Ona Media Founder Brittany Abdool Serves as Mentor & Executive Judge at Midwest Royale Creative Ad Challenge

CHICAGO, IL — Brittany Abdool, Founder of Ona Media Company, joined a distinguished panel of industry leaders for the inaugural Midwest Royale Creative Ad Challenge, presented by the Midwest Film Festival at the historic Ramova Theatre.

The high-stakes event brings together 20 emerging creative talents divided into four teams to tackle a real-life brand brief under an intense 24-hour deadline. Designed to mirror the real pace and collaborative pressure of the advertising industry, the challenge takes participants through brand strategy, production essentials, and live client pitching.

Guiding the Next Generation of Creative Talent

Kickstarting the bootcamp phase, Abdool served as a mentor during the brief breakdown sessions. Leveraging her extensive experience in social and digital strategy, she guided students on how to critically interpret client briefs, navigate social media considerations, and translate core brand messaging into compelling digital content.

“As a first-generation college graduate, I know firsthand how transformative access to mentorship and real-world experience can be,” said Brittany Abdool, Founder of Ona Media Company. “I’m deeply passionate about paying it forward and lending my expertise to students—especially those who proactively raise their hands and show up for high-intensity opportunities like this. The energy, intuition, and creative ambition these emerging talents brought to the table today was inspiring.”

Judging the Final Pitches

Following a grueling 24-hour sprint where teams produce full-scale branded content with professional resources, Abdool will return to the Ramova Theatre on Saturday, July 25th to serve on the executive jury panel.

Sitting alongside top agency and brand leaders, including Bianca Bradford (Head of Agency, North America @ Meta), Juan Woodbury (Chief Creative Officer & Global Head of Branded Content @ Wolf), Melissa Mooreland (North America Resource Director @ Omnicom Production), Robert Clifton (CCO & Founder @ Contender), Kriselda Sanchez (VP Planner @ Golin Ketchum), and Dani Jackson-Smith (Founder @ TheCre8tors), Abdool will evaluate the final live pitch presentations and help award the winner.