The 2025 edition of the Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) Best of European Design and Advertising Awards has officially opened the call for entries.

The competition hosts all the award-winning work from across Europe and is the only one of its kind. Only works that have already been recognized at a national level are eligible, ensuring that entries represent the finest local creativity while gaining international visibility and promotion.

The final deadline to submit entries is September 26th, all entries can be submitted in the official Awards Platform.

The jury, composed of top-tier creatives and designers from across Europe, will meet online in October for the first two rounds of judging. The final round will take place in person at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona on November 19th and 20th. 

For the first time in ADCE history, the third and final round will be open to the public as part of the new ADCE Creative Week format. Attendees will witness the most critical moment of the competition: the selection of the Special Awards and the Grand Prix, the overall winner.

This new creative event format will feature activities designed for the entire creative industry, culminating in two major gala celebrations that ensure winners receive the recognition and visibility they deserve. The Student Awards Gala will take place on November 20th. The ADCE Awards Gala will follow on November 21st.

More information about the ADCE Creative Week will be revealed soon.

New Categories implemented

For the 2025 edition, ADCE has added five new categories to reflect emerging trends in the advertising industry and align more closely with local award structures. This move enables more creatives to compete fairly in their respective disciplines and reflects ADCE’s commitment to evolving with the industry and embracing innovation.

The new categories are:

  • PRINT & OUTDOOR: 2.9 Craft – Art Direction
     Craft of visual direction, with a successful integration of all visual elements.
  • INTERACTIVE & MOBILE: 3.8 Digital Direct Marketing
     Direct social posts, personalized emails, or one-to-one digital campaigns.
  • INTERACTIVE & MOBILE: 3.9 Influencer Marketing
     Collaborations with social media influencers to elevate a brand through their audience and unique style. Executed across one or more platforms.
  • BRAND EXPERIENCE: 5.7 Creative Effectiveness
     Recognizing initiatives that demonstrate significant brand or business impact. Entries must include measurable objectives, insights, strategy, and results.
  • INTEGRATED & INNOVATION: 6.7 Artificial Intelligence
     Work that uses AI to explore new techniques, applications, or creative processes and pushes the boundaries of innovation.

All categories and further information are available on the official awards platform here.

Fee System

ADCE is a non-profit organization, and uses revenue generated from awards entries to invest into its educational and professional development initiatives. 

To simplify the process and promote fairness, a flat entry fee will be implemented for all locally awarded works — regardless of whether they received Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Shortlist. This change streamlines the submission process and ensures equal opportunity for all participants.

Once again, freelancers will benefit from a 30% reduced fee to support independent professionals. Additionally, Ukrainian entries will receive a 50% discount to support the local creative industry during these challenging times.

Winners from ADCE member countries also benefit from a reduced submission fee.

The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings

For the third year in a row, ADCE winners are summing up points to The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings.

Thanks to the merger with The One Club for Creativity, based in New York, ADCE is expanding its reach and promoting European creativity on a global stage. This partnership brings a range of benefits to the ADCE community, including international visibility for all ADCE Awards winners. 

The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings now include all ADCE awardees, making it the industry’s foremost global ranking of agencies, brands, campaigns, and creative professionals.

The rankings are compiled from scores across The One Show, the global ADC Annual Awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, The One Club US Chapter Awards, Type Directors Club (TDC) competitions, and the ADCE Awards.

ABOUT THE ART DIRECTORS CLUB OF EUROPE

The Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE), a non-profit based in Barcelona, unites 24 professional clubs and associations from 23 European countries, including Germany, Italy, the UK, and Ukraine. Founded in 1990, ADCE promotes excellence in graphic design and advertising creativity across Europe, representing over 7,000 professionals and showcasing top local works. Its current president is Alexander Schill, Global Chief Creative Officer of Serviceplan Group.

ADCE is part of The One Club for Creativity based in New York, home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community.  Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organization’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.