MADDYS 2025 introduces global format, expanded categories and new jury chairs

New Delhi: The Advertising Club Madras has announced the 43rd edition of MADDYS, one of India’s long-running advertising awards. This year’s edition introduces several changes, including international participation, an expanded set of categories, and updated judging processes aligned with industry practices.

MADDYS 2025 will feature six major category streams: Creative MADDYS, Design & Print Craft MADDYS, Film & Audio Craft MADDYS, Digital MADDYS, Media MADDYS, and a dedicated stream for regional work – Regional Pride (Tamil) MADDYS. Altogether, 155 categories will be evaluated through a two-stage process involving independent scoring and jury deliberation.

The awards introduce a new theme, ‘AI vs AI, Awesome Ideas vs Awesome Ideas’, with the focus on recognising creative and strategic excellence in a fast-changing, AI-influenced media environment.

This year’s edition follows a record turnout in 2024, which saw 1,015 entries from over 116 agencies and clients across 10+ states, with 700 attendees at the gala event.

New to 2025 is the introduction of Grand Prix awards and structured judging led by an independent Jury Convenor and Process Auditor, Gokul Krishnamoorthy. Judging will take place over two rounds, with entries scored on strategy and insights, originality and creativity, and execution and impact (excluding campaign results).

Jury Chairs for MADDYS 2025 include:

• Creative MADDYS: Karthi Marshan, Business Advisor and former Kotak CMO, and Senthil Kumar, CCO, VML India
  
  

• Media MADDYS: Ajay Gupte, CEO – South Asia, Wavemaker
  
  

• Digital MADDYS: Dr Apurva Chamaria, Global Head – VC & Startup Partnerships, Google
  
  

• Film & Audio Craft MADDYS: Gayatri and Pushkar, screenwriters and filmmakers
  
  

• Design & Print Craft MADDYS: Santosh Padhi, Founder, Into Creative
  
  

• Regional Pride (Tamil) MADDYS: Chocka, Co-founder, OPN Advertising
  
  

Points from awards will contribute to determining Agency and Client of the Year titles across the six groups. New individual recognitions, such as Art Director and Copywriter of the Year, will be introduced within the Design & Print Craft MADDYS stream.

Speaking on the evolution of the awards, Balasubramanian S, President, Advertising Club Madras, said, “Over the past two years, the Advertising Club Madras has stayed relentlessly active, thanks to the unwavering efforts of our Executive Committee. Every milestone we’ve achieved, every successful initiative we’ve run, has been a result of true team spirit, mutual trust, and a shared vision to elevate the club’s presence and impact.”

Surej Salim, Secretary, Advertising Club Madras, added, “MADDYS 2025 marks a reinvigorated chapter in our journey, with six distinct category streams and a refreshed format aligned with global industry best practices. This evolution stems from the Executive Committee’s unwavering commitment to continuous improvement and relevance in today’s dynamic advertising landscape. We’ve put in place robust processes to ensure fairness, transparency, and excellence. What excites us most is the inclusion of domain-specific Jury Chairs and Jurors, stalwarts who will bring deep expertise to every evaluation. Whether you're a boutique agency or a national powerhouse, your work will be judged by the very best in the country. Entries are now open; we can’t wait to see your finest work take centre stage.”