National CineMedia Announces 2026 U.S. Young Lions Winners

Winning teams form TEAM USA, head to Cannes to compete against world's top young creatives at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

\NEW YORK — April 23, 2026 — National CineMedia (NASDAQ: NCMI) (NCM), the largest cinema advertising platform in the US, and the U.S. Representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, today announced the five winning teams of the 2026 U.S. Young Lions competition. The winning teams were named and honored by NCM on April 22, 2026, at the TEAM USA Winners Announcement event, with all finalist teams in attendance.

This year marks NCM's 11th year as U.S. Representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and introduces PMCI (Publicis Media Content Innovation) as the first-ever title sponsor of the Young Lions competition. The five winning teams will compete as TEAM USA in the global Young Lions competition at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the world's leading celebration of creative marketing and communications. The festival will take place from June 22-26, 2026, in Cannes, France.

Participants were tasked with reimagining the annual fundraising efforts of the Save The Music Foundation, the nonprofit partner for the 2026 U.S. Young Lions competition, with the goal of engaging a new generation of music lovers. Save The Music is a nonprofit that supports music education in more than 285 school districts nationwide.

2026 U.S. Young Lions Winners:

·       Digital: Jonathan Arias and Rebecca Weinstein (FleishmanHillard) — This team's concept centers on a partnership with NPR and their popular series “Tiny Desk Concerts.” “Tiny Tiny Desk Concerts” gives student musicians the opportunity to perform at their actual desks, and the singles they record will be available for streaming and purchase with every dollar going to fund music education.

·       Film: Catarina Barcala Gosende (VML Commerce) and Palak Kapadia (Amazon Brand Innovation Lab) — "Your Five Digits," a film rooted in the insight that in the U.S., access to music education isn't determined by talent or interest, but by something completely up to chance: your zip code. By inviting viewers to reflect on their own first experiences with music, the film connects Music Education Believers to their formative experiences and shows them how their gift can open doors for a student who might otherwise never hold an instrument.

·       PR: June Hernandez and Valiant Freeman (Weber Shandwick) — The winning PR concept focused on making the consequences of music education cuts impossible to ignore through the power of silence. In partnership with the New York Philharmonic, this is a modern-day take on musical chairs, showing audiences the sound of music education going away in real time through social and experiential activations.

·       Print: Ashlyn Elggren and Blythe Broadbin (Johannes Leonardo) — A creative concept built on a National Endowment for the Arts statistic that students with high-arts engagement are 23% more likely to attend college after graduation. The ad shows that giving the gift of music provides students with music education and opens doors for them to be forever actively engaged students of the world.

·       Media: Lilly Kate Hollis and Sophia Hemsey (Digitas) — This team transformed the daily ritual of coffee drinking into a funding machine for music education, creating a 360 media strategy with celebrity partners and a round-up campaign with a top coffee chain.

All TEAM USA winners and their work, along with a list of 2^nd and 3^rd place awards, can be found here.

Alongside title sponsor PMCI, the 2026 competition was supported by FleishmanHillard as Digital category sponsor, Pereira O'Dell as Film category sponsor, Weber Shandwick as PR category sponsor, and Johannes Leonardo as the TEAM USA Announcement Event partner.

“The 2026 TEAM USA winners reflect exactly why this competition matters: it gives the next generation of creative talent the opportunity to showcase their sharp, strategic thinking while advancing an important cause,” said Mike Rosen, Chief Revenue Officer at NCM. “Each winning team delivered fresh ideas that will help Save The Music reach new audiences and expand its impact. We’re excited to see them represent the U.S. on the global stage in Cannes.”

To celebrate the work of the Young Lions teams, NCM's in-house creative team, Noovie® Studios, will produce a spot celebrating TEAM USA and the US Lions Community. The spot will run in NCM's network of theaters across the country throughout the month of June in support of TEAM USA, helping to bring the 2026 winners to the big screen before they compete on-stage in Cannes.

For additional information about the U.S. Lions Community and this year's festival, visit: https://www.ncm.com/us-lions-community.

About National CineMedia, Inc.

National CineMedia, Inc. (NCM, NASDAQ:NCMI) is the largest cinema advertising platform in the U.S. With unparalleled reach and scale, NCM connects brands to sought-after young, diverse audiences through the power of movies and pop culture. A premium video, full-funnel marketing solution for advertisers, NCM enhances marketers' ability to measure and drive results. NCM’s Noovie® Show is presented exclusively in 41 leading national and regional theater circuits including the only three national chains, AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (a subsidiary of Cineworld Group PLC). NCM’s cinema advertising platform consists of more than 17,000 screens in over 1,300 theaters in 184 Designated Market Areas® (all of the top 50). NCM is the managing member and owner of 100% of National CineMedia, LLC (NCM LLC). For more information, visit www.ncm.com.

Contact

Press@ncm.com