{"id":2046,"date":"2026-04-01T16:43:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/competitions\/?p=2046"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:43:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T11:13:23","slug":"mad-stars-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/competitions\/mad-stars-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"MAD STARS 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <strong>About the Event<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"p-rc_175c2540dac97586-388\">MAD STARS (formerly Ad Stars) is one of the world\u2019s most influential marketing and advertising festivals. The <strong>YOUNG STARS<\/strong> category is a high-speed &#8220;hackathon&#8221; for creative students. After an online preliminary round where you submit your portfolio, selected finalists are flown to <strong>Busan, South Korea<\/strong>, to participate in a grueling 30 hour on site competition. There, you must develop a complete campaign based on a surprise brief, which is then judged by executives from global agencies like Cheil, Dentsu, and Publicis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-default\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0;color:#f0f0f0\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2139\ufe0f <strong>Event Details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Category:<\/strong> Marketing, Advertising, and Creative Tech<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Organizer:<\/strong> MAD STARS Organizing Committee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Eligibility:<\/strong> Undergraduate and Postgraduate students (all majors)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Team Size:<\/strong> Individual or Teams of up to 2<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Effort Level:<\/strong> Very High (Finals involve a 30-hour &#8220;lock-in&#8221; challenge)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Submission Type:<\/strong> Online Portfolio (Preliminary) -> On site Campaign (Finals)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-default\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0;color:#f0f0f0\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udcc5 <strong>Important Dates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Registration\/Submission Deadline:<\/strong> 25 May, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Finalist Announcement:<\/strong> 9 June, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>On-site Finals (Busan):<\/strong> 25 \u2013 28 August, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mode:<\/strong> Online Preliminary \/ Offline Finals in South Korea<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-default\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0;color:#f0f0f0\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83c\udfc6 <strong>Prize Details and Value<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prize Type:<\/strong> Trophies and Career Launchpad<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Prize Amount or Value:<\/strong> Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Crystal awards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Certificates:<\/strong> Official Certificate of Completion for all finalists<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Visibility and Showcase:<\/strong> Direct exposure to Creative Directors from top global agencies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Additional Perks:<\/strong> <strong>Internship opportunities<\/strong> with leading advertising firms for top winners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-background is-style-default\" style=\"background-color:#f0f0f0;color:#f0f0f0\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83c\udfaf <strong>What You Will Do<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Curate<\/strong> a portfolio (PDF format) showcasing your best creative or strategic work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Submit<\/strong> your application via the official MAD STARS portal before May 25.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Travel<\/strong> to Busan, South Korea, if selected as a finalist (registration fee applies only to finalists).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Develop<\/strong> a marketing strategy and creative execution within 30 hours during the festival.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Network<\/strong> with industry legends and peers from across the globe in a high-energy environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udccc About the Event MAD STARS (formerly Ad Stars) is one of the world\u2019s most influential marketing and advertising festivals. The YOUNG STARS category is a high-speed &#8220;hackathon&#8221; for creative<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hackathons"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MAD STARS 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MAD STARS (formerly Ad Stars) is one of the world\u2019s most influential marketing and advertising festivals. 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