First-Year Berghs Students Win Future Lions with Skin Cancer Detection Concept

How does it feel, as newcomers to the industry, to win such a prestigious award and be among the top four cases globally?? 

Alice: It feels incredible, of course. To receive this kind of recognition in our first year is more than we ever could’ve hoped for.
Saga: It’s a bit surreal—but yes, absolutely amazing. It’s a huge motivation boost, both heading into our second year and as we prepare to eventually enter the industry for real.
Erik: It’s incredibly exciting to have this opportunity so early on. It really encourages us to push ourselves even further in the future.

Tell us about your idea—what is it, and what technology powers it?? 

Our concept is aimed at detecting skin changes early, helping to prevent the development of skin cancer. We do this by leveraging Face ID, as we realized people already perform a kind of screening every day when unlocking their phones. Our goal was to tap into that habitual behavior—maximizing its potential without requiring people to change their routines.

WHow did you approach making your solution easy to understand and accessible to a broad audience?

Skin cancer is a widespread issue that concerns virtually everyone, which makes the idea inherently relevant and easy to grasp. Beyond that, it was important for us that the solution demand very little from the user. If an idea relies on downloading an app or purchasing a device, you risk losing people along the way—and then it doesn’t matter how smart the idea is. People tend to overestimate how much effort others are willing to put in. If a solution is going to make a real impact, the barrier to entry needs to be extremely low.

What was your thinking around how the idea should be packaged?

In keeping with the idea itself, we chose a clean and minimalistic approach to the packaging. Since both the technology and the solution are relatively self-explanatory, we placed greater emphasis on the storytelling—on how we framed the insight itself. We wanted to spotlight the realization that while we look at our faces every day, we don’t actually make use of that behavior. That was the true lightbulb moment when the idea came to us, and it felt essential to highlight it. Naturally, we also aligned with Apple’s tone and visual language in both our narrative and design choices.

What do you think made your idea stand out and ultimately win? 

We believe the strength of our concept lies in the fact that we didn’t invent any new technology—we simply used existing tools in a novel way. That, combined with its clarity and accessibility to a wide audience, is what made it resonate.

How did you work together as a team—what were your strengthS? 

Alice: We work really well as a trio, probably because we all value simplicity and challenge each other to strip things down rather than layer them on. We’re also quite fluid in our roles, moving between Art Director and Copywriter tasks as needed.
Saga: I think one key factor is that we all take the insight phase seriously—we won’t move past it until it feels truly solid. When this idea came to us over a beer at Okra, it just clicked. We knew immediately that it was the one we needed to pursue.
Erik: We complement each other well and have a very open, collaborative atmosphere in the group—which I think is something we all value. There’s a deep trust in one another’s strengths, which creates calm and makes collaboration that much smoother.

What does this win mean to you personally?

Alice: For me, it’s a real confirmation that I’m on the right path—and a reminder to trust my instincts.
Saga: It’s definitely a validation of that gut feeling. So much in advertising is subjective—people will always have their opinions—but in the end, you usually know deep down what’s right. And this proves that it’s worth trusting that.
Erik: Of course, it’s incredibly exciting on all levels. The recognition is a huge confidence boost, and it makes me even more eager to keep raising the bar for myself.

What would you like to say to future students who will compete in Future Lions?

Dare to keep it simple. Trust your idea, and don’t overcomplicate things. In Future Lions, the core idea is everything—so spend your energy cracking that, rather than getting too caught up in the packaging. A strong idea should be able to stand on its own. That said, once you're working on the case film, our best advice is to introduce the solution early and really refine the script. Trim it down, and make sure it’s as sharp as possible.

Case Film SkinID:

Read more about Future Lions here.