The energy was high at WPP House Sydney on Friday as the winners of the 2026 Young Lions Australia Competition were revealed.
After a competitive live judging round, the standout teams impressed Executive Juries with sharp thinking, strong insights and ideas built to perform under pressure.
This year’s brief, set by Project Planet, challenged finalists to disrupt default voting behaviour using its free digital tool, Build a Ballot — helping Australians understand their values, explore policy alignment and plan their vote.
The task: create a moment of curiosity. Encourage Australians to consider policy before party, without telling them who to vote for, and make researching your vote feel as normal as casting it.
Here’s how this year’s winners answered the brief:
MEDIA: Ashu Matai & Joe Douglas, Initiative, with “CAPTCHA the Ballot.”
Brief: Reach low-involvement voters in moments where they are most receptive, and prompt a low-effort action: checking their policy alignment using Build a Ballot.
Marketing: Henry Van Laeren, Google & James Oxford, Reckitt with “Taco Tuesday Takeover.”
Brief: Position Build a Ballot as a simple, judgment-free tool that feels relevant, useful and worth engaging with, even for people who don’t normally research their vote.
Digital: Alicia Spyropoulos & Zoe d’Orey, The Taboo Group, with “The Ballot Burrito.”
Brief: Create a digitally-led campaign that turns vote planning with Build a Ballot into a shared, visible and culturally relevant behaviour, especially for people who wouldn’t normally engage with politics.
FILM: Joseph Wilkie, Moonsail & Cathal Mongey, Juicebox, with “Dunno?.”
Brief: Create a powerful, emotionally resonant film that reframes vote planning (and not voting) as something ordinary people do, as opposed to something only “political” people do.
Watch it here.
PR: Jamie Wyatt, Marketforce & AJ McLaughlin, Thinkerbell with “The Policy Sausage.”
Brief: Reframe voting research as culturally normal.
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