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TRANSIT ADVERTISING
City of Toronto Road Safety Campaign
When we received the brief for the Road Safety campaign, the client ask was for a print campaign. But once we thought about what we were saying, it didn't make sense to create a campaign targeting drivers through a magazine.
Rather, to speak to drivers, we needed to get the message out onto the roads. We then used the mechanism of a streetcar to highlight the need to, "Keep your eyes on the road."
RETAIL ADVERTISING
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At the start of my career, I had the opportunity to work at a retail based agency in Toronto called, Top Drawer Creative. Top Drawer's client base predominantly revolved around sporting retailers, which translated into lots of retail ads.
For a Copywriter, retail based advertising meant you had to write a headline on Monday for a newspaper insert on Tuesday. The turnarounds were quick, but I loved it because it taught me how to watch the clock while being creative.
Here are some of the best creative retail ads I came up with.
GUERRILLA ADVERTISING
Yoga Today Activation
Great guerrilla advertising isn't just surprising, it's insightful and thought out. Both of these activation's prove this point.
The Yoga Sign is an interesting twist on the wet floor signs that we usually see inside residential or corporate buildings. But it's not only disruptive, it works strategically because it specifically targets the people who live inside the building. An activation like this will intrinsically be more effective than a print ad 10 times out of 10.
Ilham Dental Clinic Activation
If you've ever lived in Dubai, then you've probably been inundated with business cards that are mysteriously slipped into your car window.
Again, rather than spending loads of money on a print ad, we strategically aligned our core audience (people who live near the dental clinic) with a cultural insight (Dubians love leaving business cards) for a creative campaign that initiated business results.
DM ADVERTISING
Canada Post Marketing Experts
When I was hired at DraftFCB, I was specifically brought on as a DM Copywriter. DM copywriting doesn't have the glam of creative copy, but I did learn a lot. Our two main clients were OLG (Ontario Lottery & Gaming) and Canada Post. This meant a lot of B2B writing.
It was great practice, and the skills I learned with DM copy I still use today. No matter how creative you are, you still have to sell a brand, product or experience.
This DM piece was part of a campaign to sell Canada Post services to marketers. So, we decided to create a DM mailer that focused on two characters: George and Tim. One was creative focused and the other was the business guy. We used strategic conversations with a touch of humour to highlight the benefits of partnering with Canada Post for your marketing needs.
CAUSE MARKETING
Becel Margarine for Heart Health
This was one of the first campaigns that I worked on as a full time copywriter, and thankfully for me, it won a number of awards, and created the path to a successful career.
Becel Margarine, which is often associated with the negative attributes of butter, wanted to convey a message that illustrated how it was a heart healthy product.
The end result was a newspaper ad, in which the client adored, highlighting how Becel margarine reduced the risk of heart diseases by being low in saturated and trans fats.
Blending together margarine and heart health was not an easy proposition, but we made it work with a smart, strategic visual and message.
