from spark to fireworks

Spark. Fire. Energy. Fireworks. Resistance. Emotion. Experience.
Ad Black Sea Festival 2025 was exactly what makes the creative industry love it so much - a place where energy and meaning transform into something bigger.

 

This was my first year at the festival - both personally and for minds&marketing. That meant one goal: to observe, to listen, to absorb everything, and to share not just what happened with those who couldn’t be there, but also to offer our perspective to those who stood with us during those three charged days.

 

In this editorial, we’re summing up Ad Black Sea Festival 2025 - its concept, the brands, the voices from the stage, and of course, the winners who defined this year. Let’s dive in.

concept – just a name or a real manifesto?

Organizing a creative festival against the backdrop of current events in the country isn’t just a challenge - it’s also a responsibility, and in many ways, a risk. Ad Black Sea didn’t shy away from that. On the contrary, this year’s concept was built around the very idea of resistance.

 

As we previewed in our earlier piece, the theme - “FireWorks in Creative Resistance” - was more than a slogan. Fireworks stood as a symbol of defiance; sparks as the essence of creativity; fire as the energy of process and transformation.

 

Importantly, the concept carried a double meaning. Read as “Fire Works,” it became a versatile narrative that many brands creatively embraced in their activations, extending it in their own directions.

 

The theme wasn’t confined to banners. It was present in speeches, in panels, in the festival’s pulse. Especially powerful was Ad Black Sea President Vato Kavtaradze’s opening, where he declared:

 

“In a consumer-driven world, it’s too easy to compromise moral values — especially for the creative industry. This is a war for values. And it’s up to us to decide which side we stand on.”

 

The festival made it clear: creativity isn’t just about selling. It’s about standing for something.

ideas & inspiration from the Stage

Across three days, we shared speaker insights live on our channels. But here, we want to highlight not just what was said, but what it made us think about.

 

• Lewis Blackwell (CEO, Lürzer’s Archive, UK) reminded us that advertising must aim beyond sales - it should create positive impact and build real relationships. For Georgian brands still stuck in short-term, one-off campaigns, this was a clear challenge: think long-term, think deeper.
• Ricardo Wolff & Gabriel Mattar (Innocean Berlin) showed us the power of humor. “Movement inspires ideas; humor is the best way to expose people in power.” A truth our own ad history proves - we remember the witty ones most.
• Rebecca Rowntree (Founder, Get Sht Done!*, UK) gave us the line that stuck: “Turn fear, anger, anxiety, depression into fuel.” She reminded us that people may forget what you did, but never how you made them feel.
• Hugo Veiga (Creative Entrepreneur, Portugal) built his talk around life lessons - ending in a festival-wide dance to Freed from Desire. Beyond the energy, his words resonated: “Freedom fuels the creative fire. Fear freezes you.”
• Tim Leake (Founder, Letslightbulb.) spoke about the facilitator’s role in creativity — guiding teams to clarity, ensuring every voice is heard, and every idea valued.
• Samar Maakaroun (Partner, Pentagram, UK/Lebanon) showed how typography, meaning, and animation collide to create multicultural design that speaks across borders.
• Fernando Machado (Operating Partner, Garnett Station Partners, USA/Brazil), also Jury President, shared his Burger King story, reminding us: greatness is impossible without risk. Fear will always be there. Do it anyway.

If there was one unifying thread across all talks, it was this: overcoming fear is the fuel of creativity.

 

a first for Ad Black Sea – creators stage

This year, the festival wasn’t just about the main stage. Creators Stage took over the Monohall every afternoon, bringing voices from the new generation of content makers and their brand partners.

 

Highlights included:

 

• Day 1: Content creators Eleniko Rukhadze (Foxy Eleniko), Ioane Romanadze (Ioanne), and Natia Mezurishvili (Saintnacka) discussed using influence for positive change during crisis, moderated by Natia Gwazava (NatiaTalks).
• New releases: Mindia Arabuli’s graphic novel “Saukuno Ukuni” (“Everlasting Darkness”) and Shota Chinchaladze’s “Chamokalibdit” (Get It Together)”, a strategic guide for entrepreneurs.
• Day 2: Setanta Sports broke down TikTok success into three essentials: speed, authenticity, and engaging in comments as much as in posts - plus they gifted attendees branded mini-mics to spark video creation.
• Saba Bakhia & Nino Imerlishvili inspired with their stories. Saba’s core message: “Believe in your dreams, but know that responsibility and courage are the price of making them real.”

The Creators Stage proved its value: more than fun, it was a hub for today’s most pressing conversations in the creative industry.

 

what did the brands tell us?

One of our goals at minds&marketing is to observe how brands show up at events - who truly communicates, and who is just present. This year, several activations stood out:

 

• TBC created immersive engagement zones both at Sheraton and Monohall, with interactive walls asking “What works for you?” under themes like Art, Strategy, Storytelling, Youth, and more.
• MINI nailed the festival theme with a storytelling activation about sparks - gifting each attendee flint stones and a shared number, encouraging real-life connections that literally created sparks when matched.
• PSP x Mizon drew one of the longest lines of the festival with their prize wheel, QR quizzes, and branded photo booth.
• Bakuriani reminded us that “Hydration Works”, keeping attendees refreshed with water, photos, and giveaways.
• Setanta Sports brought a live-commentator booth where guests could voice over sports clips - a hit in both fun and brand fit.
• SmartSoft kept crowds around its shuffleboard table, but what stuck most was their practical branded flask that popped up in everyone’s hands.

And for us? As first-timers at Ad Black Sea, we wanted to introduce minds&marketing while asking a central question: What’s the biggest challenge marketing faces today?
The answers? Creativity, funding, research, expertise, risk-taking, professionalism. The question remains open — and we’ll keep exploring it.

 

who won?

The closing ceremony was more emotional than expected - and the results spoke volumes.

 

The undeniable triumph was “Birds Never Forget to Fly” - winning 12 nominations, 8 golds, 4 silvers, 2 bronzes, and the Grand Prix.

 

It wasn’t just a campaign. It was a story, almost a short film, mirroring today’s reality without slogans or loud calls. Its phrase spread across the country - “Birds never forget to fly” - becoming both message and memory.

 

This year, ideas won. Strong messages won. Belief won. Resistance won.

 

A few months ago, when we reviewed the May 26 campaigns, we wrote about it: “It’s hard to call it a commercial. It’s a film, a short film. No slogans, no appeals - just a story. PSP and Playmakers’ video hits right at the center, right in the heart, reflecting today’s events with raw clarity, showing the main characters, the main pain, the main story.”

 

And the story didn’t stay on screen. It spread across the country. The phrase “Birds never forget to fly” appeared everywhere, again and again. There was no way such scale, such emotional impact, could go unrecognized.

 

This year, Okmela won. Andro won. And everyone who believes that “Birds never forget to fly” won.

 

And at the end of the festival, we all returned to our own work - carrying the hope that next year, a very different story will be the one that matters most.

Closing Words

Ad Black Sea 2025 reminded us why creativity matters - not as decoration, but as defiance, survival, and progress.

 

A massive thank you to the Ad Black Sea team, partners, and sponsors who continue to push the creative industry forward, both locally and globally.

 

From spark to fireworks - here’s to next year’s light.

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