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Cannes Lions Special Section

#CannesLions2019: It's not often you get a second chance

Winners of Cinemark's Cannes Young Lions 2019 competition, Amri Botha and Carina Coetzee from Ninety9cents (99c), will once again represent South Africa at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year.
Amri Botha and Carina Coetzee from Ninety9cents (99C) agency. Image supplied.
Amri Botha and Carina Coetzee from Ninety9cents (99C) agency. Image supplied.

This is the second time the duo has been crowned winners of the Cinemark's Cannes Young Lions competition, as they also won in 2017.

We caught up with them and asked what this win means to them, what they are most excited about and what they intend to do differently the second time around.

BizcommunityWhy did you decide to enter again this year?

This is the last year that we would be eligible to enter as a team and we decided that we would like to complete the challenge one last time. So glad that we did!

BizcommunityWhat does the win mean to you?

This win was really unexpected, and we genuinely did not believe it at first. It’s not often that you get a second chance, so we are so grateful and excited that we get to give it another go in France!

BizcommunityTell us more about the challenge and why you think your work stood out?

The Young Lions Challenge is an amazing opportunity for young creatives to put their skills to the test under extreme conditions. The fact that you have just 48 hours to conceptualise, film and edit a 60-second cinema advert forces you to come up with an idea that’s simple enough to execute, yet impactful enough to stand out.

This year, the brief was to create an ad that addresses the very relevant issue of physical violence in schools.

We wanted our advert to evoke a certain emotion with the audience – we wanted the viewer to empathise with that little kid and almost feel the fear, despair and isolation that bullying causes. We wanted them to almost feel what it is like to be bullied.

BizcommunityHaving experienced the Young Lions competition in 2017, do you think it will give you a bit of an advantage when competing at Cannes again this year?

Although we have a better idea of what to expect on that side, the fact that we competed in 2017 doesn’t necessarily give us an advantage – since it’s a level playing field! All the competitors receive the same unfamiliar gear, get the same brief from clients they haven’t worked with – and we all have just 48 hours to complete the task! Then there’s the fact that you’re doing it in a foreign country, where you don’t exactly have cast volunteers lined up to star in your ad! It’s daunting, but an exciting challenge! Having experienced it, we know that all you can really do is trust your skills and creativity and make it work!

BizcommunityWhat do you plan on doing differently on your trip back to France?

There are so many things we would like to do differently. We will definitely be approaching the challenge and the brief from a different angle. As for the festival of creativity itself, there is so much amazing inspirational and creative work to see that it can get a bit overwhelming – but we look forward to soaking up as much of it as time allows (i.e. sleep when we’re back!).

BizcommunityWhat are you most looking forward to?

We’re most looking forward to the endless inspiration that you gain from the talks and the work you are surrounded by. We’re also super excited about the challenge – as stressful and daunting as it might be it – it’s also heaps of fun!

Cinemark is the official local representative for the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Visit our Cannes Lions special section for more information and all the latest updates!

About Juanita Pienaar

Juanita is the editor of the marketing & media portal on the Bizcommunity website. She is also a contributing writer.
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