Vietnam will be well-represented at international advertising contests next year, with teams competing at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and the Spikes Asia 2010.

The three teams, two of which will go to France and the rest will go to Singapore, are the winners of the Vietnam Young Lions Festival held by Sun Flower Media (SFM) in Ho Chi Minh City last week.

But their names have yet to be released.

They will be officially announced next month by Terry Savage, chairman of Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, during the first Vietnam Advertising Festival on December 10.

The Vietnam Young Lions Festival attracted more than 400 teams this August, with all contestants under 28 years old. The teams of two competed in three categories, including print, film and strategy.

Three winning teams were selected last week during the final round held in HCMC.

Each team had 24 hours to complete their print and strategy projects with only 48 hours to complete their film entry.

The theme, promoting Vietnamese tourism, was only revealed on the competition day.

Robert Cohen, executive creative director of Lowe Worldwide advertising agency, said the contest met international criteria and the competitors submitted impressive designs.

But he also said none of the ideas submitted could be considered excellent or mainstream and that talent in Vietnam needed better guidance to improve the quality of local advertising.

Birger Linker, executive creative director of advertising agency

TBWA Vietnam, said most advertising companies only recruited Vietnamese as processors rather than designers as new graduates here were often not creative enough.

Nguyen Quy Cap, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Advertising Association, said only 20 of the current 100 domestic advertising companies were actually competent in the field.

The country doesn’t have the best designers, he said, adding that the most creative artists who became the designers here were not properly trained in the field of advertising.

VietNamNet/Thanh Nien