Cheil Worldwide bags the most Grand Prix wins at this year’s Mad Stars

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Cheil Worldwide won a total of 32 awards including four Grand Prix, six Golds, four Silvers, six Bronzes, and twelve Crystals at MAD STARS 2023. By winning four Grand Prix, Cheil Worldwide received the most Grand Prix than any other agencies at this year’s festival while also renewing its record. MAD STARS revealed all the winners on the last day of the festival held in Busan, South Korea from August 23 to 25. 

A total of twelve trophies including four Grand Prix, one each from Innovation Stars, Interactive Stars, Mobile Stars, and Sustainability Development Goals Stars, went to “Knock Knock.” “Knock Knock” offers a solution that enables victims of domestic violence to alert the police and request assistance without saying a word. After dialing 112 and simply tapping any number twice, a link is sent to them that will immediately allow the police to track their location, monitor the situation, and communicate secretly. The campaign also won five Golds, a Silver, a Bronze, and a Crystal. 

“We’ve tried knocking on the door of MAD STARS several times, and we finally reached the Grand Prix with the ‘Knock Knock’ campaign,” the team said.

One of the wins that “Knock Knock” bagged, the Sustainability Development Goals Stars Grand Prix, was announced right out of the gate during the opening ceremony. “We are immensely grateful for having this great honor on the first day of MAD STARS,” they said. “The categories of global awards are continuously evolving in line with the current trends, with the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) being at the forefront. With this as our starting point, we aim to contribute to pushing our industry further, leading to more influential results and positive changes in the world.”

Film Stars Gold winner “Film in the Dark: Faith” by Cheil Worldwide Seoul is a short film entirely filmed with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone by the esteemed and award-winning director, Na Hong-jin. Combining elements of horror and suspense through dark imagery, the film explores the lengths people are willing to go for their personal values. The film also won one Crystal. 

“Samsung Unfear” by Cheil Worldwide Spain won three Silvers, one each from Radio & Audio Stars, Strategy Stars, and Sustainability Development Goals Stars. For people with autism who suffer panic attacks due to hypersensitivity to specific noises, this AI-powered app filters and suppresses only those fear-triggering sounds that affect the user in real-time without canceling all the noise. The work also grabbed three Bronzes and three Crystals. 

Cheil Worldwide Seoul’s “#SaveBirds” picked up a Bronze in Media Stars. To prevent as many as 8 million birds a year from dying due to collision with transparent soundproof walls and glass windows, the stickers were attached at 5×5 intervals to spots where people tweeted the scene of the bird collision using the #SaveBirds hashtag and location tag so the birds can recognize the wall as obstacles. The campaign also won three Crystals. 

One Bronze in Film Stars went to “The Era of 8K Big Screen” by Cheil Worldwide Seoul. The film emphasizes the new level of sharpness and detail of Samsung’s big-screen TV giving a realistic and immersive viewing experience. 

Other winning works include Cheil Worldwide Seoul’s “All about Switching,” a 5-minute film on how switching to Samsung smartphones is easy and fun, “Galaxy Book Art Project” involving an AI artist to create a customized laptop cover in just ten seconds, “Yes We Canine” turning rescue dogs into candidates running in the election for adoption, and “Sound to See. Color to Hear.” by Cheil Worldwide Kazakhstan highlights the immersive experience offered by Samsung’s big-screen TV and sound bar duo. 

MAD STARS received more than 20,000 entries from 63 countries this year. 

Results: 4 Grand Prix, 6 Golds, 4 Silvers, 6 Bronzes, 12 Crystals 

adobo Magazine is an official media partner of MAD STARS 2023.