immersed in creative content from a young age. Instead of pushing this generation away from what they know best, we wanted to pull them in even deeper by using the power of social media. We engaged the influencers they follow daily, asking them to introduce their teams by flipping their cameras and showing the diverse range of creative professionals working behind the scenes on their content, allowing young people to be exposed to creative careers they never knew existed and explore new ways to develop their creative talents.
What does being selected as a Young Lion mean to you?
We are both honored to be part of the Young Lions community. As finalists, it means that we’ve been recognized and appreciated for our hard work, and that means the world to us. We feel encouraged and empowered to continue our growth in the creative industry and we look forward to seeing how far our creative talents will take us.
What are you most looking forward to this year at Cannes?
One of the most exciting experiences we are looking forward to at Cannes this year is meeting all the creative individuals behind powerful works that have been recognized worldwide. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to talk with the creatives in-person, see how they think, approach insights, and execute incredible ideas. And of course, we can’t wait for the views of the South of France and all the celebrations throughout the week.