Print

Print

Teams will have 24 hours to create an eye-catching print ad that answers
the challenge in the brief and engages the target audience.

To be eligible to compete in the Print competition, the team must be:

  • Made up of two young professionals.
  • Age 30 or under, born on or after June 20, 1995.
  • Working in creative communications / advertising / digital agencies.
  • Freelancers will be accepted to compete in this competition.
  • In-house creative teams from client companies will be accepted to compete in this competition.

Print Competition Dates:

Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. EST to Sunday, March 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. EST.

Instructions on how to access your brief will be sent to your registered email address by February 27, 2026.

TIPS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY:

  • Is your entry formatted to the specifications and file size limits required in each category? The entry submission form will reject any files that do not meet these requirements.
  • Ensure you do not write team names on your submission or you will be disqualified. You will be able to complete your names on the entry form, but any submitted work that includes identification information will be subject to removal.
  • No external help or influence is permitted. You may only work in your designated team to produce your submission.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT:

Technical support will be available competition weekend through younglions@crowdiate.com during the designated times below, but this support is limited to uploading issues and any problems that may occur with the actual delivery or retrieval of files. All times are in eastern standard.

Saturday, February 28        8:00am – 10:00am
Sunday, March 1                  8:00am – 10:00am

GENERAL SUPPORT:

General support will be available competition weekend through cannes@globeandmail.com during the designed times below, but please note that we will not be offering additional details or addressing questions as it relates to the content or subject matter of the briefs. All times are in eastern standard.

Saturday, February 28        8:00am – 10:00am
Sunday, March 1                  8:00am – 10:00am

How firm are the parameters of the brief? E.g. Can I go over the text limit?

We do not recommend this. The parameters are in place for a reason and the judges may not consider submissions that go against the client ask

What type of images or sounds can I use in my submission?

Free and royalty free images and sounds.

If I make a mistake, can I re-submit my entry?

Yes, just refresh your browser and upload the new file using the same submission title. We’ll accept your most recent entry and discard the others.

I missed the deadline to submit. Can I just email it?

No. Each team is required to submit through the official Entry Submission Form. Late entries and entries submitted through other channels will not be accepted.

Can I switch categories during the competition?

No. All entrants must compete in the category in which they have registered. Any submissions to the categories in which the entrant has not registered will be disqualified.

Does each team member need to submit the entry?

No. Each team will submit one entry to the Entry Submission Form.

Something has come up and I won’t be able to complete the submission. Can I get a refund?

Unfortunately, the registration fee is non-refundable. We cannot honour refunds after the competition has started.

For film submissions, can I use pre-recorded footage?

No, you must create original footage.

For film submissions, what video file formats are acceptable?

We’ll accept mov/mp4 files only. We cannot view wmv or other file types.

Can I use AI in my entry? What are the competition’s AI guidelines?

Individual aspects of the entry may be automatically generated by computer or created by artificial intelligence, however, if the majority or entire entry is generated using such means, we reserve the right to disqualify the entry from the competition. Participants must disclose AI usage when submitting and explain how it was used. The jury will review this, but it won’t impact judging unless it violates competition rules.

Reminder, as per the Contest Rules, you must ensure that you have all necessary rights to use AI-generated assets as part of your entry.

2026 Rules & Regulations