{"id":488514,"date":"2026-06-08T05:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T05:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/488514\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T05:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T05:17:12","slug":"mad-stars-2026-unveils-42-final-jurors-as-june-15-entry-deadline-approaches-campaign-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/488514\/","title":{"rendered":"MAD STARS 2026 unveils 42 final jurors as June 15 entry deadline approaches \u2013 Campaign Brief"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t June 8 2026, 1:45 pm | BY Adam Shaw | No Comments<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"MAD<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t \tMAD STARS, now in its 19th edition as one of Asia\u2019s leading international marketing and advertising festivals, has announced 42 Final Jurors to date from 28 locations for its 2026 awards. They are part of a global judging body comprising more than 350 industry professionals from 83 locations, spanning every major region worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Representing Australia and New Zealand on the MAD STARS jury are Strategy Executive Jury Chair Tara McKenty, Chief Creative Officer of AKQA Australia & New Zealand, Shane Geffen, National Executive Creative Director of HERO McCann, Mark Verhagen, Executive Creative Director of VML Brisbane & Perth and Rory McKechnie, Executive Creative Director of McCann New Zealand.<\/p>\n

For 2026, MAD STARS has reorganized its entry categories around two Groups that reflect how creative work is developed and assessed today. The SOLUTION Group covers campaigns that combine strategy and execution to address real business and communication challenges. The POSITIVE IMPACT Group recognizes creative work that generates meaningful change across society, with entries evaluated against values including sustainability, diversity, health, and public responsibility.<\/p>\n

Within this framework, the 42 Final Jurors announced to date are organized into five specialized panels: Traditional, Experience, Entertainment, Strategy, and Digital. Each panel is aligned with a specific cluster of the 25 Stars.<\/p>\n

The jurors represent leading agencies, brands, and creative organizations across Asia-Pacific, MENA, Europe, and the Americas. Together, they bring hands-on experience across the full range of disciplines covered in the awards, from craft-led traditional advertising and brand experience to data-driven strategy, digital innovation, and purpose-driven work. This breadth of expertise reflects the scope of MAD STARS 2026\u2019s two-Group framework, ensuring that entries in both the SOLUTION Group and the POSITIVE IMPACT Group are evaluated by jurors with firsthand experience in the relevant field.<\/p>\n

The final-stage judging process is led by five Executive Jury members, who bring senior-level expertise in brand leadership, technology-driven creativity, creative strategy, and marketing effectiveness.<\/p>\n

All entries first undergo online Preliminary Judging, with selected works advancing to the First Round of Final Judging, also conducted online. The Second and Last Rounds of Final Judging take place in person in Busan, where the Executive Jury and Final Jury determine winners through discussion and voting. Winners will be announced at the Awards Show on August 28.<\/p>\n

The Grand Prix of the Year, the festival\u2019s highest honor, is awarded to two entries: one selected from among the Grand Prix winners of the SOLUTION Group, and one from the POSITIVE IMPACT Group.<\/p>\n

Final Deadline: June 15 \u2014 No Further Extension
MAD STARS 2026 is open for entries across 2 Groups, 25 Stars, and 442 Categories. With its Final Jury taking shape, MAD STARS invites creative teams worldwide to submit their work before the June 15 deadline at madstars.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MAD STARS 2026 will take place from August 26 to 28 at SIGNIEL BUSAN and across the Haeundae area in Busan, under the theme \u201cAMPLIFY.\u201d<\/p>\n

View the full jury below:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"MAD<\/p>\n

Group 1: Traditional (Film, Outdoor, Print, Radio & Audio)
\u2022 Sandipan Bhattacharyya (Executive Jury), Chief Creative Officer, Monks
\u2022 Kanit Mingmuang, Executive Creative Director, Wolf BKK
\u2022 Mukund Olety, Chief Creative Officer, VML
\u2022 No\u00ebl Bunting, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis London
\u2022 Paulo Mariano, Senior Art Director, O Escrit\u00f3rio
\u2022 Rick Kwan, Executive Creative Director, Grey Hong Kong
\u2022 Rory McKechnie, Executive Creative Director, McCann New Zealand
\u2022 Shumpei Murata, Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Inc.
\u2022 Sunghyuk Hong, Executive Creative Director, Innocean<\/p>\n

Group 2: Experience (Brand Experience & Activation, Direct, Commerce, PR, Health)
\u2022 Raja Rajamannar (Executive Jury), Senior Fellow, Former Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Mastercard
\u2022 Federico Fanti, Regional Chief Creative Officer \u2013 MENAT, FP7 McCANN
\u2022 Ilya Andreyev, Executive Creative Director, Cheil CIS
\u2022 Karan Novas, Partner & Chief Creative Officer, Tulom
\u2022 Mark Verhagen, Executive Creative Director, VML Brisbane & Perth
\u2022 Roman Carlo Olivarez, Executive Creative Director, TREYNA Group Philippines
\u2022 Satoshi Chikayama, Executive Creative Director, HAKUHODO
\u2022 Wendy Chan, Creative Partner, EXE Group
\u2022 WonSook Kang, Group Creative Director, HSAD<\/p>\n

Group 3: Entertainment (Branded Entertainment, Entertainment for Music, Entertainment for Game, Entertainment for Sports, Design, Diverse Insights)
\u2022 Anny Havercroft (Executive Jury), Global Head of Product MarComs, TikTok
\u2022 Alex Pineda, Chief Creative Officer, Horizon FCB Dubai
\u2022 Diego Medvedocky, Global Creative Partner, GREY
\u2022 Michael Ahmadzadeh, Co-Founder, electriclime\u00ba
\u2022 Mo Chen, Executive Creative Director, TBWA\\China
\u2022 Shane Geffen, National Executive Creative Director, HERO McCann
\u2022 Yeong Eun Kook, Creative Director, DAEHONG<\/p>\n

Group 4: Strategy (Strategy, Integrated, Media, Data Insights, SDGs, Place Brand)
\u2022 Tara McKenty (Executive Jury), Chief Creative Officer, AKQA Australia & New Zealand
\u2022 Babak Madandar, Chief Executive Officer, BOOM Marcom
\u2022 Chow Kok Keong, Creative Partner, k2x
\u2022 Enkhbayasgalan Tungalag, Chief Executive Officer, KMG Group
\u2022 Lissette Guzman, Chief Creative Officer, McCann Santo Domingo
\u2022 Martin Tsai, Business & Creative Partner, SAATCHI & SAATCHI Taiwan
\u2022 Mohammad Akrum Hossain, Chief Creative Officer, POP5
\u2022 Sulin Lau, Regional Head of Marketing, Brand and Creative, Grab
\u2022 Takahiro Hosoda, Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\\HAKUHODO<\/p>\n

Group 5: Digital (Mobile, Interactive, Social & Influencer, Innovation)
\u2022 Aurora Straton (Executive Jury), Creative Lead, Google
\u2022 Chandu Rajapreyar, Group Executive Creative Director, Hakuhodo International Vietnam
\u2022 Fabio Seidl, Global Head of Creative and Brand, X (Twitter & X AI)
\u2022 Hyounwoo Nam, Executive Creative Director, TBWA KOREA
\u2022 Kazuki Tsuburaku, Managing Director & Executive Creative Partner, Dentsu Digital
\u2022 Nikki Sunga, Group Creative Director, BBDO Guerrero
\u2022 Nkanyezi Masango, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy South Africa
\u2022 Titipun Tubthong, Head of Creative, Brilliant & Million<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"June 8 2026, 1:45 pm | BY Adam Shaw | No Comments MAD STARS, now in its 19th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-488514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}