The competition is organised by Edcom and the European Association of Communications Agencies, with entries from students across Europe.
This year, the student teams were tasked with creating a communications campaign to launch a beer in three European markets, make it exciting and relevant for consumers, and build the credentials of the brand.
Out of 62 teams, ten were selected to progress to the second round of judging – including the two BU teams.
The BU students shortlisted for the final are:
Team Sparkior: Chloe Hague, Abie Kandeh, Amy Matthews, Axel Ritter-Bonnett
Team Kuckoo: Ben Aspinall, Jack Donaldson, Francesca Smith
The client brief from the competition was integrated as part of the coursework assessment for their final year unit Campaign Planning for Advertising, led by Dr Tauheed Ramjaun and Stuart Armon.
Jack Donaldson, from Team Kuckoo, said: ‘Being announced as a finalist within Ad Venture is beyond exciting. Competing against 62 entries from Europe, to then earning a spot within the top 10 is an achievement not to be disregarded. Crafting this proposal was at times more challenging than we’d ever imagined but despite this, it’s incredibly rewarding to see our hard-work and determination pay off. It’s an honour to have been a part of this opportunity and we can only remain optimistic in hoping to win the competition.”
Ben Aspinall, also from Team Kuckoo, added: ‘It’s certainly an experience to be proud of. Imagining ourselves in this position when we initially began the proposal wasn’t at all what I’d have expected. Evidently, our resilience and commitment has flourished within the proposal which we are now excited to bring before the judges.”
On behalf of Team Sparkior, Chloe Hague said: "On the BU advertising course, we have been given some brilliant briefs to work on but working on the edcom Ad Venture brief stands out as it has really allowed us to bring together everything we've learnt so far as it is so current and trend focused.
"The encouragement to take risks has enabled us to explore our own ideas uniquely, inspiring creativity in a way which can be expected in a real agency pitch.
"The Ad Venture competition is a very exciting prospect that we are delighted to be a part of! This is a such great opportunity for students, one that we are very grateful for!"
The finalists now have just over two weeks to create a video presentation of their campaign and prepare to answer questions from the competition jury during an online session on 4 May.
The winners will be announced on 5 May and will be awarded tickets to the Cannes Lions Festival.
