The European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) are delighted to announce the winner of the 15th annual advertising student competition, Ad Venture, in collaboration with The LEGO Group and Cannes Lions. The Highlight team from Thomas More University, Belgium, scooped the first place with their campaign ‘Pages Beyond Imagination’.
Ad Venture is the first Pan-European competition that offers the opportunity to more than 300 comms students from all over Europe, and beyond, to work on real-life cases provided by real clients. To make it even more interesting, the winning team is awarded with tickets for the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
The LEGO Group is a Danish toy company that has been creating and manufacturing LEGO construction toys since 1932. Their iconic plastic bricks have become a household name and a staple of childhood playtime around the world. The company’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through creative play and learning.
In a digital society, where paper is outdated and (almost) all pieces of information pass through a screen, LEGO challenged the students to revive their renowned catalog and unleash its creative power. How the catalog can be redesigned? What can make it appeal again to kids?
Almost 300 students from 20 universities across 10 countries engaged in the competition. After two rounds of judging, video presentations, pitching, and Q&A, the Highlight team from Thomas More University was announced the winner!
Franziska Boesch, Ellen Moons, Sofie Eeckman, Isabel Eeckhut, Elizaveta Wuyts, Fatima Bouazzoui, and Nina de Winter impressed the jury by introducing a simple creative idea in their proposal to answer LEGO’s brief: adding fascinating audio stories to the catalog. By introducing a multisensorial dimension to the original catalog, children will experience the world of LEGO in a completely new way and make memories that last a lifetime. Check out now their campaign here!
Heidi Rathschau Nielsen, Senior Art Director, Concept and Campaign Development at the LEGO Agency said: “The LEGO® Brand see children as role models. “Highlight” turned a human insight about the senses into an innovative and culturally relevant campaign for kids and their families simply and creatively using audio. The concept builds on the LEGO® Brand values, embraces a playful imagination, and taps into a rising media channel that kids and their families find exciting. All of that was presented crisply and concisely. Big congratulation to Team Highlight from Our LEGO® Agency.”
“Our participation in the Ad Venture competition, working with a great team, and getting in contact with so many industry professionals has been an unforgettably inspiring journey for all of us at Highlight. Working for a client such as LEGO and being surrounded by so many talented competitors from around Europe has been an experience filled with lots of excitement and creativity. Crafting our campaign has not only left a mark on our memories, but also equipped us with invaluable insights into the advertising industry, developing a deeper understanding of client expectations and the dynamics of the industry itself. We are truly grateful for this opportunity and the lessons learned, which will undoubtedly guide us in our future plans!” commented the Highlight team.
The Palm Creative Agency Team from University Panthéon-Assas-Paris with their strong understanding of the LEGO spirit and sound marketing strategy placed second and the third place was split between team Foil’, from ESP Bordeaux, recognised for the strong research backing/underpinning their campaign, and the Foreseers Team from New Bulgarian University for their creative proposal.
In the last stage of the competition, the finalist teams’ work was seen by jurors representing the client, industry, and academia. LEGO was represented by Heidi Rathschau Nielsen, Senior Art Director, Concept and Campaign Development; Charlotte Rubesa, Global Communications Strategist and Tobias Prag, Global Creative Specialist. Agency representatives included Joanne Booth, Group Strategy Director at TBWA Neboko and Jordan McDowell, Digital Strategy Director at McCann Manchester. edcom was represented by Gilles Nakhle from Sup de Pub; Cliff Van Wyk from Bournemouth University and Kirsten van Poppel from Fontys School of Economics. The jury was chaired by Leonard Savage, Chief Creative Officer at McCann Prague. Check the jury profiles.
The organisers, edcom and the European Association of Communications Agencies would like to thank all the student teams, The LEGO Group for a fantastic brief and the jurors who took part in this year’s competition.
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For more information, please contact Kasia Gluszak, Project Manager at kasia.gluszak@eaca.eu.
Notes to Editors
About Ad Venture Student Competition
Organised by European Institute for Commercial Communications Education (edcom) and The European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA), Ad Venture is the first Pan-European competition which 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.