In the fifth installment of the podcast, Campaign’s David Brown, Chris Powell, and Emma Johnston-Wheeler provide an update on round two of the Campaign Cup, discuss the industry’s recent surge in reviews and the suggestion that remote work is a potential contributor. They also break down multiple campaigns for Women’s History Month– including work from LG2, Publicis, and VML Canada.
Campaign Cup update
The Campaign Cup started with 32 contenders for the best Canadian ad of the 21st century, which have been whittled down to 16. The team was surprised to see “Like a Girl” by P&G’s Always and Leo Burnett depart in the first round, knocked off by “We the North.”
In the second round, David and Chis anticipate a lot of people paying attention to the showdown between Dove’s “Evolution” and Molson Canadian’s “The Rant.”. “Those two both are really landmark advertisements,” said Chris.
A surge in pitches
A piece of industry news that stood out to the team recently is insight from Stephan Argent, founder of pitch consultancy Listenmore, who expects 2024 to be a busy year for pitches.
According to Argent, the industry could see 120 reviews by the end of the year if the current pace continues. He attributes the increased activity to high turnover, budget cuts, and inflationary pressures, as well as the prevalence of remote work, which may undermine collaborative culture.
The communication that is essential to client/ agency relationships may be decreasing as today’s employees continue to prefer remote or hybrid work. Emma points out that for entry-level professionals who are new to the workforce, remote work is normal. She graduated during the pandemic, arriving into a professional landscape that didn’t require her to be in office five days a week.
Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, with International Women’s day also falling on March 8. Campaign covered multiple day-specific campaigns including “Crickets” by LG2 and PR agency Alinea for Women's Shelters Canada (WSC), and Publicis’ “Turn the Temp to 23.”
Both campaigns aim to solve a specific issue for women while symbolizing a larger need to recognize gender equality. The “Crickets” campaign tackles the problem of sexist humour by using the cricket emoji to equip men with an easy way to respond to inappropriate jokes from their peers. It’s the ultimate representation of the response, “that’s not funny.”
Comparatively, Publicis’ “Turn the Temp to 23” targets the issue of women being cold in the office. The agency developed blankets adorned with heat map imagery and cheeky lines like “Hot tip: I’m cold” and invited agencies in the Publicis network, as well as partners and clients, to commit to adjusting their office temperatures to a “more inclusive” 23 degrees Celsius.
For Women’s History Month at large, the team also covered two campaigns by VML Canada: A unique PSA for The Canadian Women's Foundation titled “Count Me In,” anchored by a 30-second video compilation in which notable Canadian women and gender diverse individuals collectively pledge their support to gender equality. Emma found it particularly unique because it also serves as a call to action for others to join the cause (in a rather literal sense).
The second campaign from VML is for the not-for-profit group Stop The Party, a group of ad industry women campaigning for equal pay for men and women. It’s an email tool named MissType that uses artificial intelligence to analyze writing and offer suggestions that combine traditionally female and male language to produce the most effective tone and phrasing. The team shares their thoughts after trying the tool themselves, and extending it to their friends and family.
To see the work and learn more about the team’s reporting on Women’s History Month, the pitch landscape of 2024, check out the news section. You can keep up with "The Message" in the High-Value Content section of the site, or seek it out wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.
