Wolf Bkk Thailand and MullenLowe TREYNA Philippines take home Grand Prix of the Year awards at the MAD STARS 2025 Festival
Wolf BKK Thailand and MullenLowe TREYNA Philippines were the two big stars of the night at the 2025 MAD STARS festival awards night. The awards were handed out at the presentation night moments ago in the city of Busan, South Korea.
Wolf BKK won the Grand Prix of the Year in the Product and Service categories and MullenLowe TREYNA collected their Grand Prix of the Year in the Public Service categories. Wolf BKK won for “Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl” across the Product and Service categories and Scoliosis Philippines #StripesFitCheck took out the Grand Prix of the Year for Public Service.
Six other Grand Prix awards were handed out with VML Manila winning two for their “KitKat Break Bar” concept. Single Grand Prix awards went to BBDO Bangkok (The Meaning of Benz), Innocean Korea (Night Fishing), POP5 (Plot Farming) Bangladesh and Cheil Spain (Impulse).
The night also saw 24 Gold awards presented and had four SPECIAL AWARDS:
• Network of the Year: CHEIL
• Agency of the Year: DENTSU INC.
• Production Company of the Year: SOMOS5
• Advertiser of the Year: SAMSUNG
Innocean’s Night Fishing film for Hyundai won Gold in both Film Stars and Branded Entertainment.
WOLF BKK earned Gold for both Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl and This is NOT KFC work, highlighting their signature humour.
Dentsu Inc Tokyo took home three Golds for Interface of Humanity powered by NTT, No Labels, and Balloon Your Hope.
TBWA\Hakuhodo’s Smart Eye Camera won Gold in Innovation Star and SDGs Star.
Cheil Spain’s IMPULSE and The Art of Hack earned Golds in Mobile, Data Insight and Commerce Stars.
Droga5 New York, part of Accenture Song, won Gold in Direct, Mobile, and Interactive Stars for Obstructed Brews, a campaign that resonated across platforms and formats.
Other Gold winners included:
GIGIL Philippines “Steal”
Cheil Hong Kong “Safe Sketch”
BBDO China “The Harbin Back Rack Hack”
VML Thailand “Flooded Room”
Leo Korea “Loconomy Burgers”
VML Manila “Kit Kat Break Bar”
POP5 Bangladesh “Plot Farming”
GFORCE GREY “Saltanat Light” and “Mountennis”
DOWNLOAD THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS HERE
Executive Jury, Outdoor, PR, Brand Experience & Activation, Media, Place Brand, Commerce, Tawana Murphy Burnett, Head of Top Accounts & Agencies at Meta, said: “Product & Service (Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl): This idea really showcased originality and great storytelling in the unique cultural context of Thailand. At the same time, the relationship between the two main characters was totally relatable, as noted by the engagement and laughter of the jurors in the room.
“PSA (Scoliosis #StripesFitCheck): It was interesting to see how much this idea resonated with the larger jurors. The simplicity of the campaign and its impact in raising awareness for scoliosis in the Philippines were clearly effective. In the era of AI and many more submissions this year leveraging AI, this low-tech solution to a real problem broke through.
“In addition to the two Grands Prix, four Special Awards were presented to those who accumulated the most points from Finalist to Grand Prix of the Year.”
Executive Jury, Film, Diverse Insights, Branded Entertainment, Game, Music, Sports, PIVOT (Special Category), Alex Abrantes, Chief Creative Officer, North America at Iris Worldwide, said: “Product & Service (Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl): Such a pertinent insight brought to life in a smart, funny, and entertaining way. It was an overwhelming decision to give KFC the Grand Prix of the Year in Product & Service.
“Public Service Advertising (Scoliosis #StripesFitCheck): A very simple, yet powerful idea brought to life in a super smart way. Scoliosis Stripes shows the impact that ideas can have in our lives.”
Executive Jury, Print, Radio & Audio, Design, Direct, Strategy, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), Ashish Chakravarty, Executive Director & India Head of Creative at McCANN, said: “Product & Service (Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl): “The jury picked the Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl film for Grand Prix, because it shows that even in this era of AI and tech solutions, nothing brings the house down like a great story, told with aplomb. Superbly entertaining, it is a masterclass in almost every department of advertising and filmmaking. An absurdly funny script yet rooted in culture, with a strong insight, and built around a simple product truth. This, combined with spot-on direction, music, casting and performances, made it a truly standout piece – the kind people remember long after the laughter has died down.
“Public Service Advertising (Scoliosis #StripesFitCheck): “The jury picked the Scoliosis Stripes fit check campaign for Grand Prix unanimously, because of its sheer simplicity, freshness, and impact. By turning something as ordinary as a striped T-shirt into a diagnostic tool for early detection of Scoliosis, the campaign transforms everyday fashion into a public health intervention. It was impeccably crafted, scalable, and sparked a ton of conversation among the young. But most importantly, it gave people with undetected Scoliosis a chance to lead normal lives.”
Executive Jury, Interactive, Mobile, Data Insight, Social & Influencer, Integrated, Innovation, Alejandro Di Trolio, European Creative Chairman, Cheil, added: “Product & Service (Uncle KFC’s Rice Bowl): Uncle KFC demonstrates that humour remains a great space to connect with audiences through clever global-local insights.
“PSA (Scoliosis #StripesFitCheck): Powerful activation that shows the industry that a good idea doesn’t need big budgets to become viral and meaningful. We need more ideas, such as this one, that are simple and scalable, in an age dominated by AI.”
