For Mad Stars’ Young Stars and New Stars the Fast Track to Career Stardom Begins Today
This morning, August 20, a host of young talents put on their NEW STARS and YOUNG STARS t-shirts at BEXCO in Busan and began one of the most important weeks of their budding careers under the MAD STARS theme, AIM: Aim Marketing Success with AI. This week, 152 emerging talents will fast-track their career paths at MAD STARS.
NEW STARS are junior creatives with less than five years of working experience who intend to stand out. They have undertaken the most competitive, challenging – and rewarding – marketing advertising competition in APAC. The competition aims to develop the creative skills that will fast-track career paths, showcase their ideas and abilities, and enhance their network, introducing them to mentors and judges from the industry's top tiers.
The NEW STARS’ mission will be to transform Haeundae, Busan, into a landmark through creative DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) solutions. This year’s Busan Haeundae Gunam-ro and nearby Haeundae Beach have been designated to allow free outdoor advertisement installation. This means that regulations regarding the shape, size, colour, and installation methods of advertisements are significantly relaxed, allowing for greater freedom in their installation.
The NEW STARS will be challenged to create a DOOH strategy to use this opportunity to turn the area into a local attraction.
NEW STARS judges are:
- Tawana Murphy Burnett, Meta, head of global clients & agencies, APAC
- Adlin Rosli, Our LEGO Agency, creative manager, Singapore
- Auditya Mandala Putra, TikTok, brand & creative consultant, SEA
- Belinda Belseck, Paramount Africa, director, integrated marketing, South Africa
- Carl Franklin Urgino, Leo Burnett Manila, head of art, Philippines
- Cody Alexander Amos, Heckler, creative director, Singapore
- Hyunjung Park, Cheil Worldwide, creative director, Republic of Korea
- Roy Cohen, Amazon Brand Innovation Lab, senior creative director, UK
- Ryo Seki, Dentsu Inc., planner, Japan
- Jay (Jaehong) Kim, BrandVibe, chief executive officer
YOUNG STARS are the college students with M.A.D. stars in their eyes and ambitions. This week, they will show their talents to the world by planning and producing a video or print advertisement on-site within 30 hours. This year YOUNG STARS will be offered a choice of two topics, and participants will be allowed to use generative AI. They will receive feedback and coaching from jurors, specially selected as top-level experts in advertising and marketing from around the world. They will have the chance to gain insights into the latest trends and innovative ideation techniques as well as networking with their jurors.
The YOUNG STARS’ topic choices will be to propose a campaign idea to strengthen the global recognition of MAD STARS or to propose a campaign idea that addresses the worsening global environmental issues.
YOUNG STARS judges are:
- Alejandro Di Trolio, Cheil, European creative chairman
- Gabriel Lora, FCB Newlink, VP of strategy & digital transformation, Mexico
- Jamie Mossahebi, Epic Games, creative producer, US
- Jiro Murayama, Dentsu Inc., creative director & producer, Japan
- Mario Loncar, Leo Burnett Frankfurt, senior copywriter, Germany
- Nari Moon, INNOCEAN, creative director, Republic of Korea
- Raymund Sison, DMAP Digital Young Creators, chairman, Philippines
- Sarah Guessoum, TikTok, creative strategy lead, UAE
- Wayne Deakin, Wolff Olins, global principal, UK
- Ben (Taeyoon) Heo, Hanshin University, professor
This year, MAD STARS is welcoming 73 NEW STARS, in 37 teams from eight locations and 79 YOUNG STARS in 45 teams from six countries.
Both the NEW STARS and YOUNG STARS will be competing for Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies as well as Crystal certificates, that will be handed out at the MAD STARS Awards show on August 23. The Gold NEW STAR trophy winner will also receive a workation in Busan. YOUNG STAR winners of Bronze or above will be eligible for internships at renowned advertising agencies.
As well as receiving feedback and coaching from their jurors they will have the chance to gain insights into the latest trends and innovative ideation techniques. Both YOUNG STARS and NEW STARS will also receive benefits such as attending the Opening Ceremony and Opening Gala on 21 August as well as the MAD STARS Networking Party on 22 August, enjoy the MAD STARS Exhibition and Conference, attend the MAD STARS Awards Show and Conversation with the Jury on 23 August.
