And That’s a Wrap! What Industry Leaders Thought about MAD STARS 2023

Returning for yet another year, and a second since changing its name from ‘AD STARS’, the MAD STARS festival returned to Busan for 2023 last August.

Over 20,000 ‘creative solutions’ were submitted to the festival from over 63 countries, and global advertising heavyweights took to the stage for three days to delve into the issues affecting global advertising in the form of panels and keynotes.

The festival was the closest to normalcy the organisers had experienced since the COVID pandemic, according to the festival’s PR lead Hyoju Heo.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the support and enthusiasm of everyone who participated, making this year’s festival truly unforgettable,” Hyoju said.

“The various creative ideas that changed the world shone at the awards ceremony, and the high-quality conferences that captured the essence of marketing, creativity, and digital content inspired many audiences.”

American Pulitzer-prize winning photo-journalist and MAD STARS speaker Hyungwon Kang was blown away by the quality of the festival as a first-time attendee.

“I was blown away by the quality, sheer volume, visual contents, and enthusiasm of content creators in advertisement at this year’s MAD STARS 2023 conference in Busan,” Hyungwon said.

Wunderman Thompson global creative director Chermine Assadian echoed this sentiment, having spoken on multiple occasions over the festival’s three days.

“I can say without a doubt that the Mad Stars Festival is, and will become even more, the place to be for advertisers in the future,” Chermine said.

“When you think about it - cinema, music, entertainment… Actually, everything in South Korea seems to be all the rage right now. It was a great honour to be there to witness that first-hand.”

As the festival concluded on the final evening, the MAD STARS award winners were revealed, with Hakuhodo and Leo Burnett Group Manila taking the festival’s Grands Prix.

Hakuhodo’s spot, ‘SHELLMET’, won multiple awards across categories, and Leo Burnett’s ‘Unbranded Menu’ was the leading light for the Philippines.

MAD STARS grand juror Fabio Seidl, director of global creative development at Meta, was in attendance at the festival for the first time, despite having judged previously.

"I imagined some ideas at the show would come with ‘award fatigue’ after winning at the One Show, D&AD, and Cannes,” Fabio said.

“But no – it was an excellent opportunity to see other ideas with a regional flavour, connected to local culture and unexpected insights and executions.”

“MAD STARS is more than an advertising festival – it is a place for you to change great ideas with incredibly talented people from every corner of the world."

“At the conferences, lounges, exhibitions, parties, and after-parties, you meet the delegates and students who seem to be curated amongst our industry's most curious, intelligent, and fun people."

MAD STARS will return next year, with dates and details TBA.