Win a trip to Cannes in the YouTube 48 hour ad contest for young creative teams

YouTube and the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival have partnered to search for two young creatives to win a trip to this year’s Festival and fill a new 38th place as Team YouTube in the 2009 Young Lions Film Competition.

Next month YouTube will be running a 48-hour viral film contest – the first of its kind on YouTube – to create an ad for a well known, international charity whose identity will be kept under wraps until the launch of the contest on 15th of May. On the 17th May, the competition will close and contestants will then have two weeks to generate as many views possible. Two winners will be selected by a panel of experts who will judge the ad based on creativity, number of views and video ratings. The winners will unite and receive an all expenses paid trip to Cannes to attend the International Advertising Festival and a chance to compete as the 38th team in the prestigious Young Lions Film competition.

Make an ad:

At midnight on May 15 (GMT) YouTube will release a brief for up to a 60 second viral ad aimed at raising awareness for the charity, on www.youtube.com/canneslions. Creatives 28 years of age or under have until midnight of 17 May (GMT) to submit their ad to this channel.

Spread the word:

There will be a two-week period between 17th May and 1st of June for entrants to create a viral buzz around their video to drive as many public views and votes as possible by whatever means.

Go to Cannes:

After 1st of June, a panel of advertising experts will judge the shortlisted entries and select two winners based on overall creative execution of the brief and the videos’ views, ratings, comments, votes and overall online footprint. The winners will be announced on 5th June: the prize for the two selected winners is an all-expenses paid trip to the Festival to take part in the Young Lions Film Competition as Team YouTube offering a fantastic exposure for young creatives looking to carve a role in the advertising or film industry.

Lorraine Twohill, VP of global marketing, Google/YouTube, said: “We are delighted to team up with Cannes Lions, creative agencies and the wider creative community around the world to create a new “YouTube team” entry for the Young Lions film competition. This is a great way to encourage young creatives in traditional media to grasp new media tools and develop an innovative viral campaign for a leading charity.”

Launched in 2006, The Young Lions Film Competition is an integral part of the week-long International Advertising Festival which sees teams of two from 37 countries aged 28 or under, who have just 48 hours to shoot and edit a one minute commercial on behalf of the client – a charity or not-for-profit organisation. The experience is intense but winning can be rewarding both personally and professionally.

YouTube Contest Judges:

Rory Sutherland – Vice Chairman, Ogilvy One (United Kingdom)

Alexandre Gama – Chief Creative Officer & Founder, NeoGama BBH (Brazil)

Stéphane Xiberras – President & Executive Creative Director, BETC Euro RSCG (France)

Nick Law – Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer North America, R/GA (USA)

Yuya Furukawa – Executive Creative Director, Dentsu (Japan)

Ariel Abramovici – Copywriter, BBDO Argentina (winner 2008 YL Film competition)

Bruno Acanfora – Art Director, BBDO Argentina (winner 2008 YL Film competition)