BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — The 15th MAD STARS festival has announced the Grand Prix of the Year, Grand Prix, Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners, which were chosen from an estimated total of 18,922 entries from 73 countries.
Hwan-Jin Choi, Chairperson of the MAD STARS Executive Committee, said, “We are thrilled to be back in Busan after a three-year hiatus due to Covid-19. It was an important edition for us, as it marks our 15th anniversary and also our rebrand. We have fully embraced the next stage of creativity by adopting the MAD STARS name. I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the festival this year and in particular, congratulate our winners for the madly creative solutions they showcased this year.”
Kathy Delaney, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Health/Saatchi Wellness, joined MAD STARS 2022 as an Executive Judge. She said, “It was such an honor to work with my fellow jurors to review and select the winners from an amazing body of work. This year’s MAD STARS awards prove that global creativity and innovation are alive and well—congratulations to all of the 2022 award honorees!”
Charu Menon, Producer and Partner at Heckler who was also an executive juror stated, “The judging process was rigorous, enriching and inspiring with a lot of original and creative submissions from all around the world. After a couple of pandemic years, it was so good to see a return to lightness and simple, fun storytelling. I’m really excited with our final results and I can’t wait to let the whole world know about it.”
“MAD STARS is unique. Not only is it free to enter and open to everyone, but it also gives back to the industry like no other award show. In addition to promoting creativity through some of the best work I have seen in a long time, MAD STARS also awards the Grand Prix of the year winner $10,000, which is amazing,” added Alan Kelly, Chief Creative Officer at Droga5 Dublin and executive judge at MAD STARS 2022.
Two Grand Prix of the year were awarded to the following two agencies:
- Unfiltered History Tour – Dentsu Webchutney – India – Grand Prix of the year PSA
- Hydrogen Garbage Truck – Innocean – Republic of Korea – Grand Prix of the year AD STARS
Charu Menon further shared, “Hydrogen Garbage Truck is a deserving Grand Prix winner in the Healthcare category because we think it demonstrates such a clear link between the problem it’s trying to solve and the solution. It’s not a single, PR headline but a long-lasting impact using innovative thinking and clever design helping make the lives of our sanitation workers better for good.”
Ashwini Deshpande expressed, “A large global corporation such as Hyundai with a successful strategy to solve the social problem is heartwarming. Shows empathy. This MAD STARS awardee will hopefully gain traction across the world and help achieve global social impact.”
Charu Menon commented, “Unfiltered History Tour is a deserving winner of the Grand Prix in the use of media. It’s a subversive campaign that uses technology to educate and inform. It’s using AR technology cleverly to put itself right in the middle of a political dialogue about colonialism using a language that resonates with a younger audience.”
“The unfiltered history tour touches a chord for anyone who has known about colonization and history. It cuts across cultures, countries, and generations reaching a very wide audience. Vice Media not only achieved its goal to widen its reach but created a benchmark for sharing history without bias” added Ashwini Deshpande.
Fifteen Grand Prix trophies were awarded to the following eight agencies:
- Samsung iTest – DDB Group Aotearoa New Zealand – New Zealand – Mobile Grand Prix, Direct Grand Prix
- Unfiltered History Tour – Dentsu Webchutney – India – Design grand Prix, Radio & Audio Grand Prix, Interactive Grand Prix, Brand Experience & Activation Grand Prix, Media Grand Prix.
- Portuguese (Re)Constitution – FBC Lisbon – Portugal – Education Grand Prix
- Liquid Billboard – Havas Middle East – United Arab Emirates – PR Grand Prix
- The Elections Edition – Impact BBDO – United Arab Emirates – Print Grand Prix, Human Rights Grand Prix, Outdoor Grand Prix
- Hydrogen Garbage Truck – Innocean – Republic of Korea – Healthcare Grand Prix
- Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad – Ogilvy India – India – Data Insights Grand Prix
- David’s Unusables – Special – New Zealand – Social & Influencer
Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder and Director at Elephant Design Pvt Ltd and executive judge at MAD STARS 2022, had this to say regarding the Portuguese (Re)constitution from FBC Lisbon: “They say a pen is mightier than the sword. This entry is a great example of some very powerful messages conveyed in a non-aggressive, elegant, and poetic way. Every page is a revelation and a message in itself.”
Reflecting on the Election Edition from Impact BBDO’s Gold Win, Kathy Delaney said, “Citizens around the world recognize that we’re living at a time when democracy is fragile and dependent on everyone’s engagement in order to remain intact. An-Nahar, the Lebanese newspaper’s ingenious and provocative campaign, ‘The Election Edition,’ artfully demonstrates that civic engagement and sacrifice are keys to ensuring the continuation of unimpeded free and fair elections. This was more than a campaign; it was a clarion call to democracy itself. A well-earned and well-deserved win.”
The Cadbury Shah Rukh Khan-my-Ad is a groundbreaking creative approach to hyper-personalization.
“Aimed at supporting local small business owners throughout India who were challenged during the pandemic, this campaign allowed SMB owners to customize a video about their business through the use of a digital avatar of Shah Rukh Khan, to amplify awareness of their store at no cost. This campaign is an indicator of the emerging trend of Asset Composability. A composable asset where its embedded characteristics can be used as building blocks for broader customizable application – ultimately enabling broader compounding innovation,” added Chris Duffey, strategic development / creative cloud design from Adobe.
MAD STARS 2022 also revealed the list of special awards:
- WPP – Network of the Year
- Impact BBDO – Agency of the year
- Samsung – Advertiser of the year
- Jung von Matt AG – Production company of the year
Paul Conversy, Awards Manager at MAD STARS, concluded, “I’d like to thank everyone who helped make the 2022 edition of MAD STARS a success including our judges, speakers, exhibitors, and attendees but above all, I’d like to thank the global creatives from more than 73 countries that submitted truly exceptional and creative entries. It’s been an exciting year for all of us and I look forward to MAD STARS 2023 which will take place end of August 2023 under the theme of Re-Boot.”
To view the full list of winners, visit the official Ad Stars website.
