AdStars judges nominate the best work from the 2015 award festival judging

UPDATED: Over 30 of the world’s most talented creative directors gathered in Busan, South Korea 10 days ago for the 2015 AdStars International Awards. The jury deliberated over more than 1700 shortlisted entries before awarding 14 grand Prix awards and 44 Golds. Two of the Grand Prix awards were judged best in the show and these carried a cash prize of US$10,000 each. Campaign Brief Asia contacted most of the jury to find out their judging highlights and thoughts on the fast growing 9 year old international festival.

Matt Eastwood

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

I’m a huge fan of both of the overall Grand Prix winners. But, beyond that, I also loved Samsung’s “Safety Truck”. It was a brilliant example of doing good for the brand and for the world. I think “House of Mamba” showed us the future of interactive technology and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. And, of course, I have to call out “I Touch Myself” from J. Walter Thompson. I’m so proud to be associated with such important work.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

There was some outstanding work in my category that deserves to be singled out. The brilliant “Reverse April Fools” work from BMW was so simple and innovative, and a great twist on a classic sweepstakes campaign. AllState’s “Social Savvy Burglar” is a perfect use of social media and a wonderful extension of a highly awarded, long-running campaign. I also loved the “Reduce Speed Dial” from Volkswagen. It was such a nice reminder that in this high tech world sometimes it’s the low tech ideas that really touches your heart.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The best part of judging AdStars is the judges themselves. It was such an incredible group of talented people from all over the world. Truly the best of the best. But, having said that, I really loved the dinner we had at an out-of-the-way waterside seafood BBQ restaurant. It was my first taste of Beondegi (steamed Silkworm pupae), my first drink of Soju (Korean sake), and my first experience of seafood so fresh that it wriggled as it cooked on the open coals. An unforgettable evening.

Yuka Tsukada

Dentsu Japan

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

For me, the most impressive work is ‘Like a Girl’. It shows a brilliant insight for all over the world. No gimmicky way, but it’s very strong. The most favorite point is that this film can encourage every girl with no border (age, country, colour etc).

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

‘Mistakes’ was a stand out in our category. The story telling is very simple and bold, and as a film, the execution of detail is excellent. The time modulation is perfect. And I’m sure it’s a very effective campaign for safe driving.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

It was very exciting to talk and have a session with highly experienced judges from all over the world. I had two categories. One was for usual professional work, and the other was for New Stars. Especially I felt the process of New Stars judging is very nice. It keeps one day special for that, so we can judge very thoroughly and carefully and feedback for each closely. To know the process of judgement and to get the feedback must be a great experience for young ad-people, too.

Jose Miguel Sokoloff

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

There was a lot of outstanding work in Ad Stars. Some of it was totally new and some of it we had seen before. The beauty is that some of these pieces that have been consistently been winning awards globally never cease to amaze and to entertain whilst delivering a powerful meaningful message. To me the perfect example of this is Leo Burnett’s Like a Girl. I love the way it’s done, the message it delivers and the way it approaches the problem. I never get tired of seeing it. And in Ad Stars it stood out amidst lots of other awesome work. That to me is testament to its value.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

Our jury got to see most of the best work in the festival. And in those sessions a 40 second commercial rose to the top. It is called “Mistakes”. That particular piece of film is everything a truly extraordinary commercial needs to be. A great story, a well told story, a short story and a totally new story. We tend to look down at the classic 40 second spot these days. But a great one like this one not only reminds us of the power it can have, but also of how hard it is to truly get it right.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The whole festival was incredibly fun and enriching. To me possibly the highlight was walking around the exhibition halls and mingling with families and people who were curious about advertising but did not belong in any way to our industry. I tried to understand their reactions and could see what they liked and what they ignored. It was a beautiful reminder that what we do we do for them, not for us of for the client. I believe opening award shows to the public is a great thing to do, and Ad Stars does it with a lot of success.

Nils Andersson

TBWA Greater China

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

This is a tricky one to answer, but I think I choose ‘I Touch Myself’. Powerful idea brilliantly executed.

And the degree of difficulty to pull off, high.  

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

From our jury, the one that stood out was Penguin ‘Mic’. The online judging process, where over 100 judges from around the world voted, selected this campaign as the clear Gold winner. And made our job easy when it came to selecting the print Grand Prix. In fact our role as the jury on the day, was really to check whether we felt that the online judging was correct, or whether we needed to move winners up or down. Or even move to a different category, or remove altogether. 

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The highlight of my stay was the seafood restaurant the night after we finished judging. The venue was outside by the sea, and it literally felt as if the food had been caught to order, and then cooked right in front of us. The only issue I had was the silkworm as the side dish. I struggled with that one.

Thomas Gibson

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

The 2 Grand Prix winners, ‘Like a Girl’ and ‘Mistakes’ were most definitely well deserved. ‘I Touch Myself’ by JWT Sydney though was my favorite piece of work. Its a strong piece of film with a very emotional story behind the song and project.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

The pieces of work that shined for me were Allstate “Social Savvy Burglar”, Honda ‘Dream Run’, BMW ‘Reverse April Fools’, and ‘Mistakes’ for the New Zealand Transport Agency. The
standout film though would have to be Volvo ‘Winters Tale’. It’s a piece of work that got me excited from the finalist judging stage, and when we met to discuss the medal in Busan the decision was unanimous to award the film a gold for cinematography. Its a beautifully shot and crafted piece of work. My fellow jury members and I were surprised the film wasn’t entered in editing, as it would have stood a strong chance of picking up in this category too.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The highlight for me would have to be making it out of the Fuzzy Navel alive. Also the late entry that came in via Jury President, Andrew Tinning, during the New Stars judging that really deserved some recognition I thought. Unfortunately we didn’t get the t-shirts printed but there’s anyways next year! It was an honor judging alongside some of the industries top brass and making some great new friends too. Great Korean hospitality. Very funny week. I’ll definitely be back..

Min Seo

Innored South Korea

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

Most definitely, it was ‘Like a girl’. This campaign took a strong insight-driven approach and ignited a social talk value not only limited within a nation but creating global impact. This insight was simple, but priceless. 

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

‘House of Mamba’ executed by AKQA blew my mind since it showed the end of craftsmanship of interactive-ness. Execution was fantastic. Even though this campaign was done one time, it will surely relate to what the advertising will be like in the future.

Hendra Lesmono

Bates CHI & Partners

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

The one that stood out was definitely Always ‘Like a Girl‘ campaign. It is both engaging and insightful. It is changing conversation about what is actually means to do all sort of activities “like a girl.”

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

I was touched by ‘Not a Bug Splat’ idea. Such a simple powerful idea that works wonders. Another piece that gets an unanimous like was Penguin audio books print campaign. I love it because the execution was done in perfection and the idea is so simple it creates that typical how-come-I-didn’t-think-of-that-before reaction.

Patrick Tom

Liberum13

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

I felt the best work was ‘Mistakes’ from Clemenger BBDO for the New Zealand Transport Agency. It was a fresh and heartbreaking look at how accidents tend to happen. The way they reframed the story to illustrate that all drivers on the road make mistakes is a very unfortunate, but honest truth. Highly emotional and chilling.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

For me, the most interesting idea was Quiksilver Japan’s ‘True Wetsuits’ from TBWA Hakuhodo. Simply put, there is absolutely nothing like it in the market. It’s an innovation in the wetsuit category that has only really seen breakthroughs in new materials, rather than design. I was the only one in the jury that felt this was unique. But as a surfer, the concept was very disruptive for the surf industry. I wanted one as soon as I saw it.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The highlight for me was feeding off the energy from all the judges around me, whether we were in the jury room, sitting over breakfast or having a drink. It’s always an honour and privilege to take part in a jury, where you have the opportunity to meet brilliant creatives from all over the world.

Suthisak Sucharittanonta

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

My most favourite choice is “Reduce Speed Dial” campaign for Volkswagen New Zealand which is simply and cleverly done. It’s very insightful. The personalized speed dials drawn by kids for their parents’ cars are very touching and impactful. Great thought but simply executed!

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

My most interesting work in my judging panel was BMW April’s fool coupon which BMW New Zealand decided to run an April Fools promo ad that offered a free BMW to whomever comes in to one of their dealerships with the ad in hand … and one person who wasn’t afraid of it being a prank was the first person to walk in and ask for Tom. To her surprise, the deal was for real!

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

My highlight experience were the AdStars working team (not the event organizer), all my awesome fellow juries, reconnected with old and new friends, crowded but relaxing Haeundae beach, and last but not least, was the unforgettable Kim Shaw’s Black Russian treats at Fuzzy Navel which made me almost forget where the hotel was!

Till Hohmann

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

Of course the answer is simple: ‘Like a Girl’ by P&G/Always. What’s not to like?! This campaign, often mistaken for just being the one film, has changed a lot already. Big corporate clients are discussing it as a great example for a brand committing to a purpose – because for a few years now women empowerment is far bigger for Always than merely this one, albeit awesome expression. It defines a benchmark on how to elevate a brand beyond selling products into the sublime arena of creating meaning. Personally I like the way this experiment feels so authentic although of course being heavily scripted.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

While most of the work that had made the cut after the prejudging was known already from other festivals, there are a few pieces that demand a special mention. To me the following are all great cases that show something important: in an age where the only work that seems to win awards is “goodvertising” of some form, it is nice to see that a few pieces still manage to actually deliver on the core of our business – promoting products, making sales, delivering business results (beyond “I like the brand”).

These are cases like the awesomely well executed digital led promotion campaign for Spanish Lotteries (SELAE) called “There’s no bigger Prize than sharing”, which pushed participation and sale of tickets. Or the smart direct campaign “Yes Sticks” for Fonterra ice creams Australia, which must have been a logistical nightmare to make but certainly pushed sales of this underdog brand. Or the very daring and highly entertaining PR led campaign for Scoot called “Inspiring Spirit”, which makes a competitor look like a very bad copy cat (amazing to see that this daring approach was done out of Singapore, kudos).

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Clearly: learning that live seaworms and fermented silkworm are actually things that can land on a dish in front of you. Seriously though: the festival was well organized and the hospitality impeccable. And I was surprised by just what a high caliber jury came together in Busan – it made for very candid discussions and also for some great evening fun (thanks Campaign Brief Asia for hosting us more than once).

Chee Keong Tan

BBDO Proximity Malaysia

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

‘Like a Girl’ – Love the brilliant observation of human behaviour and how they managed to turn a powerful insight into a powerful campaign. The execution just hit the bullseye. Not over-or-under crafted. Simply perfect.

Mistakes – It will never-bore-you, no matter how many times you watch it. Just brilliant. ‘I Touch Myself Project’ – A well-executed and well-integrated campaign. Tried to find reasons to hate it but it just touched my heart. Ok, have to admit that I love it.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

Green Peace, Walrus & Bear – This campaign proves that there’s always a way to put a new spin on an old subject. It was beautifully crafted. Such a stand out. I wish I did it.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Met many creative celebrities during the festival. Everyone was so down to earth and good hearted. Great inside out! #stayhumble.

Nkanyezi Masango

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

‘Like A Girl’ was my favourite piece for a few reasons. 1. It genuinely makes me rethink the meaning of ‘Like A Girl’. 2. It changed the rules of the feminine hygiene category (a tough, conservative category) and gives always a greater purpose than just a brand that sells sanitary pads. 3. Is it an ad? A documentary? A case film? It’s hard to say what it is because it’s fresh. It’s beautifully executed and it gives me goose bumps, every time.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

The BMW Reverse April Fools. It’s a simple newspaper promotion that turned into a stunt, which became a viral film. A clever use of media. But at the heart of it is a brave idea. I just wish I came up with it first.

‘I Touch Myself Project’. The film tackles a sensitive subject in a way that is tasteful and engaging. A compelling message neatly wrapped up with an addictive song. You watch it once and you’re hooked.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The highlight was getting to spend time with some of the best people in the business. And really get to know them. AdStars created an intimate atmosphere that allows you to bond with fellow jury members. After 6 days it felt like I’m hanging out with friends I’ve known for years.

Pablo Buffagni

BBQ AGENCY

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

I love “Mistakes” because every time I see it (and I saw it many times, as all of us did), I’m not thinking about the light, the story, the actors, the idea, the abundance of public service executions in award shows or the format. I just can’t avoid thinking about my driving and my kids.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

I liked the “McTollbooth” because it’s the kind of idea that everyone who had to work for the golden arches at some point in our lives would have wanted to produce. In a world where most of the ideas you see at award shows are public service work, it’s very refreshing to see a nice idea by a big brand. Especially since most of those ideas aren’t as good as “Mistakes” or the Breast Cancer Anthem “I Touch Myself”. And I loved the craft of the Cityscape campaign for WWD.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

I’m torn between being present when Juan Sánchez tried the Beondegi (silkworms for a snack) and liked them, and taking part in the Young Stars competition as the Jury President. I had no clue that a Spaniard could be so brave about trying the extremely different food (I wish I could). And I was also genuinely surprised when I saw some of the ideas presented by the young teams from different countries and cultures; not just by the work, but by the insights that were transpiring from it. Since they were very young and not “contaminated” yet by the global advertising world, some of them presented ideas that were extremely particular to their countries and realities. It made me wonder if the idea that millennials are the same around the world is actually solid.

Erick Rosa

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

There are two ideas that really stood out for me considering all the categories. Always’ ‘Like a Girl’ and Quicksilver’s True wet suits. What I think is remarkable about Like a Girl is that it has won possibly every Grand Prix in every festival in the globe and keeps showing its strength– and hasn’t lost any steam along the way.  An idea so strong, meaningful and well crafted that finds itself winning over jurors from every continent, in different contexts and against different ideas over and over.

Quicksilver’s True wet suits is another idea that for me stands out in any jury. A fresh and ingenious way to activate the brand. Everything about the idea is perfectly executed. The suits, the content piece and the ensuing PR and sales results.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

The “Not a Bug Splat” from “Reprieve/Foundation for Fundamental Rights” really stood out in my jury. I had come across this idea at Spikes before. And again it got unanimous praise from the jury. Everything about it is impressive. The scale of the idea, the reasoning behind it (targeting predator drone operators– raising awareness of civilian casualties) and the implications of the context where an idea like that has to exist. The amount of earned media and most importantly, the conversations started because of this idea shows how powerful and important something like this is.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Busan is a lovely city. I am originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. So, waking up with such a beautiful beach just across the street from the hotel we were staying reminded of my hometown. The generosity and kindness of the people responsible for putting together the festival also helped make the week even more remarkable. And finally, being able to meet so many interesting people from all over the world to discuss great ideas for a whole week was definitely a great experience.

I highly recommend a visit to Busan. The fish market, the beach and a bibimbap at a very local restaurant, in that order– were my “tourist” highlights.

Richard Copping

Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

Although there was a lot of work, only a handful of ideas stood out. Following on from Cannes, ‘#LikeAGirl’ was voted to the top of the pile along with ‘Mistakes’ from NZ Transport. The latter was my personal favorite and viewing it again in my category (Diverse insights/Outdoor/PSA/Place Brand) it still gave me goose bumps. I saw this over a year ago and thought it was such a clever way to bring the insight of ‘people make mistakes’ to a film. They have managed to make you feel ‘pressured’ when you watch this film, it doesn’t point the finger but instead it asks you to be responsible for the sake of yourself and others. NZ have made road safety awareness their own over the past 20 years, always challenging the insight and executing their ideas beautifully. I thought ‘Human Traffic Signs’ was good last year but ‘Mistakes’ is another level.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

I judged Diverse insights/Outdoor/PSA/Place Brand. There were no surprises in the shortlisted work. When you are pitted against great international work it is an achievement to make it to this stage. The ideas that stood out: ‘Mistakes,’ ‘#LikeAGirl’, ‘Auto Complete Truth’ and ‘The Safety Truck’ all good and awarded internationally on the biggest stages.  Apart from the above, much of the work coming out of big networks was pro bono with no new approach to grab you.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

This was my first visit to Korea, so although it was all new to me, many of the faces on the Jury were familiar from my years spent in Asia. It was a privilege to be amongst great creative people who made the judging relaxed and the drinking fun. AdStars is a unique show with some of the best hospitality I’ve experienced to date.

Tony Liu

M&C Saatchi aeiou

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

A creative media that u would want this quickly to adapt and spread around the world. A simple idea, which is to turn an existing technology to become an excellent outdoor creative. Most important, this creative piece reflects Samsung’s Vision, Values and Philosophy.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

The best piece from my own jury is also Samsung’s Safety Truck. There are few interesting pieces. Samsung Galaxy’s Samsung ‘Memory Recaller’. Very emotional piece of work, it hit my heart, give me such an impact. It makes me truly related to the despaired feeling of Alzheimer patient’s family members. Samsung Galaxy, help change the emotion and to give hope. Using an existing phone technology adding a twist to make wonderful happen.

True WetSuits from QULKSILVER Japan.

It really stood out as a product design piece,it is interesting fresh, highly creative, an very unique idea. It really make you think about the product and want to share this creative with friends.

Also NTT DOCOMO’s 3 second Cooking Campaign.

Smart. Funny. The idea literally give me the humor visual excitement from the beginning.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The best Red Ginseng Chicken Soup ever and definitely Kim’s networking party!

Toru Fujii

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

I’d choose “Mistakes” from NZ Transport Agency as the best piece of work among all the winners at AdStars 2015. We’ve seen countless ways of persuading people to drive safer but “Mistake” has achieved  a really insightful approach to it. It is no use crying over split milk. What’s done cannot be undone. I personally think so many entries for social good are prevailing these days, which have been rather focusing on how fresh it is as social or local issues. My understanding is that such efforts will help people aware of the possibilities of our industry to make the world a better place, but what is more essential for us is ideas touching and moving people’s emotion.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

To me “Reduce Speed Dial” was one of the most favorite pieces in judging promotion and media category. It has genuinely simple but effective way to make drivers reduce speed. Compared to “Mistakes”, “Reduce Speed Dial” has chosen its way of solution from the side of product development. I believe Volkswagen has succeeded to change the speed dial into the most precious media for the targets. As products, business and innovation ideas have been getting appreciated year by year in global awards, I appreciated such work also at AdStars as well as at Cannes Lions. But I’d point out what’s most valuable at “Reduce Speed Dial” is that the story shared here is that the strongest message in the world is the message from our family!

Merlee Cruz Jayme

DM9 Jayme Syfu Philippines

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

This year, the best work for me is #LikeAGirl from Always. The power of this idea is born out of a deep human insight that makes me relate to it, not just a judge, but also as a mom of 4 girls. You get to witness how girls are being discriminated; then on a another level, you admire innocent young girls interpret actions without the baggage of how society labels them. This social experiment simply opens our eyes to our big responsibility in shaping the minds of the youth.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

I super love DoCoMo’s 3-second fried Shrimp spot. This film used Japanese TV stars and an unbelievable cooking contraption to demonstrate DoCoMo’s LTE speed. I work for a similar telecommunications brand and an idea like this makes me happy and hopeful that this rational category can be so much fun.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

The warmth of the people from “Welcome to Goodbyes” was truly unforgettable. In the past, I judged in different shows, even organized local ones, but I never witnessed a festival and an award show so uniquely supported by the government. It showed us how serious they were in promoting Busan as a center of creativity.

Thierry Halbroth

Commonwealth/McCann

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

I can’t just decide on only one so I’ll go with what I personally voted as this year’s Grand Prix. On one hand, you have #likeagirl, a big U.S. campaign that is creating a movement of its own, changing people’s behaviour towards girls in general, for a category that is extremely hard to crack. It’s well executed, simple to the point and powerful. On the other, you have “Mistakes”, a simple TVC from New Zealand, which has had a global impact through its extremely powerful execution and script, so much so it has either been licensed or copied over and over. While this category has seen its fair share of creative success in general, this time, it’s just brought it to another level, asking people not just to be responsible drivers but
also better drivers by being aware of other people’s mistakes – which could well be fatal.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

“I Touch Myself”, was a stand out in our jury. A beautiful piece that was executed just right in a tasteful manner. A powerful message packaged in an anthemic song.

The other one is a visual feast. Titled “Murmuration”, this TVC for Sky is just beautiful to watch over and over. Steve Ayson’s at his best, but this time it’s his eye for great cinematography that wings it.

The other visual feast comes from Volvo with a long format piece called “Winter’s Tale”. No Van Damme this year, no Enya, just a perfect editing job of beautiful imagery that speak for themselves, wrapped up in an almost magical song as a narrative. Volvo keeps surprising us all.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

AdStars is different from other festivals in its format and the way the jury is brought together. This calls for a wonderful experience getting to spend a lot of time with old and new friends, talking a lot about life, not just advertising. You get to meet, talk and spend time with many fellow judges in a way very few shows allow you to. We bound quickly, we learn from each other and move like a band of brothers through town, like we’d been friends forever, no egos, no agendas, no dramas.

My other ‘highlight’ was the ‘Navy Seal extraction’ from my hotel room orchestrated by Sonal so we could make our flight back to Bangkok but that will have to make for another write-up altogether…

Shen Guan Tan

Red Fuse Hong Kong

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

My favourite work is “Like A Girl”, but enough is said about this campaign.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

However, it was a piece of work that didn’t win that I found most interesting. An online campaign entitled “The most important thing is you” for an employment agency, Incruit. It’s a series of videos capturing real-life college graduates seeking to land their first job. Watching a morning show on TV in an office reception as they wait for what they thought was their job interview, TV host suddenly introduces the hopeful job-seeker’s father on screen expressing the pride and understanding of the their child’s trials and tribulations in their job search. It’s a powerful insight on an ultra-competitive society like South Korea. Our Korean Ad Stars organizer and volunteers where quietly sobbing throughout the screening. So it obviously touched something deep. Unfortunately, creating emotional videos and putting them on video sties wasn’t quite enough as an interactive campaign. It would have been a gem if there were more scale to implementation of this idea.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Highlights. Apart from the array and diverse judges, getting to know the top creatives in South Korea. Next, it has to be the location itself. Looking at work, most of which have done the international award circuit, but in context of a still relatively well-understood Asian economic powerhouse is both educational and rewarding. Busan’s C1 soju is revelation itself.

Cam Blackley

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

I’m a big fan of the Like A Girl Campaign. We did give it the GP so it’s no surprise that I like it. It’s simplicity makes me jealous. I also really liked the activation idea for VW where the standard speedometers where replaced with ones made by your children. It was hard to tell if this was a large scale project but it should be. I’d get one, it’s a genius way of making parents think twice about breaking the speed limit.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

The ‘Mistakes’ TVC for NZ Road Safety is a brilliant script. The performances in the commercial are every bit as good as the restraint shown in the script writing. And the conclusion is gut wrenching as the Dad takes a final look at his son. Brutal.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

I met some really nice people and caught up with a few old mates. I also enjoyed trying to out do my peers at fish cake making on our tour of Busan. I pretty much believe that I reinvented a Korean tradition and firmed up ties between South Korea and Australia 😉  …and I made an excellent new friend called Cass Beer.

Erik Ingvoldstad

Acoustic

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

The judging process at AdStars is different than most of the other advertising festivals I’ve judged, in that there’s an online jury that does the first round, then the final jury judges online before they meet in Busan for the final shortlist and medal judging in person. This makes the judging process very efficient, as most of the work that will never see an award was taken out before we started our deliberation. Since there is more than 17.000 entries, that’s a great thing. This allowed the juries to be small (7 people times 5 juries), which then allowed us to go into quite detail on the shortlisted work. In other competitions, there is rarely time to discuss the work thoroughly.

In the categories I judged, we made quite a few changes to the final round – not because the preliminary jury didn’t do a proper job, but because we could take the time to look at each finalist with extra critical eyes. Here are three jobs that really inspired me:

Interactive (and overall). There wasn’t much discussion here. The Grand Prix (and also Grand Prix of the Year) was given to Leo Burnett Canada’s alre
ady multiple award winning campaign “Always Like a Girl” for P&G. It is truly brilliant. Not just for the highly relevant and emotive insight, but because the idea lets everything come together in a simple, yet beautiful execution, superb casting and a great moment of truth when one boy realises that he is making fun of his sister. Great storytelling. The subcategory here was social, and I think pretty much everyone saw this video when it was first released. I guess it’s that simple. Make great content and people (outside the ad industry) will actually share it.

The integrated category was quite contentious. We were collectively struck by the lack of integration in most of the entries. In fact, at some point we discussed throwing out the whole category. That would have sent a message. However, we did end up finding a few entries that had fully taken the advantage of the multiple channels to reach the audience. My favourite (and also the Grand Prix winner) was BBDO Proximity Thailand’s morbid, yet beautiful “A Message from the Lungs”, where tar from dead smokers’ donated lungs had been extracted to create special ink. This ink was then used to write and draw a very strong anti-smoking message. The work included print, experience, online and video. Fascinating, disgusting and powerful at the same time.

Innovation is a tough category to judge, as the entries span from apps that help handicapped children to new ways of doing marketing. Apples and oranges, if you will. The winner in the category was AKQA’s “House of Mamba” for Nike. House of Mamba was part of a highly integrated program to promote basketball in China. House of Mamba won, not because of the full court size LED flooring (which was extremely impressive in itself), but for the way it utilised the technology to inspire, push and engage both the participants and the audience. I am sure that we will see technology like this in the future of sports, and as blasé we have become with impressive tech, some things are still jawdroppingly cool.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

And that’s my round-up. Great work, great jury and a beautiful city. A fantastic experience, and certainly one of the best judging experiences I’ve had.

Andrew Tinning

SHEDcsc

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

It may seem like an obvious choice, but “Like a Girl” gets the best in show nod from me. As the parent of a daughter who has gone through all of the self doubt and angst that is part and parcel of puberty, this campaign really strikes a chord with both of us. It’s a universal issue and the work delivers a universal message that is both empathetic and empowering. What amazing attributes to have associated with your brand!

I also loved the Samsung “Safety Trucks”. There has been much speculation as to whether or not it’s just a prototype packaged up in a case study video, but I don’t care, it’s a brilliant solution to a real world problem, and if it does make it into full production it will live beyond advertising and save lives in the process.

“Mistakes” is also up there. Whilst some might argue that it borrows from the Thai Roads Foundation spot featuring the couple on the motor bike about to be wiped out in a head on with a truck before time freezes, it stands alone as a piece of film that has been handled beautifully and sends a shiver up your spine every time you see it.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

I was judging print and design, and in those categories there were a few standout pieces. Penguin Audio Books was a big winner for obvious reasons. A nice simple idea with each execution being as beautifully crafted as the last.

Speaking of craft, the “Scent And The City” campaign for WWD Japan by Hakuhodo Tokyo was stunning. We awarded it top honours in several categories including photography as the art direction, lighting and attention to detail was just beautiful.

I love the way the Japanese mind works and the Real Wetsuits campaign for Quicksilver and Kagome’s crazy tomato feeding robot Tomatan did not let me down.

Lastly there was a really clever piece of design for a game company. At first glance, it was a fairly straight financial report written as a text , but when you changed the file extension, it transformed into a playable game that incorporated all of the stats and graphs etc. A nice unexpected and relevant twist that  turned something that would normally have been boring into an engaging piece that showcased their skill as programmers along with their business acumen.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

For me the highlight of the week was seeing how the government and public get behind the industry in Korea. Ad Stars is a big show that keeps growing year in and out. The organisers do a fabulous job and I’m in no doubt that it won’t be long before Ad Stars is not just Asia’s biggest award show, but also its most important.

Sonal Dabral

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

There were a lot of great pieces of work at the show and deserved winners too, but for me the most powerful piece of communication was a road safety film from New Zealand called ‘Mistakes’. It had everything that makes for a Grand Prix winner which it very deservedly went on to win. A great story based on a fresh insight and most importantly executed flawlessly. The casting, the seamless and transparent use of special effects, the restraint shown in direction were all sublime. The final punch although there for just a brief second delivers a punch that remains with you long after you’ve seen the film. There have been a lot of road safety films but this one will stand head and shoulders above them for some time to come.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

The Film and Film Craft category that I judged this year had some amazing films so in the later stages of the judging the process became really challenging. We had a great jury led by the very calm and brilliant Matt Eastwood. Besides ‘Mistakes’ that went on to win the ‘Best Of Show’, there were a couple more films that I was truly impressed with. One was the ‘I Touch Myself’ film. A
powerful Breast Cancer awareness message from Australia. The late Chrissy Amphlett’s iconic song covered by line up of home grown stars including the likes of Olivia Newton-John, herself a breast cancer survivor. The 10 singers appear together in a  beautifully produced powerful music video. My other favourite was DDB New Zealand’s amazing film for Sky TV which featured a young girl with telekinetic powers controlling a murmuration of starlings just by the gentle weep of her hands. Once again a great idea that excelled in its craft. Powerful direction, great casting, amazing special effects- it had all the ingredients of what storytelling on film should be.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Judging a show is always an inspiring and learning experience as one discusses and dissects the best work from around the world with one’s fellow jury members. This was the third time for me in Busan as an AdStars judge and the festival is growing in stature and quality year after year. This year the quality of the work entered and the jury that judged it were both world class. Some of the best work from across the world  there at this festival. To me that was the first thing that stood out this year. Judging alongside a star lineup was indeed an honour and something I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course the hospitality of the organiser and the evening on the yacht cruising the bay and enjoying the beautiful evening weather of Busan and its glittering lights was another memorable event. On a lighter note trying to taste the Korean speciality ‘Beondegi’ the caterpillar snack, served during the beach side jury dinner also had a big impact on me!

Wain Choi

Cheil Worldwide

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

#likeagirl is a fantastic piece of work that goes beyond selling products. This work instills confidence and assurance to all girls around the world, bringing down stereotypes that girls were meant to be inferior to boys. I applaud P&G for their continuous effort to challenge and break down barriers.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

“Mistakes” is a film that will make you think twice when driving over a speed limit. a simple idea executed and crafted without a flaw. also so relevant to all drivers with family members. This piece will be remembered and talked about even long after the award shows.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Even though I’ve been living in Korea for the past 8 years, I still love being in Busan and soaking in the beauty by the seaside. As always the highlight of this event is seeing the work from all over the world and meeting other juries.

Sa’ad Hussein

TBWA\Kuala Lumpur

What was the best piece of work that you saw overall at AdStars? Why?

The standards are high at AdStars 2015. It was a close fight between “Like a Girl” for Always and “I touch myself” for Cancer Council NSW. Both with strong insight and flawless execution. “Like a Girl” came out tops for me because it was powerful and moving. It has corrected many wrong perceptions and stereotype thinking. This idea is hard to beat.

What were the best, or most interesting pieces that you saw from your own jury, and why?

Without doubt, it’s the  “coated shrimp in 3 secs” by Docomo. It’s totally outrageous and hilarious but it’s on strategy and on brief. I’ve never seen LTE speed delivered in such an unexpected way. Truly viral.

What was the “highlight experience” of your stay in Busan for AdStars?

Seafood, seafood, seafood. Fresh (and at times still wriggling) seafood platter is served literally from the fishing boats. Cholesterol level: checked. I’m in for seconds!