Cannes Lions 2025: Meet MSQ’s Young Lions – Mallory Cross and Kaitlyn Powers

For a fourth-year running, MSQ is backing the brightest rising talent within our network to experience the buzz of advertising’s most prestigious week in the calendar, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. We’ve previously seen young people from agencies like 26 PMX, Elmwood, Brave Spark/M3 Labs, Smarts and The Gate jet off from various corners of the globe down to the French Riviera returning with fresh insights that have super-charged their creative careers ever since.

However this year we decided to do things a little differently. MSQ has partnered with WACL (Women in Advertising & Creative Leadership) and Empower Café to set the challenge of creating a short film that captures both our joined-up thinking values and championing gender equality amongst the industry. The video will be used as a key promotional asset throughout the festival, being played front-and-centre on the Palais and within the Empower Café space all week. Promoting the mission to support women and drive gender equality, the brief asked for not only a unique, creative outlook, but also the underlying desire for change for good – and we’re beyond proud of what our winning duo have come up with.

Introducing Stubbornly Succeeding

Conceived by Mallory Cross and Kaitlyn Powers of SPCSHP, New York, ‘Stubbornly Succeeding’ flips a loaded label on its head. Studies show women are twice as likely as men to be called “bossy” or “stubborn” at work, and Mallory and Kaitlyn’s concept shifts those insults into a badge of honour, celebrating the grit and determination it takes for women to thrive in creative industries.

Shot with an all-woman cast and crew, the film cycles through rapid vignettes of women being told to pipe down, play nice, or “be more realistic”, before cutting to their triumphant, unapologetic successes. The final frame lands in the Empower Café, underscoring how inclusive spaces at Cannes can rewrite old, outdated narratives to unlock new ones

Meet the Creators:

Mallory Cross

Mallory is a senior strategist and social creative based in New York City who has produced campaigns and content for a range of public figures and brands, including Mastercard, NBC, Dropbox, and more.  

She is an expert in digital culture who uses social platforms and content formats to make online communities feel seen, heard, and celebrated. Drawing from her agency and brand-side experiences, Mallory uses her tactical expertise and a social-first lens to amplify larger marketing initiatives and create space for real-time human engagement.  

The social content she has produced for pivotal brand moments—including SNL’s 50th Anniversary, New York Fashion Week, and The Westminster Dog Show—has been featured in The New York Times, Adweek, and more, garnering hundreds of millions of views along the way.  

Kaitlyn Powers 

Kaitlyn is a senior creative, writer, and storyteller based in New York City.  

Kaitlyn has helped shape stories and campaigns for brands like Google, Chase, Adobe, the International Rescue Committee, and more. She loves finding elements of truth and connection in every brief and brand, and thinking up new and memorable ways to bring them to life. From starting her career in the nonprofit marketing space, Kaitlyn has a special affinity for mission-driven brands and organizations—and truly believes intentional and thoughtful storytelling can drive change.  

Her professional creative work has been recognized by the Anthem Awards, PR Awards, Complex, and more. Her personal creative writing has been featured in publications like The New York Time’s Modern Love column.