The moment we get out of bed, we are flooded by ads, from ads that we pass by without paying much attention to ads that captivate us and make us buy whatever is advertised. There are commercial ads that tell us about the advantages of a product and public ads that highlight the advantages of a particular solution. During economic booms, we are also exposed to ads selling real estate and luxury products, while in the current COVID-19 era, we are seeing new social distancing ads. While not all ads are brilliant or catchy, when I see an ad that catches my attention, I always wonder how someone managed to actually come up with such an idea.

While I am not sure when I started doing it, I began to closely examine advertisements whenever I saw one. From the logo design to the text, the more I examined every little detail of an ad, the more I became curious about it. While doing some research, I came upon the Busan Adstars Competition. This competition is based on redefining advertisements and selecting creative and world-changing ads to receive awards. It was the perfect opportunity for me to use what I had learned and expand my knowledge further by actually creating an ad. For this competition, I formed a team with a few friends and decided to create an ad that could benefit society. While I did not expect any accolades from my participation in this competition, I had the honor of becoming a finalist as well as receiving the Crystal Award.

Looking back, the idea behind our advertisement was very novel and well thought out (people always tell me modesty is my best characteristic). From the logo design to the concept and media creation for the ad, my team and I created not just an ad but a piece of art.

This was our concept: Since last year, Korea has seen a strengthening of School Zone laws. While this has brought the issue to the fore, just the mere existence of such laws did not decrease the number of accidents occurring in school zones. So instead of just laws, my team and I thought that advertisements could be helpful if they were powerful enough. Our idea was to put up a large billboard in a school zone and attach many used smartphones with GPS functions directly on the billboard. This was to intentionally target the AI-based technology that allows applications to search for the optimal routes based on traffic conditions. By simultaneously turning on the GPS on all of the smartphones when the school zone is active, the server will assume that there is a traffic jam and reroute drivers to go around the school zone.

While I am still dumbfounded that our ad was selected as a finalist, I believe that our idea must have given the judges a good impression because it was a mix of public advertisement and modern technology. From this experience, I have found my passion for the future. As advertisements adapt to the changing world, I want to be there to help ads follow these changes. By studying advertisement, I believe that one day I can become an advertiser that works to make the world a better place.

Claire Seoyeon Kim
Grade 11
Seoul International School