The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister CHAE Hwi-young, MCST), in collaboration with Busan Metropolitan City and the MAD STARS Organizing Committee (Mayor and Chairman PARK Heong-joon), will host MAD STARS 2025 (Busan International Marketing & Advertisement Festival) from August 27 (Wednesday) to 29 (Friday) at Signiel Busan and along the Haeundae strip.

18th MAD STARS festival to announce this year’s winners, including two Grand Prix of the Year awardees (August 29)

Marking its 18^th year, MAD STARS has established itself as Asia’s largest and Korea’s only advertising festival, drawing over 25,000 visitors annually. This year’s festival, held under the theme “AI-vertising, AI Advertising and Marketing,” will spotlight the potential of advertising shaped by the merger of AI and human creativity while exploring the latest industry trends and changes. Furthermore, the winners of this year’s awards will be announced on August 29 (Friday). A preliminary round was conducted via online screening with entries submitted from across the world from early February to May, where 302 judges from 74 countries selected the finalists. After three rounds of deliberation by 34 final judges from 20 countries, the awards ceremony to be held at Signiel Busan will reveal the final winners, including two recipients of the festival’s highest honor, the Grand Prix of the Year.

Over 40 lectures on AI and content production, featuring the CEO of Cheil Worldwide

This year’s conference will feature approximately 40 lectures, including a keynote speech delivered by Global President and Chief Executive Officer John Jonghyun Kim of Cheil Worldwide on “The Ambidextrous Agency: Harmonizing AI and Human Creativity” and by Alex Abrantes, Chief Creative Officer for North America at Iris Worldwide, on “Creativity Strategies and Approaches to Surpass the Limits of Technology.” Furthermore, Samer Lahoud, Head of Creative Strategy for the Middle East and North Africa at Snap Inc., will take the stage to talk about “Augmenting Creativity: Where AR, AI, and Culture Meet.”

Media personalities such as science communicator Gwedo (real name: Kim Jae-hyuk) and Noh Hong-chul, known for captivating audiences across YouTube and broadcast media, will also join the event as speakers. Gwedo will share his insights via a speech titled “Content Creation in the AI Era: The More You Know AI, the More Content Evolves!” Noh hong-chul, who has made a mark in the broadcast industry with his unpredictable energy and originality, will deliver a bold and unconventional content strategy in his presentation, “The Answer with No Answer: Where the Unpredictable Becomes Content.”

Global and local competitions to discover and support emerging creators worldwide

MAD STARS 2025 will also host the international competitions New Stars[1] (84 participants from 11 countries) and Young Stars[2] (98 participants from 9 countries) to discover and foster new marketing and advertising talent from across the world. Both competitions challenge participants to develop and produce creative ideas and campaigns within 30 hours based on the theme disclosed on site. Beyond competing, participants can interact and exchange ideas and insights with young creators from other parts of the world, in addition to building on their capabilities through special lectures and assessments provided by globally renowned experts in marketing, advertising, and digital content. Winners will be offered internship opportunities with leading domestic and international marketing and advertising agencies.

More information on MAD STARS 2025 is available on the official website (www.madstars.org).