Calling all young creatives—Ad Age's annual contest returns with TikTok

After taking a short break during the pandemic, the Ad Age Young Creatives Contest is back. For more than 10 years, we've celebrated promising talent during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, inviting individuals from around the world, ages 30 and under, to show us their creativity. And this year Ad Age is teaming up with TikTok to turn what was previously a cover competition into a video contest.

For the 2023 contest, we are asking entrants to show us what the future of creativity looks like. We want to see that future through your eyes and see you get creative with the video format.

The contest is free and open to students, full-time agency creatives and freelance creatives who are ages 30 or under on June 19, 2023. The final deadline is April 10 at 5 p.m. ET.

What is the Young Creatives Contest?

The Ad Age Young Creatives Contest recognizes up-and-coming creative stars from all corners of the globe and celebrates them at one of the biggest events for the industry—the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Who is eligible?

The contest is free and open to students, full-time agency creatives and freelance creatives who are ages 30 or under on June 19, 2023. You can live and work anywhere in the world, but your entry must be in English and you must be 30 or younger on June 19 to qualify.

What's the brief for the 2023 Young Creatives Contest?

This year the brief for the contest is deceptively simple—show us how you envision the future of creativity in 60 seconds or less. What the judges from Ad Age and TikTok want to see is how you use the video format to creatively illustrate your vision.

You can show us how you create. You can show us where you find inspiration—or who gives it to you. You can show us where your mind goes when you're firing on all creative cylinders or how you found your style. Video is a powerful medium and we want to see what you do with it. Maybe you tell your story through photography or sound. Or maybe you prefer animation or stop motion. Or maybe you want to play around with all those AI tools everyone's been talking about recently.

When is the deadline?

Entries for the Young Creatives Contest close on April 10 at 5 p.m. ET.

How do I enter?

Using TikTok's Stitch creation tool, you will need to use the video from TikTok's Global Head of Business Marketing Sofia Hernandez and add your own video. Your video must be no more than 60 seconds in length and must be your original work.

Once you have finalized your video on TikTok, you will need to fill out the entry form on AdAge.com/YoungCreatives. Only entries submitted via the entry site will qualify; any content that violates TikTok's community guidelines will be disqualified from the contest.

What does the entry form require?

In the Young Creatives Contest's entry form you will need to upload your video, fill out your personal information and also write about your creation. Judges want to understand what's behind the idea, how you created it and why it represents your vision for the future of creativity.

When will the winner be announced?

The winner and finalists will be notified in early May, and announced in June.