Three Young Burnetters to represent Sri Lanka at Cannes Lions

Three young Burnetters were recently selected to represent Sri Lanka at the 62nd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the Roger Hatchuel Academy. 

Burnetters Rinesh Jayarathne and Hassan Samdin of Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. (LBSI) were selected to represent Sri Lanka to compete in the Young Lions Print category, whilst Tasneem Dawoodbhoy of LBSI was selected as the Sri Lankan representative to attend the prestigious Roger Hatchuel Academy. 

Eleven young marketing communications professionals in total will represent the county at the festival. A local competition to select the winners was recently organised by Metal Factor, the International Advertising Association (IAA), the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies (4As) and the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM).

Winners were selected in the Print, Film, Design, Cyber and Young Marketer categories and they will now compete against the best marketing communications teams from around the world. 

Commenting on the selection of the young Burnetters, Ranil de Silva, Managing Director, Leo Burnett, stated: “I am extremely proud that three young Burnetters have secured their places in the teams that will represent Sri Lanka at the Olympics of advertising – the Cannes Young Lions Competitions and the Roger Hatchuel Academy. These outstanding young professionals will have the unique opportunity of representing our country at one of the world’s leading creative festivals. I do hope they will return home with a Gold metal from the Young Lions Competitions. I wish the team, the very best in their efforts to bring glory to Sri Lanka at the Cannes Lions.”

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was started in 1954 and has grown to become the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications. The festival has more than 35,000 entries from all over the world and more than 12,000 delegates from 94 countries in attendance each year.  Each year, students from around the world are selected to attend the Roger Hatchuel Academy at the festival. The program comprises a seven day course which is specifically designed for students of advertising, communications and other creative disciplines.

As Leo Burnett celebrates its 16th year of operations in Sri Lanka and looks ahead to the future, the agency will continue to focus on its HumanKind approach to help build powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, while delivering gratifying results and gaining peer recognition in the industry.