2025 Young Lions Competition Winners from the United States Announced by NCM
Freshened Up: Young Lions Roar at the 2025 U.S. Creative Contest!
The cinema advertising powerhouse, National CineMedia (NCM), representing the global fleet of creativity at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, has crowned the winners of the 2025 U.S. Young Lions competition. This prestigious event highlights the budding stars in five vibrant categories: Digital, Film, Media, PR, and Print.
These young guns, mostly hailing from Gen Z and millennial cohorts, have left a mark with their gutsy, insight-infused work that mirrors their generation's principles and passions.
This year's competition saw a whopping 359 submissions from over 500 teams. The victors emerged at a New York bash on April 9, attended by a crowd of 150 spectators.
The Young Lions competition for 2025 tasked contenders with addressing a marketing and communication conundrum for a charity, WhyHunger, dedicated to preserving grassroots food justice.
Finalists from Digital, PR, and Media sectors showcased their ideas through electrifying eight-minute presentations, followed by grilling Q&A sessions from the jury. Evaluations centered on the ideas' innovation, feasibility, and team chemistry.
Two new awards were presented for the first time this year – the Titanium Award, courtesy of StrawberryFrog, and the Bold Impact Award, backed by OMD USA.
Winners from Amazon, Google, McCann, Weber Shandwick, Crispin, Initiative, Ogilvy, and David will embark on a journey to the south of France in June to make their mark at the worldwide Young Lions competition. They'll attend the festival's opening ceremony hosted by NCM and Known, delve into Cannes Lions programs, and represent the U.S. on an international stage.
For the past decade, NCM has served as the U.S. ambassador to Cannes Lions, not just running the Young Lions competition, but also handling jury selections and programming to bolster upcoming stars. Last year, NCM kickstarted the U.S. Lions Community, a program that pairs emerging talents with seasoned industry titans via mentorship and live events.
As Tunick, NCM's chief marketing officer, shared with ADWEEK, there's a strategic reason behind NCM's endorsement of the Young Lions competition: "NCM's core operations revolve around cinema advertising, and today's box office is ruled by Gen Zs and young millennials. These young bloods are the treasure trove that the advertising landscape covets."
NCM's in-house Noovie Studios will produce a shining, 60-second vignette celebrating the winners, which will be screened acrossits cinema network throughout June, setting the stage for the winners to gain some fame before they head to France.
Tunick emphasized that aligning the U.S. competition with the global experience at Cannes was paramount for 2025: "Our objective was to ensure that the winners step onto the global stage more refined and prepared, hopefully bringing home some shiny hardware for Team USA."
Here are the victors of the 2025 U.S. Young Lions competition:
- Digital:
- Alexandra Jones (Amazon Brand Innovation Lab)
- Eunie Jang (Amazon Brand Innovation Lab)
- Film:
- Andrew Rhee (Google)
- Dillon Hansen (McCann)
- Media and Titanium Award:
- Morgan McAlister (Initiative)
- Dana Nathanson (Initiative)
- PR:
- Lauryn King (Weber Shandwick)
- June Hernandez (Weber Shandwick)
- Print:
- Hailey Skinner (CRISPIN)
- Kendelle Cragun (CRISPIN)
- Bold Impact Award:
- Chloe Bayhack (Ogilvy New York)
- Victoria Rocha (David New York)
These winners will be battling it out at the grand Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.
- Alexandra Jones and Eunie Jang from Amazon Brand Innovation Lab won the Digital category at the 2025 U.S. Young Lions competition.
- Andrew Rhee from Google and Dillon Hansen from McCann took home the title in the Film category.
- Morgan McAlister and Dana Nathanson from Initiative were recognized in both the Media and Titanium Award categories.
- Lauryn King and June Hernandez from Weber Shandwick emerged victorious in the PR category, while Hailey Skinner and Kendelle Cragun from CRISPIN won in Print. Chloe Bayhack from Ogilvy New York and Victoria Rocha from David New York were the recipients of the Bold Impact Award. All the winners will compete at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June, showcasing their innovative ideas on social-media platforms and the entertainment industry, including movies-and-tv, to a global audience.
