TLDR: The Busan International Marketing Advertising Festival, MAD STARS 2025, is set to delve into the profound impact of Artificial Intelligence on the advertising and marketing industry. The conference will highlight how AI is moving beyond experimentation to become a fundamental tool, enhancing human creativity and reshaping traditional agency models. Discussions will cover AI’s role in content generation, workflow innovation, and the critical skill of explaining complex technologies.
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA – The Busan International Marketing Advertising Festival, known as MAD STARS 2025, is poised to commence with a central focus on the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the advertising and marketing landscape. The conference, which began on August 19, 2025, aims to explore how AI is not merely an experimental tool but a firmly embedded technology that is reshaping industry practices and fostering new avenues for creativity.
This year’s MAD STARS will feature a special session titled ‘Conversation with Executive Jury’ on Wednesday, August 27, from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This panel will include prominent industry leaders such as Alejandro Di Trolio, European creative chairman at Cheil; Alex Abrantes, chief creative officer, North America, at Iris Worldwide; Ashish Chakravarty, executive director & India head of creative at McCann; and Tawana Murphy Burnett, head of top accounts & agencies at Meta. Moderated by Sangsoo Chong, vice chairperson of MAD STARS, the discussion will offer insights into the evaluation and selection of the festival’s top works, emphasizing the diverse perspectives brought by these global leaders.
The overarching theme of AI’s integration into the industry will be a recurring topic. As noted by many speakers at MAD STARS 2025, the conversation has shifted from ‘if’ AI will be used to ‘how’ it enhances creativity and supports human imagination. Yong-tae Alex Kim, CEO of The SMC, will present a groundbreaking approach that transcends traditional agency limitations. His ‘POST AGENCY’ model, built on the core pillars of AI and Content IP, represents a paradigm shift in digital advertising. Kim will illustrate this transformation with examples like AI-powered video production and workflow innovation, utilizing The SMC’s proprietary AI AGENT, and will discuss the opportunities and challenges this brings for both agencies and brands.
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While AI is now capable of generating copy, producing images, and even designing entire campaigns, a critical discussion point will be its current limitations. Orbit, a science communicator and content creator in Korea with a YouTube channel ‘Unrealscience’ boasting 1.31 million subscribers, will highlight that AI still cannot explain ‘why’ a message truly persuades. Drawing from his experience in simplifying complex scientific ideas, Orbit will argue that the ability to explain, not just create, is the most crucial skill for advertising professionals in the age of AI. This underscores the festival’s emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between human ingenuity and artificial intelligence in driving the future of advertising.
