Dentsu Inc. has been crowned the Global Agency of the Year at the 2024 Mad Stars event held in Busan, South Korea, taking the top spot from previously reigning champions Impact BBDO, who lifted the title in 2023.
Of the two Grands Prix of the Year up for grabs at Mad Stars, Impact BBDO won the Grand Prix of the Year in Public Service Advertising for their work on the ‘Child Wedding Cards‘ campaign for UN Women, while Dentsu Inc., Japan, lifted the Grand Prix of the Year in Product & Service for the ‘My Japan Railway‘ campaign for JR Group. Impact BBDO also led the MENA region with a haul of eight trophies.
The ‘Child Wedding Cards‘ campaign, which has no special effects, no celebrity partnerships, and no AI, saw members of the National Assembly of Pakistan receive an invitation to a fictional child’s wedding. Through a wedding card that would suit a child’s wedding, designed entirely by children, UN Women persuaded the Federal Islamic Court to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18. Produced by Shiny Toy Guns and Karma Kollectiv, the campaign has also won a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions earlier this year.
Suzana Apelbaum, Head of Creative and Innovation, Google, said, “Child Wedding Cards is a powerfully simple and unexpected idea. The creative execution using children’s artwork brought such a special emotional impact, that it led to tremendous social and political impact. It’s one of those examples of advertising at its best, leveraging pure creativity to drive critical change. In times of AI, it’s refreshing to see a campaign like this, that dispenses complex executions and exudes humanity.”
The agency also brought home a Grand Prix in Print for AnNahar’s ‘The AI President’, which is the world’s first functioning AI leader of a country built through 90 years of data collected from AnNahar’s journalism archives. The campaign went on to pick up a Gold, Silver, and a Bronze in other categories. The ‘Audio Nikahnama’ campaign for easypaisa also picked up two Silvers.
Commenting on the wins, Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer for IMPACT BBDO, said, “Our wins at Mad Stars showcase some of our boldest work, not only demonstrating business success through the use of AI, but solving problems through low-tech solutions when necessary. No matter the brief, an effective solution is reached through bold creativity in an environment where we believe that no idea is too crazy.”
Mad Stars also handed out Special Awards to those that accumulated the most points from Finalist to Grand Prix of the Year. This year’s Special Award winners are:
- Production of the Year: LULL Inc.
- Advertiser of the Year: SAMSUNG
- Agency of the Year: DENTSU INC.
- Network of the Year: DENTSU GROUP INC.
- Holding Company of the Year: DENTSU GROUP
