AC Japan Announces Winners of the 16th "Advertising Student Award"

AC Japan announced the winning entries for the 16th AC Japan Advertising Student Awards on March 16. (Supported by: BS Nippon, BS Asahi, BS-TBS, BS TV Tokyo, BS Fuji, WOWOW, BS11, BS12 TWELVE, The Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi Shimbun, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Nikkei, The Sankei Shimbun)

This award solicits and honors advertising works themed around public service announcements (PSAs) from students, aiming to foster understanding of PSAs and a sense of civic responsibility. It features a "TV Commercial Division" and a "Newspaper Advertisement Division." This year, the CM category received entries from 36 participating schools (29 schools last year) and 283 works (201 works last year). The Newspaper category received entries from 29 participating schools (23 schools last year) and 497 works (451 works last year).

Judging focused on criteria such as "whether the work excels as public service advertising, sparking interest and awareness among people" and "whether it demonstrates the unique sensibilities of students and features original, creative ideas and themes." As a result, in the TV Commercial category, "From Now Until Then" (Nagaoka University of Design, Lead Creator: Fuka Matsuoka), which depicts the journey of growing up and the theme of elections, won the Grand Prix. In the Commercial Division, "Protecting Smiles" (Musashino Art University, Lead Creator: Risa Sudo), promoting breast cancer screening, won the Runner-up Grand Prix and the BS Commercial Broadcasters Award.
Other awards in both categories included the Jury Special Award, Excellence Award, and Encouragement Award.

《Jury Comments》 The expression conveys hope, making the theme of voting feel personal. It also carries the message that 18-year-olds have their own unique history. The animation effectively connects to the message.

《Jury Comments》Emotional expression with strong copy that leaves a lasting impression. The narration is concise, simple, and easy to understand, with excellent direction building toward the finale.

In the Newspaper category, similar to the Commercial category, "After Tapi, Vote." (Sagami Women's University, Creator: Kari Sakagami), themed around the voting age of 18, won the Grand Prix. "The Person Called Mother" (Tohoku University of Art and Design, Creator: Rina Sakurai), which uses a mother's work as its subject and addresses gender-based division of labor, won the Runner-up Grand Prix.

《Jury Comments》 The relaxed expression conveys the message clearly and is easy to understand. A lighter tone might resonate more with young people. If published in a newspaper, it would be impactful.

《Jury Comments》A quintessentially AC-style ad with effective satire. The design is excellent and makes you reconsider what "mother" means.

Additionally, Special Jury Awards, Excellence Awards, and Encouragement Awards were decided in both categories.
Two 30-second TV commercials will air on eight BS commercial stations, while two newspaper ads
(15 columns total) will be broadcast and published in five national newspapers over the course of one year starting in July.
Official site: https://www.ad-c.or.jp/