Hiruni and Lakshita create history with first-ever Cannes Lions Gold
Monday, 24 June 2013 02:07
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Two young marketers, Lakshitha Wijesinghe and Hiruni Mendis of Etisalat Lanka Ltd., have created history by winning Sri Lanka’s first-ever Gold at the world famous Cannes Lions festival.
The Sri Lankan duo clinched the Gold in the Young Lions Marketer Competition and it was the first time in the Cannes Lions history of 60 years that Sri Lanka figured on the grand stage to win the Gold.
The rare achievement brought national pride to the Sri Lankan contingent at the International Festival of Creativity, which came to a close over the weekend in Cannes, France.
Sri Lanka also won a Bronze and a Finalist award this year at Cannes.
This year 13 Sri Lankans representing six agencies attended the 60th Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. There were also 26 entries submitted to the competition from Sri Lanka.
Hiruni and Lakshita represented Sri Lanka after winning the local competition of tackling a business case study, organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing in partnership with International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Association Accredited Advertising Agencies (4As).
The Sri Lankan panel who selected the duo comprised Starcom Worldwide Sri Lanka CEO Sheron Jayasundera, Bates Strategic Alliance COO Rochelle de Silva, Hemas Manufacturing Director Brands and Unilever SL Marketing Manager Home Care and Pureit M. Makshoodh.
Cannes Festival provides a golden opportunity to the young marketers of Sri Lanka to become the face of Sri Lanka’s marketing fraternity.
The Young Lions Marketer Competitions offer a space for national teams of young creatives from around the world to compete against each other and showcase their talent. Country representatives will be competing against the most talented creative young professionals from across the world.
The Sri Lankan marketers will also have the opportunity to attend seminars and workshops specially designed for them under the guidance of a leading international professional. In addition to attending the program designed for the Marketers, these participants will also have access to many of the programs conducted at Festival.
Inspiring creativity for over 60 years, the Cannes Lions is the world’s largest celebration of creative communications in all its forms. With over 4,000 different companies from across the world attend the event each year, the program aims to inspire its audience through new ideas and concepts in the world of advertising and communications.
With a record of 35,765 entries from 92 countries submitted to the Cannes Lions 60th International Festival of Creativity, this time the benchmark was set higher.
