Strategy - Agency of the Year

Chapters.ca The book retailer Chapters was launching an e-commerce site. We needed to create a distinctive brand fast, building on Chapters' strong retail reputation. We chose to target Internet users who'd recently purchased books or CDs. To these savvy urbanites, books, music and the Net all represent a window on the broader world. This insight drove our strategy: Chapters.ca brings a world of ideas to your doorstep.The creative team knew that if the brand and its online experience were about open-mindedness and ideas, then the ads needed to be provocative and intelligent.
Pepsi-Cola Canada Since 1998, we have waged the war against Coke on two fronts. Pepsi advertising allowed us to target the teen franchise, while young adults were targeted by 7Up. In 1999, we repositioned Pepsi slightly to make it less alienating to young adults, while still keeping the irreverent, independent spirit and humour that have served that brand so well in the past. Meanwhile, we continued to support the 7Up brand with TV work based on the premise that 7Up is a refreshing change to the routine.
Camp Chrysalis The kids at Camp Chrysalis run and play and laugh, just like the kids at any other summer camp. But there the similarity stops: These children are also learning to live with AIDS. Last year, the people behind Camp Chrysalis asked for our help in creating PSA materials. We had two objectives: to raise awareness in order to accelerate donations from the public; and to let families affected by AIDS know that there was a place of comfort and understanding for them. Kids having fun became the essence of the creative idea - but with a twist of poignancy to underscore that this is no ordinary camp.
Daimler Chrysler It had been 30 years since car buyers had seen the last of the Chrysler 300 series of sport sedans. In plotting the launch of the new 300M, we learned that the 300 series did not enjoy the iconic status in Canada that it did in the U.S. To get back on the radar screen, we needed work that appealed emotionally, linking Chrysler with feelings of confident ownership and enthusiasm for cars. So the creative team made a leap into the rich reservoir of feelings we all have for our first car.
Effem Canada "A Mars bar a day, at work, rest and play" was the jingle for a long-standing campaign, featuring Olympic skier Nancy Greene, which touted the Mars bar's physical energy-boosting power. In our efforts to reverse the bar's current fortunes, we decided to revive the physical energy story and "work, rest and play" theme line - but with a twist. We kept Nancy Greene in mothballs, switching the focus from athletic superstars to ordinary people in everyday life.