ASIA-PACIFIC – BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA, AUGUST 26, 2011 – At yesterday’s opening of AD STARS 2011, the Busan International Advertising Festival, at the Haeundae Grand Hotel, there was a sense that the theme “The Future of Advertising” is about the return to the basic creative idea. Said to be the world’s first convergence advertising festival, AD STARS is Asia’s largest award show in terms of entries, with 7,130 works entered, a 31% growth from last year. Ads from Qatar, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Ecuador, Panama, Uruguay, Egypt and Slovenia were submitted for the first time this year.
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VIPs at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Haeundae Grand Hotel
Facing the Korean media yesterday, Lee Eui-Ja and Choi Hwan-Jin, co-chairpersons of AD STARS Executive Committee, Graham Kelly, final judge, and Chong Sang-Su, professor of Cheongju University were positive about the response to this year’s festival, which has grown steadily over the past four years.
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This year’s jury
After initial screening by 105 judges from 39 countries, 1,267 works were selected for the final rounds, which were judged in Busan by a jury of 30 on August 23 and 24 and will be awarded in ceremonies today and tomorrow. This year’s jury chair is the legendary Neil French.
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Kim Do Hyang and the Happy Ensemble performing at the opening ceremony
Aside from the customary ribbon-cutting and opening ceremony marked by speeches from VIPs, AD STARS has a youthful side that bodes well for Korea’s future. Unlike other festivals where competitions for young creatives are for those already in the industry, Young Stars competition ongoing at Kyung Sung University has 37 college teams, including students from Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S.
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AD STARS Village
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Beach Ad Night on Haeundae Beach
In an effort to engage the general public, AD STARS Village, two enclosed centers for public brands are on Haeundae Beach in addition to the usual exhibition of finalists at the Haeundae Grand Hotel. Beach Ad Night , which continues tonight, also screened commercials and showcased a concert by Kim Do-hyang, a famous Korean composer of music for commercials.
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I&S BBDO Japan’s Glenn Bartlett at the Skyhall
The seminar program kicked off yesterday with “Function & Emotion” by AKQA Shanghai Executive Creative Director Johan Vadkidis, who went through the evolution of storytelling with examples from the network’s portfolio. He stressed that surfaces on which advertisers can distribute their message have changed, but behavior has not. This means that the equation of storytelling and media remains the same. The next frontier in advertising will then be the intersection of product and communication. “Storyenabling” will be key.
The return to the story was echoed by Ｇlenn Bartlett, Senior Creative Director at I&S BBDO in his presentation “Back to Black (Back to Creative)”. Showing iconic ads as well as newer commercials that went viral, Barlett rethinks the creative equation, a process that everyone involved in advertising needs to champion.
Jonathan Dumont, head of TV Communication at the UN’s humanitarian aid organization World Food Program, discussed how WFP has to “sing for their supper” to raise awareness and encourage donations. Dumont stressed that the content already exists but the help of creatives is needed for these stories to be heard.
AD STARS 2011 continues until tomorrow at the Haeundae Grand Hotel.
