The 2025 Shanghai International Public Service Advertising Competition is calling for global entries from May 20 to Sept 8.

Hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the event features three main categories — Beautiful World, Cultural China, and People's City.

Building upon last year's "Youth Creativity (for participants under the age of 18)" and "Corporate Public Service Communication" categories, this edition introduces two new specialized tracks — "College Student Innovation" and "AI-Generated Creativity".

This year's event once again features a public voting segment, designed to mobilize broader public engagement in philanthropic initiatives. Winners will receive prizes.

Domestic and international advertising entities, educational institutions, media, and individuals passionate about advertising creativity and public service communications are welcome to participate.

 

I. Annual Theme: Tolerance and Diversity Boundless Creativity for Good

II. Timeline:

Submission of Works: May 20 – Sept 8

Evaluation of Works: Sept 9 – Oct 31

III. Entry Fee

No application fee is required.

IV. Submission Requirements

1. All works published or completed between Jan 1, 2023, and the submission deadline are eligible for the competition. Works that have already won awards in the 2024 Shanghai International Public Service Advertising Competition are not allowed to enter the competition again.

2. Participants must register their author information on the official website, provide accurate personal information and contact details, select the competition category, and upload their work according to the system prompts. Multiple submissions of the same work are not allowed.

3. The submitted works must be original works. Participants should confirm that they hold copyright to their work and that the work does not infringe on the rights of others.

4. The intellectual property rights of the submitted works shall belong to the original authors. By submitting their works, participants agree that the competition organizers, holders, or third parties recognized by the organizers have the right to use and publish the works for free for purposes such as publicity, promotion, exhibition, editing, and publishing (including electronic publishing).

5. Adjustment Principle: The competition organizers have the right to directly adjust the category of works that does not match the selected category.

V. Types of Submission

1. Themes

(1) Beautiful World

Authors submitting to this category can explore Chinese civilization's principle of "harmony and coexistence", which encourages a green, low-carbon lifestyle, supports the development of a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly society, advances the formation of a shared destiny for humanity through ecological progress, and fosters a new model of human civilization.

(2) Cultural China

Authors submitting to this category can focus on the preservation and innovation of China's outstanding traditional culture, exploring themes such as ideals and beliefs, etiquette and civility, filial piety and family bonds, tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and significant festivals and solar terms to breathe new life into traditional culture. By integrating the roots of tradition, the blending of diverse cultures, and the rise of cultural awareness, they can highlight the dynamic interplay of cultures and the synergistic effect where the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

(3) People's City

Authors submitting to this category can explore urban development trends across different regions, create innovative representations of city identities, and highlight new perspectives on urban growth. They can depict the complete journey of urban development and cover all facets of urban renewal.

VI. Special Categories

Youth Creativity Category: Open to individuals under 18, this category accepts works in various forms, including but not limited to hand-drawn or digital posters, software design and development projects, and other long or short audiovisual content with a public welfare focus.

College Student Innovation Category: Targeted at students aged 18 and above who are currently enrolled in higher education institutions, this category welcomes submissions such as hand-drawn or digital posters, software design and development projects, and other long or short audiovisual works with a public welfare theme.

Corporate Public Service Communication Category: This category pertains to commercial advertising works created by enterprises that are related to public welfare and demonstrate corporate social responsibility.

AI-Generated Creativity Category: This category includes works that made use of AI technology tools during the creative process. There is no need for separate submission; simply select "Use of AI Technology" when providing work details to ensure inclusion in the relevant review.

VII. Submission Format: The theme categories are divided into three groups based on the format of the works, while the special categories do not distinguish between different formats.

Graphic Design Group: Includes advertisements for print and digital media, poster designs (including animated posters), photographs, comics, paintings, and other graphic works. Individual submissions must not exceed 10 MB, should be in JPG or PNG format, with a resolution of at least 300DPI, and use CMYK or RGB color mode. The work size should be A4, A3 or 1:1, and the language of the work must be Simplified Chinese. Those submitting series of entries are advised to submit four pieces as a set.

Long Audio-Video Category: Works with a duration exceeding 1 minute, including audio, advertisements, short films, microfilms, animations, and more. Video entries must have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (landscape) or 9:16 (portrait), with a minimum resolution of 1280×720 and an MP4 format. The file size must not exceed 1 GB. Entries must include Simplified Chinese subtitles. Audio works should be submitted in MP3 or WMA format.

Short Audio-Video Category: Works with a duration of 1 minute or less, including audio, advertisements, short films, microfilms, animations, etc. Video entries must have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (landscape) or 9:16 (portrait) with a minimum resolution of 1280×720 and an MP4 format. The file size should not exceed 500 MB. Entries must include Simplified Chinese subtitles. Audio works should be submitted in MP3 or WMA format.

V. Steps for Entering the Competition

1. Carefully read the competition handbook: Choose the category you wish to submit to. If you have any questions about the rules, feel free to contact the staff.

2. Select the category for your entry.

3. Gather details on your works: Include the title and a description (up to 500 words) of the works and prepare materials as specified for each category in the competition handbook.

4. Submit your entry: Double-check if all information is accurate before submission.

VI. Awards

1. Themes

Under the three themes of "Beautiful World", "Cultural China", and "People’s City" entries are divided into three groups: Graphic Design, Long Audio-Video, and Short Audio-Video. Each group offers gold, silver, and bronze awards, with 1 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze prizes respectively. The corresponding cash prizes are 30,000 yuan ($4,155.63), 10,000 yuan, and 5,000 yuan. Additionally, there is one Grand Prize for the entire competition, with a cash award of 100,000 yuan. All prize-related taxes are the responsibility of the winners.

* Entries in special categories are not eligible for the Grand Prize.

2. Special Categories

For the Youth Creativity Category, 10 "Walking Towards the Sun" Best Creativity Awards and 10 Outstanding Creativity Awards are offered, with cash prizes of 1,000 yuan and 500 yuan, respectively, along with additional physical prizes.

For the College Student Innovation Category, 10 "Promising Future" Best Creativity Awards and 10 Outstanding Creativity Awards are offered, with cash prizes of 1,000 yuan and 500 yuan, respectively, along with additional physical prizes.

For the Corporate Public Service Communication Category, 20 "Brand for Good" public service communication awards are offered, with two first prizes, six second prizes, and 12 third prizes.

For the AI-Generated Creativity Category, 20 "AI Innovation Awards" are offered, with two first prizes, six second prizes, and 12 third prizes.

Additionally, 10 "Cultivation Awards" (for both organizations and individuals) and 130 outstanding works (uncategorized, selected by score from highest to lowest) will be presented.

VII. Notes

Entries will be disqualified in any of the following cases:

1. The entry involves sensitive topics such as political, religious, or racial allusions that could lead to negative social impact;

2. Deliberate falsification of related distribution or performance data;

3. Unauthorized use of another person's or company's work;

4. The entry contains content that infringes on third-party rights (e.g., intellectual property, copyright, etc.);

5. Other circumstances that do not meet eligibility requirements;

6. The organizing committee reserves the right to pursue further liabilities. If an awarded entry is later found to be ineligible, the organizing committee will announce its disqualification and revoke the award via its official platform.

VIII. Contact Us

Official Website: sipsac.cn

Submission Website: submit.sipsac.cn/Account/Login

Phone: 173-1789-3145, 021-6373-0586

Email: sipsac@sipsac.cn

Address: Room 501A, 5th Floor, No 1143 Xikang Road, Putuo district, Shanghai