Ogilvy Sydney and Milo have been named as the industry partners for the 2025 Advertising Capstone Challenge (ACC), marking the event's 10th anniversary. The ACC aims to bridge the gap between academic learning and professional practice for advertising and marketing students across Australia and New Zealand.

The challenge provides participants with the opportunity to address real business problems presented by MILO, encouraging the development of innovative, creative, and strategic advertising solutions. Finalists will have the chance to present their campaign ideas to a panel of executive judges from Ogilvy Sydney and Milo. The winning team will receive mentorships as part of their prize.

The student briefing for the challenge is scheduled to begin online on Wednesday, August 27, with the pitches set to take place in late October. Since its inception in 2016, the ACC has seen participation from over 1200 students in 240 teams, with more than 40 industry internships offered to winners from 230 Australasian finalists.

Participating universities in this year's challenge include Western Sydney University, Swinburne University of Technology Melbourne, University of the Sunshine Coast Queensland, Auckland University New Zealand, and Curtin University Perth, which joins as a special guest for the 10th anniversary.

Client Lead at Ogilvy Sydney, Damien Pashby, said: "A career in advertising provides an opportunity to shape culture, spark ideas, and make an impact - and it’s also a heap of fun. At Ogilvy, we are absolutely delighted to support the 10th annual Capstone Challenge, along with our wonderful client partners at Milo, as we work together to build the next generation of industry professionals."

Nestlé Head of Marketing for Dairy, Siddharth Kajale, said: "A fast-changing industry requires future thinking so we're stress testing talent to think beyond the current realms of advertising to go outside the box, taking their theorical learnings into practice for a well-loved brand like Milo."

Lecturer at Western Sydney University, John Greig, said: "We’re very excited to be working alongside two very iconic industry brands in Ogilvy and the Milo brand team for this year’s 10th Anniversary Capstone Challenge. This Australasian competition truly helps foster the next generation of advertising graduates! Thanks also go to this year’s ACC sponsors: Advertising Industry Careers, and AdNews."

Sponsors for this year's ACC include Advertising Industry Careers and AdNews, supporting the initiative to cultivate emerging talent in the advertising sector.