Dawn McCarthy and Xenia Rutherford of Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis, have been selected to represent the U.S. in the Young Creative Competition at Cannes. Their work was picked from a field of more than 100 teams who entered the countrywide creative shoot-out.
McCarthy and Rutherford were chosen by a judging panel of creatives that included David Nathanson of DDB Needham New York, Ron Berger of Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York, Peter Wood of Ogilvy & Mather, New York, Tony DiGregorio of Publicis & Hal Riney, New York, Ted Bell of Young & Rubicam, New York, and noted ad vet Helayne Spivak.
McCarthy and Rutherford will receive airfare and hotel accommodations to this year’s International Advertising Festival in Cannes, courtesy of Judy Wald Partners, New York, a co-sponsor of the Young Creative Competition. Screenvision Cinema Network is the U.S. sponsor of the Cannes International Advertising Festival. The Young Creative Competition takes place during the week of the International Ad Fest proceedings. Young, up-and-coming creative teams from 30 countries will compete in the Young Creative Competition; each will receive a brief from a public service/non-profit client on Saturday, June 19. Then each team will have 24 hours to complete an ad. On Tuesday, June 22, all of the ads will be judged by the Press & Poster Jury, and the winners will be announced that evening at an awards ceremony. All the ads will be displayed in the Palais de Festvials, The Lion’s Village, for the duration of the Festival week. Last year, 29 countries participated in the Young Creative Competition, with the Portuguese team winning first place.
This year’s contest to determine the American representative generated entries from more than 30 U.S. ad agencies. Second place went to Paul Coyle and Susan Rosenzweig of Ogilvy & Mather, New York. And third place was bestowed upon a Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, team comprised of Per Jacobson and Desmond LaVelle.
