As a community that is bringing countries together and building bridges, it is very sad and heartbreaking for us to see what people from Ukraine have been going through in the past months.

For this reason, ADCE decides to keep on supporting Ukraine during these difficult times. On account of this, for the 2022 ADCE Awards Edition, there are several decisions we have taken to support and encourage our fellow Ukrainian creative community.

The violence, disruption and viciousness that is taking over during these hard times, will not shadow the enormity of the brotherly European creative community we are trying to build day by day.

We believe that in moments like this, it is important to stay more united than ever; and what better than doing it through something so powerful as creativity?

Because of this, we gave the chance to the Art Directors Club of Ukraine to propose three talented Ukrainian Agencies to do a pitch and take over the 31st Edition of the ADCE Awards campaign. We consider this way we can support and give voice to the Ukrainian creative community, making them gain the recognition they deserve.

The agencies presented by ADC Ukraine were the following: Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and 22 Buro.

The choice was not easy to make, but after evaluating all the great proposals, Leo Burnett, ended up signing this year’s Awards campaign, under a concept that positively speaks up for the context we are living in right now and that at the same time, captures and represents the feeling of brotherhood, fellowship and unity that ADCE tries to embody.

¨Big Ideas Unite Europe¨; a campaign that understands what ADCE stands for at its core, and that illustrates the European creative community as a whole:

¨Art & Culture is often a reflection of social movements and events in the world, in human society. The Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and economic challenges suggest that it is easier to overcome these trials together. The ADCE Awards is a European event that not only supports and develops the creative industry but also provides synergy when the best ideas and the best talents can give more to Europe and the world. This is a high moral motivation for the creators of many countries¨

This is how Leo Burnett chose to mirror this year´s mournful events, turning them into a powerful campaign that believes creativity has the power to bring people and even whole countries together.

Last but not least, the Ukrainian creative community has already been taking matters into their own hands. It could be said that the 2022 Kyiv International Advertising Festival represented the word ¨UNITY¨ in all of its forms and as a community that exemplifies integrity, we believe that shedding light on events like this, is key.

Participation this year did not stand for competing and winning, but on the contrary, it meant sticking together for a bigger cause; supporting Ukraine’s creative industry.

Due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine, this Edition of the KIAF contest program has been reduced only to the ¨Positive Change categories¨, awarding works that support socially significant communications with the purpose of giving worldwide recognition to Ukrainian agencies, and with this, to create a fund to support them during these hard times.

¨Positive Change- #StandWithUkraine¨, ¨Positive Change- commercial¨ and ¨Positive Change- non profit¨, were the three categories that conformed this 2022 Festival, especially created for international creatives to demonstrate and support not only the current situation of war in Ukraine, but also to repel all crimes against humanity.

All the national creatives that won in this year’s KIAF Festival, are the ones that can submit their works to the 2022 ADCE Awards. Because of this, as an organization that believes in a collaborative European creative community, we thought that regarding the situation, it is a fair and supportive action to make this year’s Awards Ukrainian Entries free of cost.

Because through the power of unity,
We can overcome complex situations.
And because if they set the example,
The rest;
We can follow.