The 23rd Shanghai International University Advertising Festival (hereinafter referred to as the Festival), co-built with the participation of Asia Design Week, will open at Shendi Cultural Center from 13:30 to 15:00 on the afternoon of July 12. The Organizing Committee of Asia Design Week will also send representatives to attend the opening ceremony.

The Festival is guided by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Communist Youth League Shanghai Municipal Committee, the People’s Government of Pudong New Area, the Administrative Committee of Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone, and the China Advertising Association. It is organized by the Shanghai Advertising Association, Shanghai University, and the Organizing Committee of Shanghai International University Advertising Festival. Xiamen University and Hong Kong Baptist University serve as Guest Institutions. Co-builders and supporters include the International Advertising Association (IAA), Asia Design Week, the Shanghai World Cities Day Coordination Center, the Organizing Committee of the World Advertising Congress China Brand Gala, TEDx Earth Art Project China, City University of Hong Kong, Macau University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Tongji University, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai Normal University, and the Shanghai Employment Promotion Center. The Festival is exclusively hosted by China Enterprise Wonder (Shanghai) Enterprise Development Co., Ltd.

The Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Shanghai’s Digital Advertising Industry, issued in 2021, clearly set the goal of building Shanghai into an “International Digital Advertising Capital” and included the Shanghai International University Advertising Festival in Shanghai’s advertising industry development plan. Shanghai is continuously exploring and striving to build an “International Digital Advertising Capital”. At present, Shanghai’s advertising industry has entered the digital era, with continuously released industrial vitality and steadily improved industrial level.

This year’s Festival will focus on richer content and diverse forms, covering six major sections: Competition, Fair, Conference, Exhibition, Tour and Lecture. To continue its extensive participation and establish a closely interactive cooperation circle of domestic and foreign universities, on the basis of existing participating universities, 20 key domestic universities and 10 key international, Hong Kong and Macao universities will be mobilized to participate. Xiamen University and Hong Kong Baptist University are confirmed as Guest Institutions.

The organizing committee has set up three tracks: public welfare, brand and city. The entry categories include four types: Graphic (print advertising, product and packaging, IP and creative derivatives), Video (film advertising, micro-film advertising, short video), Proposal and Animation. Students will be provided with cash awards, employment awards, entrepreneurship awards, as well as a series of opportunities for training, study abroad, further education and practice. Ten enterprises in Pudong New Area will be awarded and join the “Shanghai International University Advertising Festival Internship Base Alliance”. This year, the jury panel composed of industry celebrities, academic experts, brand mentors, public judges and international judges is unprecedentedly strong, which will select high-quality works for the industry and audience, and give play to the Festival’s leading role in the cultural and creative industry.

Mr. Mo Kangsun, Founder and CEO of Shanghai Ma Ma Ye Cultural Communication, serves as Honorary Chairman of the Jury. Sun Erhei, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Havas Creative Group China, and Secretary-General of the 17th, 18th and 19th 4A Directors, serves as Chairman of the Jury. Cheng Ruifang, Curator of TED Earth Art Project China, TEDxHuangpu and mentor of CEIBS, serves as Co-Chairman of the Jury. Li Yin, strategic consulting and brand marketing expert, the first mainland Chinese creative director in an international 4A company, Brand Management Director of Shanghai World Expo, former China Head of Italy-China Chamber of Commerce and Jury Chairman of Golden Camelbell Award, serves as Coordinator of International Judges.

To expand the communication effect of award-winning works, the organizing committee will set up a permanent Festival exhibition hall to display advertising works of previous contestants and creative products related to the theme. Award-winning works will be exhibited at major international events such as the World Expo, World Advertising Congress, World Cities Day and CIIE. Combined with an online self-media matrix including official website, WeChat, Weibo, Douyin and video accounts, the online-offline interaction will bring more youthful creativity to the public and the world.

The opening ceremony will unveil the themes of this year’s Festival. The public welfare theme will be released by the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Communist Youth League Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai World Cities Day Coordination Center. Brand themes will be released by Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts Zone, China UnionPay, Postal Savings Bank of China and other enterprises. Meanwhile, a series of signing and awarding ceremonies will be held at the opening ceremony, including the signing of co-builders, the signing of supporting students and works of the Festival to empower major international events, the signing of the first Guest Institutions, the signing of the Shanghai-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Digital Advertising Talent Exchange and Cooperation Platform, and the awarding of the Shanghai International University Advertising Festival Internship and Employment Alliance. In addition, the Shanghai Employment Promotion Center will provide employment and entrepreneurship policy support for this year’s Festival.

It is worth mentioning that Tesla Optimus humanoid robot, which shined at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, will also appear at the opening ceremony. Tesla expects more than 1,000 Optimus units to help humans complete production tasks starting next year. Tesla Cybertruck will also participate in the follow-up activities of the Festival, helping global college students ignite creativity and carrying out more interactions in creative creation, visits and exchanges, engineer lectures, internship and employment.

From July this year to the end of the year, the Festival will also hold a series of activities including domestic and international campus tours, master lectures and expert workshops. The final and a 3-day 2-night closing carnival will be held at the end of December, including professional forums, workshops, enterprise visits and Shanghai urban cultural experience activities, presenting an immersive cultural feast for young students and industry professionals.