A NOTE FROM THE MULTICULTURAL CO-CHAIRS

There used to be a clear line between multicultural advertising and gen poptargeted advertising. That’s been evolving over the last few years, and new hybrid programs that champion diversity and equity are emerging that seek to appeal to all Canadians as well as speak to specific cultural communities. While more brands are focusing on developing inclusive marketing programs – and the body of work in the multicultural category continues to rise – there is a distinction between DEI-focused campaigns and investing in multicultural advertising. Just as DEI programs aim to build corporate cultures that better reflect society and ensure more voices play a part in decision-making, DEI campaigns help brands build affinity by championing inclusion and representation, targeting and seeking to influence the general population and culture in Canada. Multicultural marketing is the practice of promoting and selling products and services using a consumer-focused strategy that specifically targets diverse segments of the population. More than one million new immigrants arrived in 2022, making the business case for multicultural marketing stronger than ever. The jury was pleased to see more high-quality campaigns rooted in true cultural insights, targeting growing population segments not often seen in the category such as Black Canadians, African-Americans, Muslim Canadians, Jamaicans/West Indians and Filipinos. The production quality has also improved year over year, and it’s a testament to strong agency/ client relationships who trust each other to take bold risks. We hope to see more creative bravery from more brands that see the impact of pushing beyond ethnic stereotypes and leading with consumer and cultural insights.

BEST OF SHOW

GOLD: Digital

GOLD: Online Film “A Hymn Away”

Black & Abroad is a niche-audience travel brand known for its international trips to Latin America, Europe and Africa. When the pandemic created global shifts in the travel industry, Black & Abroad saw an opportunity to both focus on domestic travel and provide uplifting ways for travelers to interact directly with America’s vast network of Black-owned businesses and cultural organizations. Together with Performance Art, it created “The Black Elevation Map,” an uplifting domestic travel utility that visualizes Black cultural data as elevation. The Map is transparent and purposeful about its biased use of data, which includes Black population data, Black-owned businesses, cultural markers and social sources. The map sits on a historical continuum of Black-led design and “countermapping.” The campaign included the film “A Hymn Away,” which depicted the beauty of Black life across various U.S. cities. The campaign resulted in a 116% brand lift and 647% greater campaign awareness than the benchmark, 45.4 million impressions across paid and earned channels, a 302% increase in traffic to BlackAndAbroad.com, a 360% increase in unique visitors and a 971% increase in event sales and site merchandise.

CCO: Ian Mackenzie

ACDs: Pedro Izzo, Benson Ngo

Director (Alfredo Films): Kelly Fyffe-Marshall

CWs: Hemal Dhanjee, Tobi Adebowale, Paula Purdon, Jasmine Mans

PUBLIC SERVICE BEST OF SHOW

GOLD: Digital

GOLD: Integrated Campaign

GOLD: Online Film

GOLD: Out-of-Home

#Elimin8Hate

“ReclaimYourName.dic”

When using software, Asian Canadians are used to seeing their names underlined in red, signifying a typo. To combat name discrimination and normalize Asian identity, Elimin8Hate, the advocacy arm of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, launched the “ReclaimYourName.dic” campaign. With Citizen Relations, it created a custom dictionary in the form of a free Microsoft Word plug-in. The dictionary contained more than 8,000 unique monikers from over a dozen countries, sourced from online search, census data and cultural associations. The dictionary could be downloaded for free as a .dic file from namereclaim.ca and users could add their own names to expand the databank. The campaign included a film showing the powerful, real-time reactions of several Asian Canadians who saw their name without the red underline after downloading the dictionary, and a number of paid and earned tactics. The campaign led to 208 placements, generating more than 91 million impressions. Interviews with Elimin8Hate spokespeople appeared across regional and national media outlets. Across social media, prominent Asian Canadians such as Star Trek actor Hiro Kanagawa, Top Chef Canada host Mijune Pak and TikTok star Tiana Shern expressed their support.

CCO: Josh Budd

CD/AD: Mike Lo Nam

CD/CW: Abeer Verma

Director/Photographer: Nick Wong

Editor: Andy Ferreira

GOLD: Best Use of Social Media

SILVER: Digital SILVER: Direct SILVER: Integrated Campaign

New Canadian Media’s “MISSING” campaign, developed by Barrett and Welsh, aimed to raise awareness of the need for diversity in Canadian newsrooms and the urgent need for funds to sustain its award-winning work. According to studies by the Canadian Association of Journalists in 2021 and 2022, only 21% of Canadian newsrooms employed visible minorities or Indigenous journalists in a top three leadership role. White journalists accounted for 78% of Canadian newsrooms, while 90% had no Latin, Middle Eastern or mixed-race journalists. In 2021, two out of five immigrant and refugee journalists worked as freelancers, restricted to small community media outlets or typecast as “community or minority” reporters. New Canadian Media, a non-profit immigrant journalism news organization, wanted to correct this diversity deficit. Through its fundraising campaign – deployed via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and leveraging Giving Tuesday and the giving season - New Canadian Media appealed to donors’ sense of justice to raise funds and create awareness of the inequities in Canadian news reporting. With creative designed to shock readers with its attention-grabbing headlines and intriguing text, and borrowing the visual language of a missing person poster, it was able to engage and provoke a response immediately: the campaign was successful in achieving its objectives, with a 22.3% engagement rate and 1,188 link clicks.

CCO: Gavin Barrett

CWs: Cyril Kirian, Arjun Kumar

AD: Jaideep Mahajan

SILVER: Best Use of Social Media

SILVER: Digital SILVER: Direct SILVER: Integrated Campaign

Zabiha Halal (Maple Lodge Farms) launched an open letter campaign “Dear Canada” to call out our country’s reputation for tolerance and acceptance in the face of anti-Muslim hate crimes that had become all too common. King Ursa helped create a platform for the Muslim community to share their stories and dismantle the stereotypes perpetuated by the media. The content of Zabiha Halal’s social and digital channels pivoted away from food to instead become a hub for cultural conversation and social dialogue. By amplifying Muslim voices, Zabiha Halal also cemented its status as a brand that advocates for its community. The campaign achieved 142 million impressions and 7.9 million video views, and was featured in news publications across the nation. The impact of the campaign was so great that Zabiha Halal was invited to address the Canadian Senate.

ECD: Grant Cleland

ACDs: Kevin Hoessler, Steven Tiao

CWs: Kevin Hoessler, Claire Mills

AD: Steven Tiao

BRONZE: Best Use of Social Media

Loosely inspired by its official mascot and capitalizing on its youthful branding, Rogers Communication’s Fido launched “Always ON Mini Game (Virtual Pet),” an interactive game allowing users to have their own virtual pet dog to feed and pet, in various virtual environments, earning points to redeem for virtual rewards or real prizes. The game, conceived with Ethnicity Matters, was designed to engage users on WeChat – a platform where Fido has maintained a consistent presence – and build brand awareness. Users could also share the game with friends via a QR code. The game was well-received by the target audience, with over 15,000 plays and 22,000 page visits within five months of launch. The in-language execution and cultural messaging helped Fido gain more followers on its official WeChat account, resulting in higher social engagement and popularity among Chinese audiences.

Rogers Communication’s Fido, with Ethnicity Matters, leveraged the Lunar New Year festival to reach Chinese communities in Canada by creating a culturally relevant mobile game on WeChat. The game was based on a Chinese traditional game, Idiom Solitaire, where family and friends would sit together and play word games relating to common Chinese idioms learned from a young age and complete word chains using the idioms. In this mobile version of the Chinese game, players were given new idioms from time to time and were required to start the next sentence with the last character of the previous one to fill in the blank spaces. Players also got e-posters of their results to share and invite more friends to join. The competitive, interactive and rewards-based elements of the game engaged over 6,000 players and increased Fido’s presence in the Chinese market, while also allowing players to reconnect with the cultural traditions and wisdom passed down through generations.

GOLD: Branded Content

GOLD: Brochures/Print Collateral

GOLD: Promotion

SILVER: Integrated Campaign

Scotiabank’s Hockey for All platform aims to make hockey more diverse, inclusive and accessible. To demonstrate its commitment, and with the help of Rethink, Scotiabank partnered with Black creators Jael Richardson and Chelsea Charles to update the classic Canadian children’s book The Hockey Sweater, by Roch Carrier, with “The Hockey Jersey.” Forty thousand copies were printed, with a distribution plan that surpassed traditional book releases. An education guide, created in partnership with a BIPOC educator, was distributed to the equity leads at school boards as an option for teachers to include in their curriculum. Upon launch, more than 200 educators requested copies in addition to braille and multilingual versions of the book.

CCO: Aaron Starkman

CSO: Sean McDonald

ECD: Mike Dubrick

CDs: Caroline Friesen, Robbie Percy, Dhaval Bhatt

AD: Ashley Park

BRONZE: Branded Content

With many working Americans – including more than one-third of Black and Latina women - lacking paid sick days, Theraflu’s Rest and Recover Fund was an initiative to help prevent workers from having to decide between sacrificing wages to rest or working while ill. Last year, Theraflu (GSK / Haleon) contributed $350,000 to the fund, and this year, they created, with Wunderman Thompson, a short film, “Calling in Sick,” to raise awareness and engage people in the cause. The film features three generations of mothers affected by unpaid sick days, sharing their stories in the same way they would let their workplace know they were sick: over the phone. The film was sent to traditional and activist-focused festivals. By using film trailers, Theraflu directed people to a microsite to learn about the fund. Visitors could also share the film with a story of their own, under the hashtag #MakeRestARight. The efforts led to a 58% increase in the site’s engagement, along with increases in brand favourability, brand recommendations and purchase intent.

CCO: Cass Zawadowski

ACDs: Jer Lenz, Sucheta Shankar

AD: Freya MacIsaac

CW: Zach Kumaczow

Mina Halal’s (Maple Leaf Foods) digital ad campaign for Ramadan, “Ads That Fast with You,” used empathy to connect with Muslim Canadians in the GTA. Since Ramadan requires the community to go without food and water for 12 to 18 hours a day, the campaign ads showed empty plates moving through the sky in sync with the sun and moon during fasting hours – a white plate symbolized the moon and a yellow plate for the sun. When it was time to break the fast, the ads would show platefuls of Mina Halal chicken. Barrett and Welsh’s campaign leveraged The Weather Network’s weather-based, location-based sunrise and sunset data, combined with real-time userlocation data, to deliver customized messages to Muslim Canadians across the GTA: at sunrise, sunset and during the day, precisely for their specific locations. Multicultural media was used to target the preferred audience. Despite a $50,000 budget, the campaign surpassed all expectations and delivered 3.3 million impressions and more than 9,800 clicks. It also ended with a celebratory message that leveraged local moonrise times, celebrating the ending of the fast.

Given that people rarely switch banks, attracting new Canadians is a significant opportunity for Scotiabank to boost its market share. The bank’s StartRight program provides new Canadians with a selection of cost-free products for one year to help them settle into their new home. But in a marketplace with similar offerings, it needed to find a way to distinguish itself. Rethink helped create a heartfelt campaign to appeal to new Canadians. The “First Day” hero video features scenes of a new Canadian’s first day – riding a taxi from the airport to a new home, finding places to eat, figuring out what to cook and choosing a bank advisor – while a voiceover from current day speaks to all the advice he would have given himself. The video aired on TV, cinema and online, and was supported by digital, social and OOH assets. The campaign successfully increased Scotiabank’s market share to 18% and website traffic increased by 276%. The call and online bookings for StartRight appointments were 82% higher than the previous year, with a 42% growth in account openings. Beyond the metrics, Scotiabank also earned recognition for its empathy and for tapping into the shared experiences and learnings of new Canadians.

BRONZE: Television

Over 50% of Canadian Nescafé consumers are diverse, many of whom have come from other parts of the world. It’s an iconic brand: every second, 5,500 cups of Nescafé are consumed around the world. In Canada, however, it’s considered just another instant coffee. In order to persuade new Canadians to love Nescafé as much as they do in the rest of the world, Courage created the film “How the World Says Coffee.” Directed by Omri Cohen, the film depicts coffee lovers around the world asking for Nescafé in various languages and in different settings: on the streets, on a farm, in homes, in street markets, on bicycles, at coffee shops, at restaurants, on boats - showcasing the rich cultural tapestry of Nescafé’s global consumer base and serving as a reminder to new Canadians to reconsider the brand. The brand saw a 5.4-point increase in its market share following the film’s launch.

BRONZE: Television

Nescafé

To rekindle the dormant affection that new Canadians have for Nescafé, which hasn’t carried over to their new home, Courage tapped into how the product is used in their countries of origin. The “Jars” film features a series of scenes depicting the ways people of various ages reuse their Nescafé jars: as piggybanks, rain catchers, insect catchers, candle holders, flower vases and storage for pantry, craft and workshop items. The film also carries a message of sustainability: “Every empty jar is full of possibilities.” With strategic placements on stations and in digital targetting Chinese and South Asian communities, the film resonated with the new Canadian demographics. The result was a market share increase of 150 basis points and sales growth of 6%. Having experienced success in Canada, the campaign is now being adapted to be aired in other markets around the world.

CCOs: Dhaval Bhatt, Joel Holtby

ACD/CW: Hemal Dhanjee

ACD/AD: Steve Ierullo

CCOs: Dhaval Bhatt, Joel Holtby

ACD/CW: Hemal Dhanjee

ACD/AD: Steve Ierullo

BRONZE: Television

With “Tested – Birthday Surprise,” Canadian Tire wanted to convey to audiences how quality products play an important role in how families show they love and care for one another. The television spot, by Publicis, features an Asian couple as they prepare a meal together, welcome her parents to dinner, then gift the parents a baby car seat – announcing her pregnancy. In each scene, the logo of key items pop up near the product, with the word “Tested” above each one. The voiceover speaks to how “family recipes aren’t the only things to pass down” as the cookware is shown and “because safety has never been more important” when the car seat is revealed – reminding the viewers of how we all want the best for our loved ones.

BRONZE: Television

Henkel’s “Sunlight” campaign, by Juniper Park\TBWA, was aimed at helping newcomers to Canada feel at home, many who have never been exposed to the brand. It developed a program to donate gift packs of products to new Canadians and, recognizing that Nigerians make up one of the largest immigrant groups, it developed a TV spot that follows a Nigerian family as they go through a parent’s ups and downs of looking for a job. The end reveals the Toronto skyline, landing the idea. Every element of the ad was created with the talents and guidance of the local and overseas Nigerian community. Production designer Anita Ashiru, based in Nigeria, was involved in developing the visual look while working with the Canadian-based production crew. The casting was done with a call to the local Nigerian community and the music was composed specifically for the spot in collaboration with Nigerian-born, Juno-nominated talent, Zenesoul.

CCO: Joanna Monteiro

ECD: Vinicius Dalvi

Group CD: Victor Yves

Rangeela, a not-for-profit collective, produces some of the largest South Asian LGBTQ+ nightlife events in the world. With growing global interest, they were preparing for a world-class event in 2022 when the pandemic hit. To re-energize an audience that had grown wary of nightlife, Rangeela looked back to queer history and crafted a teaser film with a Bollywood twist to promote its events. The cheeky film was titled “Sukh My Duhk”, a Hinglish concoction which translates to “Happy My Sad” and was designed to sound phonetically crude. The film features an all-South Asian, all-LGBTQ+ cast and pays homage to queer culture, including bathhouses, poppers, Tom of Finland’s artwork and Grindr. The film was shared more than 4,000 times in its first month and led to a 45% spike in attendance for Rangeela’s Pride 2023 event. This event sold out Toronto’s historic Opera House, making it Rangeela’s highest performing year yet.

CD: Waseem Shaikh

Producers: Shazad Hai, Imran Nayani

BRONZE: Online Film

In 2022, Canada welcomed more than 620,000 international students. TD Bank responded to this opportunity by creating competitive banking products and incentives tailored to the segment. It enlisted Ethnicity Matters to engage South Asian and Chinese international students with a more meaningful value proposition. The result was a creative platform positioning TD as a partner in the international student journey, tied by the word “together.” The film features the milestone of students’ “First Winter” in Canada, which invokes both wonder and worry, as a winter coat is a considerable investment. It tells a classic love story (not often seen on the big screen): a young woman falls in love with a jacket and begins to see it everywhere and on everyone. The message was that students could save money on their first Canadian winter jacket using incentives, savings and bonuses from TD’s International Student Banking Package. The film launched TD’s International Student Banking offering, was viewed nearly 1.2 million times and helped TD reach its acquisition goals within the segment.

To provide a safe and respectful way for Sikh motorcyclists to protect themselves and their identity, Pfaff Harley-Davidson partnered with an industrial designer to create a “Tough Turban” made of impact-resistant materials. To bring this innovation to life, the team at Pfaff Harley-Davidson, with Zulu Alpha Kilo, wanted to create packaging that would capture the spirit and ingenuity of the product and make the ‘unboxing’ experience a sales tool in itself. Paper packaging – a single sheet - was designed to look like a turban and folded into an origami-like envelope, with overlapping folds on one side and flat graphic patterns on the other, so that it appeared as a replica of what a turban looks like when worn. The packaging featured graphic patterns reminiscent of the high-tech fabrics and protective materials the Tough Turban itself was made of, to capture the turban’s attributes of impact resistance, impact dispersion and rigid strength. The presentation caught the interest of Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest maker of two-wheeled vehicles; Veluon, a product development firm; and The Trendy Singh, a maker of fashion turbans.

CCO: Zak Mroueh

Head of Design: Stephanie Yung

ACD/AD: Vic Bath

ACD/CW: Dan Cummings

The “Tartan Turban Secret Readings,” by Barrett and Welsh, is a literary reading series that shines a spotlight on writers who identify as Indigenous, Black, and Persons of Colour, for whom there are few such platforms. To promote the series, a digital direct marketing campaign was created and deployed across social media and via email. Target audiences included emerging visible minority writers and their audiences, from the South Asian, Chinese, Black, Indigenous and other visible minority communities, along with allies of these communities. Key images were custom-designed to reflect the evening’s theme, with the promotional materials for each event treated as collectible works of art. The campaign was successful in attracting a discerning audience to the series, with the majority (93%) of sales driven by direct marketing engagement generated by organizer channels. The email open rate was 58.6%. By the end of the season, the series had secured funding from the League of Canadian Poets and the Canada Council for the Arts, and had drawn an audience of 429 people.