Cream, the annual competition showcasing breakthrough creative talent in advertising, is launching an initiative to ensure young creatives get support and exposure despite the coronavirus crisis.
Because Cream will not be able to run in a physical format this year, The Talent Business, which oversees the competition, has partnered ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 and Creature to form The Cream Collective.
The collective will connect this year’s advertising graduates with professional creatives across the industry, including those who have been furloughed or are temporarily out of work.
Cream is calling on creatives at any level to join the collective and become mentors to students during this challenging period. It aims to provide a mentor to every student who enters Cream, offering guidance on the competition’s brief, developing their books and preparing for their first jobs.
Student entrants will compete by answering a brief set by Creature. The winners, selected by executive creative directors and chief creative officers from around the world, will be showcased in ±±¾©Èü³µpk10.
As in previous years, Cream will ensure some of the winners are creatives who have not had the opportunity to go to ad school. The Talent Business will work with D&AD Shift, Commercial Break and the Creative Mentor Network to open up the competition to a more diverse pool of candidates.
Mentorships will begin on 11 May for an initial two months, with the aim of extending these relationships beyond the competition.
Cream holds its global showcase every autumn and attracts some of the best young creatives from around the world, as well as creative leaders seeking to recruit them.
Tanya Livesey, global managing director, creative, at The Talent Business, said: "Young talent is the lifeblood of the creative industries, so it’s imperative that the industry continues to support emerging talent, even through the toughest times, or we will feel the vacuum for many years to come."
Stu Outhwaite-Noel, co-founder and chief creative officer at Creature, added: "2020 doesn’t have to be the year of the ‘lost generation’. With The Cream Collective, we have the chance to harness all the incredible creative talent who are currently sitting on the sidelines and throw that at students from every background, desperate for the help and guidance they’ve got to offer."
People who want to join the collective can email Anna Green at anna.green@thetalentbusiness.com.
The Talent Business, which specialises in executive search for creative businesses, has run Cream for nearly 20 years.
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