Y&R New Zealand and BBDO Bangkok each awarded US$10,000 Grand Prix of the Year prizes at 2016 Ad Stars Festival in Korea; Colenso BBDO Auckland takes out Grand Prix in five categories

The winners of the 9th annual Ad Stars awards were announced tonight in a gala ceremony in Busan, South Korea, with BBDO Bangkok and Y&R New Zealand both winning Grand Prix of the Year – and US$10,000 a piece in prize money.

Y&R New Zealand won Grand Prix of the Year for Burger King’s ‘Peace One Day‘ campaign. This campaign challenged McDonald’s to end its battle with Burger King by creating one unified burger, the McWhopper.

BBDO Bangkok won Grand Prix of the Year for ‘MotoRepellent: Saving Lives one Ride at a Time’ for the Duang Prateep Foundation. The agency designed a device that turns exhaust fumes from motorbikes into mosquito repellent. Instead of omitting pollutants, the device kills mosquitos and tackles malaria.

Colenso BBDO, Auckland won the Grand Prix in five categories for DB Export ‘Brewtroleum’ – in Integrated, Innovation, Outdoor, Promotion and Media.

Jeremy Craigen, Global Chief Creative Officer at Innocean Worldwide, was one of five Executive Judges leading this year’s jury panels. He said, “MotoRepellent also won Gold in the Outdoor category this year. It’s a brilliant, modern use of the outdoor medium, and it’s one of those campaigns that has its roots in Thailand but could become a powerful global idea.”

Tim Doherty, Chief Creative Officer at Isobar China and Executive Judge at Ad Stars 2016, says: “I think what’s special about both this year’s Grand Prix winners is they break new ground. MotoRepellent is not just an advertisement but a public service that addresses a real problem. And in regards to McWhopper, the idea of giving two battling brands the chance to make peace on Peace Day is a big, big idea.”

The Grand Prix of the Year winners were chosen from a shortlist of 1,680 finalists from 42 countries. Overall, AD STARS received 18,063 entries from 61 countries this year, which were judged by a panel of 196 jurors globally, with 30 jurors travelling to Korea to select the Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze trophy winners.

Now in its 9th year, AD STARS has grown very quickly since the first AD STARS festival was held in 2008, when only 3,105 pieces from 29 countries were entered. This year, 18,063 entries from 61 countries were submitted.

Eui-Ja Lee, Co-Chairperson of AD STARS’ Executive Committee, believes there are two secrets to the rapid growth of AD STARS, “Anyone can enter the AD STARS Awards free-of-charge in the spirit of openness and sharing, which has led to a rapid increase in entries year-on-year. Secondly, AD STARS accepts entries on and offline, 365 days per year, which makes it easy for anyone to submit their entries.”

VIEW THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS: AD STARS WINNERS 2016.xls