Ad Stars Is Recruiting Its New & Young Stars of 2021

AD STARS is now inviting junior creatives to apply for its New Stars program, and university students to apply for its Young Stars program.

The New Stars AD Competition is open to all junior creatives with less than 5 years of professional experience in advertising, marketing and PR. To take part in the program, participants must simply submit creative, strategic ideas in response to a ‘brief’ from Wave Park in South Korea – the world’s largest surf park powered by Spanish company Wavegarden.

The Young Stars AD Competition is the world’s first advertising competition for college students. Participants will also be invited to submit creative, strategic ideas in response to the ‘brief’ below.

Both programs will be judged by a panel of global advertising experts. Usually, New and Young Stars teams meet in Busan, South Korea, but this year’s participants will participate virtually, free of charge. Submissions open on 14th June and close on 30th July.

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY?

Gold, Silver, Bronze, Crystal winners will be publicized globally, while Gold-winners will win KRW 5,000,000 (approx. US$4,000). The sponsor of this year’s program, Wave Park, may even decide to execute its favourite award-winning idea.

Meanwhile, Young Stars participants will have the chance to land an internship with a top global agency.

“Giving students a taste of our industry and the chance to secure their first internship is an initiative we’re immensely proud of. We would like to thank all of our agency partners who are interested in taking on interns from our Young Stars 2021 program,” explains Hwan-Jin Choi, Chair of AD STARS.

Participating agencies in the Young Stars internship program include Cheil Worldwide, HSAD, Daehong Communications, Nongshim Communications, INNORED, Serviceplan Korea, ideot, and Blue Focus Digital, with more to be announced soon.

All New & Young Stars will also be eligible to attend the Global MAD Academy, a new AD STARS initiative, which will launch later this year. Ten students from both programs will be selected via a lottery to attend the Global MAD Academy, where they will be trained by world-famous advertisers and marketers. It’s an opportunity to learn about the latest global trends in Marketing, Advertising, and Digital technology through an integrated, practical training platform.

THE BRIEF – NEW STARS

To be part of New Stars 2021, you must suggest campaign/s to promote Wave Park in South Korea and abroad in the post COVID-19 era.

Your idea must be designed to:

Raise awareness of the Wave Park brand identity and the new trend of man-made surf parks in South Korea and globally

Maximize interest in water-based recreational activities, targeting everyone from beginners and non-swimmers to amateur and pro-surfers.

Wave Park powered by Wavegarden is Asia’s largest wave park. It opened in Siheung, South Korea in October 2020 and offers longer waves and barrels and a wider variety of waves than any other surf park. Download the complete brief here.

THE BRIEF – YOUNG STARS

To be part of Young Stars 2021, you must suggest campaign ideas to help realize Carbon Neutrality. Carbon neutrality means making actual emissions zero by reabsorbing carbon dioxide emitted from individuals, companies, and organizations.

Download the complete brief here.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

To be eligible for the New Stars competition, you must have 5 years or less professional experience in marketing, PR and advertising. You may compete as an individual or a team of two.

To be eligible for the Young Stars competition, you must be an undergraduate university student studying advertising, marketing, design, communications, art direction or a related degree. If you are taking a leave of absence from an undergraduate degree or are a recent graduate, you can still apply. However, PhD graduates are ineligible. You may compete as an individual or a team of up to four people.

KEY DATES & DEADLINES

It’s free to take part in the New Stars and Young Stars 2021 programs, which are run by AD STARS. Teams must submit their application and promotional campaign idea before midnight on July 30 (Korean time).