edcom x Heinz: Ad Venture Student Competition – The Shortlisted Campaigns of the 2025-2026 Edition have been announced!

The European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) are pleased to announce the shortlist of the 18th annual advertising student competition, Ad Venture, in collaboration with Kraft Heinz.

Ad Venture is the first pan-European competition that empowers over 300 communication students from across Europe and beyond to tackle real-life cases presented by actual clients. The winning team will enjoy an extraordinary opportunity to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity!

For the 2025 – 2026 edition, edcom partnered with Heinz, a globally recognised brand with over 150 years of history, known for its unmistakably rich products and deeply satisfying taste experiences. Heinz goes the extra mile in everything they do, crafting each product with care, obsession, and quality to deliver a deeply satisfying, uplifting experience.

The finalists of the 2025-2026 edition

Our jury of academics and industry representatives has evaluated the submitted projects. Out of 75 teams that entered the competition, only 10 were set to advance to the final stage.

Every Chaos Needs a Starting Point, Pantheon-Assas University, Paris


For the one that…, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria


Heinz Doesn’t Judge – The Oven, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Belgium


If Heinz Could Talk…, CEU Cardenal Herrera University, Spain


Is It a Crime?, Pantheon-Assas University, Paris


No Games. Just Heinz, University of the Arts London, UK


Spot The Heinz, Pantheon-Assas University, Paris


Team 13, ESP – École Supérieure de Publicité, Communication et Marketing, Paris


THE RED FLAG YOU NEED, University of Bucharest, Romania


You’ve been Heinzed, Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands


What is happening next?

Nine jurors will be invited to an online session on February 26th, moderated by our Jury Chair, Mafalda Quintela. Jurors will assess the shortlisted projects and select the three best works that will advance to the final stage of the competition. The three finalists will pitch to our jury and the client on March 26th in Lisbon, Portugal.

The top three teams will be announced on Tuesday, March 10.

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For more information, please contact Francesco, Project Officer at Francesco.bottegal@eaca.eu

Notes to Editors

About Ad Venture Student Competition

Organised by the European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA), Ad Venture is the first Pan-European competition that gives students the opportunity to experience what it is like to work in advertising by creating their own campaign in response to a brief from a real client.

About edcom

edcom is the European Institute for Commercial Communications Education. It strives to promote excellence in commercial communications education and research and to further exchanges between the European commercial communications sector and academic partners. Edcom was founded by EACA together with the founding academic partners in 2007. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About EACA

The European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) represents more than 2 500 communications agencies and agency associations from nearly 30 European countries that directly employ more than 120 000 people. EACA members include advertising, media, digital, branding and PR agencies. EACA works closely with EU institutions to ensure freedom to advertise responsibly and creatively. For more information, visit www.eaca.eu. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn.

Ad Venture 2026 | Jury Announcement

We are happy to announce that this year’s Ad Venture jury will bring together 24 leading agencies and 13 academic institutions from across Europe, enriching both the competition and the experience for young talents.

The Ad Venture Competition 2025-2026, in collaboration with Kraft Heinz, one of the world’s leading food companies, allows students to tackle real-life marketing challenges and showcase their creativity, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.

This year’s jury will review and evaluate the submitted projects based on creativity, strategic thinking, and overall effectiveness. Their combined expertise ensures a rigorous, fair, and inspiring evaluation process for all participants.

We are proud to collaborate with such accomplished professionals and look forward to their valuable insights and contributions throughout this year’s edition of Ad Venture.

Meet the agencies and academic institutions joining this year’s Ad Venture jury:

Agencies:

  • 180HB — Poland
  • All Channels Group — Bulgaria
  • BetterSvit — Ukraine
  • dentsu — Italy
  • EssenceMediacom Poland — Poland
  • HeimatTBWA — Germany
  • Hvita used — Iceland
  • Innocean — Germany
  • Kantar
  • McCann Worldgroup Romania — Romania
  • McCann Manchester — United Kingdom
  • McCann Worldgroup Spain — Spain
  • Media First Ukraine — Ukraine
  • Next Different — Italy
  • Pastel — Romania
  • REBORNN — Greece
  • Robert Boison & Likeminded — Denmark
  • SEK — Finland
  • TBWA\Italy — Italy
  • TBWA\Warsaw — Poland
  • THIS IS LOCCO — Slovakia
  • WOPA — Romania
  • White Label — Latvia

Academic Institutions:

  • Deree – The American College of Greece
  • FSPAC – College of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences
  • Howest – University College West Flanders
  • ISCOM Paris
  • King’s College London
  • New Bulgarian University
  • Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens
  • Pantheon-Assas University, Paris
  • The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
  • Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Belgium
  • Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czechia
  • University for the Creative Arts, UK
  • University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Austria