Categories/Rules
The MADC Creative Showcase has been designed to unearth the most progressive work across a concise range of categories, and may be entered by all companies in the creative industry, including agencies, consultancies, production companies, post-production companies, studios and sound houses. The result will be a curated showcase of Melbourne greatness.
However many submissions, work will only feature in the one category judges deem most fitting. Charity work will be judged and presented separately from pieces produced for commercial clients. The idea must originate from a Melbourne agency, however the exception is in the craft category where the work being judged needs to have been created by a Melbourne-based craftsperson or company.
Submission Guide
Download the 2025 Submission Guide
COST OF ENTRY
Just $95 per entry, per category. In the spirit of the low entry fee, winners are welcome to order a trophy at additional cost (as opposed to a trophy cost being bundled into the cost of every entry fee).
Late entries create more workload – more entries need to be checked and validated in a shorter period of time. And we are volunteers, after all. As such, these will be charged at $150 per entry.
Note: Integrated campaigns should be entered into the category corresponding to the lead medium used. Charity clients will be declared in the entry system and charity work will be grouped in the showcase.
CATEGORIES
FILM
The film category celebrates the creativity of the moving image. Entries must demonstrate brilliant storytelling intended for screens. That is, content created for TV, cinema, online and out-of-home. Judges will be particularly looking for films that have evidence of human insight creating an emotional connection and delivering memorable, share-worthy experiences, with the impact of the film's craft taken into consideration. This category may be awarded for idea, execution or a combination of both.
CRAFT
At the core of any great film or audio execution is its craft, and entries in this category will be judged on how craftsmanship elevates the piece of work. This category must be entered and executed by the Melbourne-based craftsperson or company, and agencies can only enter if they created the craft element themselves. Each entry needs to nominate the craft(s) you would like judged. Please tick the relevant boxes.
You may nominate as many individual elements as you like, (Reminder, The craft person/company must be Melbourne based). Choose from sound, music, editing, vfx/post production, animation, direction, casting or cinematography. You have 200 words to tell the judges why you think the work should be awarded. This category will only judge film or audio craft.
AUDIO
Judges will listen for brilliantly executed ideas across campaigns, single executions or a new use of audio. These include ideas which demonstrate creative excellence in writing, innovative use of the medium, and skillful craft in scriptwriting, performance, music or sound design. The work must have been paid for by clients and either broadcast on commercial radio or made available via publicly accessible websites, such as podcast, music streaming platforms or experiential audio environments.
DIGITAL & SOCIAL
The connected age demands immersive work that transcends traditional channels. This category honours outstanding ideas and executions for digital and social that push the boundaries across websites, social media, mobile apps, digital advertising campaigns, mobile campaigns, influencer-led, digital audio and games. Judges will also look for innovative work that gives new life to old or seemingly traditional technology or platforms. Work can be celebrated for its digital or social execution, or a combination of both.
Note: Films entered in the Film category can not be entered into this category.
DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY CRAFT
The Design & Photography Craft category is a celebration of the visual craftsmanship for which Melbourne is renowned. Entries will need to demonstrate how design or photography has been used to define a brand or communicate its key messages across a printed or digital medium, including but not limited to brand identity, communication design, catalogues, UX design, industrial design, spatial design, brand environment design, packaging, illustration, photography and typography. Judges will also be searching for examples of design or photography craft that have clearly furthered an advertising idea or are considered to be best in class craftsmanship.
This category must be entered and executed by the Melbourne-based craftsperson or company, and agencies can only enter if they created the craft element themselves.
PRINT & OUTDOOR
Here we recognise the best creative work experienced in print and out-of-home. That is, work that leverages the printed medium or outdoor media to telegraph a message in a compelling way or immerse consumers in a brand experience. Entries should not only be highly engaging and well executed, they must demonstrate how the format was relevant to the idea.
BRAND EXPERIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Brand Experience & Technology celebrates the groundbreaking and inventive ways that we encourage customers to interact with our clients’ brands. Also encompassing promotions, activations and PR, entries will highlight the ways they elevated the brand through tangible and intangible experiences, new products, beautifully orchestrated user journeys or carefully optimised touch points. Winning work may touch on retail, activation, new technology, promotions, PR or digital mediums – but will demonstrate their ability to create a meaningful impact, change perception, or shift behaviour.
MOST PERSISTENT TEAM (FREE TO ENTER)NEW
In five hundred words or more (or less, TBH) tell us all the trials and tribulations you went through to get a piece of work up, or made, that you have entered into the showcase. Some work takes years to sell, or to become possible to make, whatever your hurdles, now is your chance to inspire future generations with what it took! Or, this is just a safe space to have a winge. Either way, we’d love to hear the stories, and if you could, keep it safe enough for us use the facts (or the words) on our socials. Everyone on the credits will receive this shared award. It takes a village, as they say. So, prove to all that persistence pays, tell us what it took to make great work.
EMERGING CREATIVE OF THE YEAR
Open to advertising and design practitioners who have been employed professionally in the industry no earlier than January 1st, 2020, but are already writing (art directing, film directing, editing, vfx-ing, sound mixing, designing or photographing, etc) themselves into advertising history. They may have developed an outstanding and widely recognised campaign or demonstrated work that is confronting, thought-provoking or, in the minds of the judges, simply stands out from the fray. Entrants are not limited to advertising agency creatives and are open to the entire industry. Submissions must include three pieces of published work from the past three years, along with a 200 word submission on why you are an MADC Emerging Creative Of The Year. One piece of ‘passion work’ (personal or unpublished work) may also be submitted. You must include the commencement date of your professional employment in the industry. You must upload your submission as a Keynote in the following format: Photo & Biography (1 page), Idea 1 (1-2 pages), Idea 2 (1-2 Pages), Idea 3 or ‘Passion piece’ (1-2 Pages). Any videos must be embedded into the Keynote file.
The following winners will be selected at the discretion of the judges:
IDEA OF THE YEAR
This represents an idea that is bold in its conception and brilliant in its execution and has resulted in commercial success and/or transformation of a brand. Judges will award the single most deserving piece of work that is both useful and entertaining, and has transcended advertising to contribute towards culture.
CHARITY
This recognises a campaign or initiative that is not only outstanding in its area of discipline, but also exhibits civic engagement, making a real and positive difference. Work may promote diversity and equality, humanitarian aid, education, health and wellness.
Note: work elevated into this category must be expressly for a charity and may include paying and pro bono clients, but not a brand or paid government work. Judges will elevate work that has truly changed lives and demonstrated cultural impact. Service work for a paying client counts as a brand, not a charity.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Work must have been conceived by a Melbourne agency (the only exception to this being the ‘Craft’ category where the craftsperson must be domiciled in Melbourne) and published, printed, broadcast or released online between 1st January 2024 and 31st December, 2024.
Work must be submitted in the form it was printed, published or broadcast, with all logos and disclaimers.
Work must not be tweaked or altered for submission purposes, i.e. no ‘Director’s cuts.’
All work must be accompanied by a client letter which explicitly states the first appearance date. A post campaign report from a media agency will also be accepted.
Please use this Word template for your client letter.
Duplicate entries will not be refunded.
KEY DATES
Early bird submissions (extended): 14 April 2025
Late fee entries: 15 April 2025
All Entries close (no further extensions possible): 24 April 2025
MADC Creative Showcase Event and Party: 30 May 2025
Questions?
Contact simon@goodoilfilms.com
