Winning Young Lions Serbia opened a new chapter for Haris Ličina and Dušan Antonijević. They will soon compete at the global Young Lions Competition in Cannes, one of the few places where young creatives from around the world tackle the same challenge at the same time, yet solve it in completely different ways.
Their project, Unseen Legends, developed for Svratište, part of Centre for youth integration (CIM) , stood out for shifting the focus from statistics to children and their stories, reminding us that behind every social issue are real people we often fail to truly see.
In an interview with Media Marketing, they reveal how the idea that is taking them to Cannes came to life, what they consider the greatest value of the environment in which they work, and why they believe the local creative scene has more and more reasons for optimism.
Your idea, “Unseen Legends”, won Young Lions Serbia and earned you a place in Cannes. How would you explain its core idea to someone hearing about the project for the first time, and what did you want to change about the way people view this issue?
The core idea behind Unseen Legends was to shift the focus from the problem to the people. We often react only when a crisis happens and when we’re overwhelmed by alarming statistics, but very quickly we move on. We wanted to show that behind every donation, every number, and every social issue, there is a real child with their own talents, dreams, and life story.
That’s why we called them “Unseen Legends.” We wanted the audience to see them not as anonymous recipients of aid, but as kids they may have already passed on the street, in their neighbourhood, or on public transport. When you get to know someone on that human level, there is a much greater chance that you’ll want to support them in the long term, rather than only when an alarm is sounded. Ultimately, our goal wasn’t just to raise donations, but to change the way we think about continuous support and about children who have been there all along, even though we often fail to notice them.
What about Unseen Legends gave you the feeling that this particular work could go one step further than the others?
I believe the turning point came when, after defining the key message, we entered the visualisation phase of the campaign. That’s when we realised that the typography placed across the faces wasn’t just an aesthetic solution, but an element carrying additional meaning. It was simultaneously part of the communication and a visual symbol of the Unseen Legends idea, while also serving as a practical way to protect the children’s identities, which had been extremely important to us from the very beginning.
At that moment, it became clear to us that the campaign had gained another layer, that it wasn’t functioning only through the message it conveyed, but also through the way it was visually narrated. That kind of synergy between concept and execution rarely happens, and when it does, you usually get that gut feeling and realise the project has the potential to go beyond what was expected. That feeling stayed with us throughout the entire process and gave us additional confidence to build a campaign with multiple narrative layers, where every detail has its role and contributes to the overall story.
This year, McCann won first, second, and third place at Young Lions Serbia. What does that say about the environment you work in—is it agency culture, mentorship, coincidence, or something else?
The fact that McCann achieved such an incredible result this year, and that it has also had representatives at Young Lions Cannes on the previous two occasions, suggests that it cannot simply be a coincidence. As an agency, McCann truly nurtures a culture of giving young colleagues freedom and opportunity. There is always room to try something new, unexpected, and different.
At the same time, there are senior colleagues with extensive experience and many awards behind them who are always willing to help us sharpen our ideas, improve them, and make them even better. You learn a lot from that process, but even more from those people, and that knowledge is shared generously.
Finally, there is also the fact that, as young people, we constantly collect everything that catches our attention – we follow trends, campaigns that impressed us, ideas, and problems we’ve noticed around us. Together, we continually motivate one another to be smarter, more creative, and braver.
It truly is an ideal combination of a culture of seeking truths within problems, creativity, enthusiasm, and a wealth of experience from which we all grow together.
What do you find most interesting today when you look at the creative industry in Serbia and the direction in which it is developing? From the perspective of young creatives who are still building their place within it, where do you see the greatest reasons for optimism?
This is a very interesting topic because many different factors are unfolding simultaneously. Lately, we’ve seen major global brands beginning to take our market seriously. New major brands are entering, others are expanding their presence, and those already here have become much more active. That creates new opportunities and challenges for the entire market. The arrival of new competitors, along with the growing activity of global players, pushes the whole market to become even more creative, resourceful, and bold.
Another thing we’re noticing is that brands are increasingly looking for new ways to approach consumers, who are no longer only digital. There is a growing demand for us to be present and entertaining both in digital environments and in these tangible, real-life experiences. It’s also very important that our market already recognises the value of humanity and the human experiences we share with others. This theme will become increasingly relevant, and outstanding campaigns will emerge from it.
I also believe that the market itself is becoming, and will continue to become, even hungrier and more ambitious. We can see that we’re capable of creating campaigns, experiences, and brands at a global level, and that we will increasingly aspire not to look up to international examples, but to create them ourselves.
You are about to compete in Cannes, where you’ll meet the best young creatives from around the world. What do you think will surprise you the most in Cannes – the challenge itself, the competition, or the way other teams think?
What excites us most is the opportunity to find ourselves among young creatives from all over the world and witness first-hand how they think, work, and approach solving the same challenge. That kind of exchange is probably the greatest value of the competition itself.
Because of that, I believe what will surprise us most is precisely the different ways teams interpret the brief. It’s always fascinating how many different directions can emerge from the same starting point, and which creative mechanisms, processes, and tools lead to those solutions. At the same time, it will be invaluable for us to see where our own way of thinking stands within that international context and what we can learn from perspectives that differ from our own.
