Everything set for AdStars 2012: 1,474 finalists to be judged at the August 23-25 festival in Busan

Celebrating its 5th anniversary this year, the final round of AD STARS 2012, the one and only advertising festival and Korea and the largest of its kind in Asia will be held from August 23 to 25 for three days in Busan. A total of 1,474 works have advanced to the final round after the preliminary round competitions screened by a jury of 146 judges. These works will compete at the festival for the two AD STARS Grand Prize of US$10,000 each.

AD STARS 2012, starting with the opening ceremony on August 23 will continue until the 25th at the Bexco. Bexco is one of the most famous exhibition and convention centers in northeast Asia. It started to get the spotlight after successfully holding 2005 Apec summit.

During the festival, seminars will be held under the theme “The Digital Humanism” that will feature worldclass speakers. Jonathan Mildenhall, VP of Global Advertising and Content Excellence of the Coca-Cola Company, will do key note speech on “Liquid and Linked”. Akira Kagami, a legendary creative director of Dentsu and now a founder of Dentsu New School will speak about “Extending Boundaries”. Alan Couldry of Brand Union, Rob Cambell of Wieden & Kennedy and Kash Sree and many more speak at AD STARS conference too.

Young Stars AD competition 2012, inviting 148 college students from 11 countries will be held during the festival. It is sponsored by Samsung Electronics and students will compete to showcase their creativity. Exhibitions include finalist exhibition, Public service campaign exhibition and place brand special section.

Busan, in which Ad Stars 2012 takes place, is known as the best vacation spot in Korea. More information is available here.