Strategy’s 2024 Nice List

Another year is in the rearview mirror as 2024 comes to a close. During a season of reflection as the new year approaches, strategy‘s staff got together to compile some of our favourite work from ad agencies in the past year, highlighting ideas that we feel are worthy of a little more recognition before the year ends.

Knix

Every once in a while, a very real-and-raw campaign comes across my desk, making me proud to be a part of this industry. “Sport Your Period” (both the 2023 and 2024 iteration) for Knix by Rethink is one of those campaigns.

Knix gave the mic to athletes, letting them share their real, unfiltered stories about competing while navigating their cycles. It’s both messy and beautiful, and makes you wonder why this conversation wasn’t happening years ago.

“Sport Your Period” isn’t just about selling leak-proof underwear, but about smashing the stigma around periods in sports – a place where the mere mention of cramps can feel taboo. It also isn’t about “empowerment” as a buzzword; but rather about making real change by lifting voices that have been ignored for too long.

Bravo, Knix, bravo.

Jennifer Horn, Strategy, content director and editor

Greenfield Natural Meat Co.

Greenfield’s “Bacon Is Rain” campaign jumped on the TikTok trend of comparing the sound of rain with bacon frying. Greenfield enlisted Emmy-winning foley artist Saana Kelly who is known for showing her behind-the-scenes magic to create a library of bacon sizzle sounds made available to audio houses and creators. The creative also used headlines that painted a picture of iconic rain scenes in movies, only to reveal it was actually the sound of bacon sizzling.

Every download was a donation by Greenfield to help One Tree Planted restore habitats and plant more carbon-sequestering trees, which aligned with the carbon-neutral meat brand’s ethos.

In my view, the campaign accomplished a bunch of things at once. The brand proved itself agile by jumping on a trend, it aligned itself with a larger purpose and it played with the way we experience everyday life. And most importantly of all – it made me crave bacon. Greenfield bacon, if I were pressed. 

Jonathan Russell, Strategy, digital editor

Little Canada

The campaign I’m highlighting will likely be the smallest campaign that gets recognized on this list. But that’s what makes it special.

Little Canada is a tourist attraction in Toronto that, as its name suggests, is a model of Canada (not to scale). It has tiny landmarks, and it’s peopled by tiny citizens. But until recently, it didn’t have tiny OOH. This year, the 45,000 sq. ft. attraction – which draws around 120,000 visitors annually – launched Mini Media to offer brands the opportunity to do a “little” nation-wide advertising. Subway restaurants was the first brand to take advantage of the opportunity. The QSR unveiled a billboard in Little Niagara Falls for its foot-long subs. The billboard, naturally, was actually a foot long.

There’s something refreshingly egalitarian about the opportunity. Small brands might not be able to afford to buy up a billboard near the actual CN Tower, but that same space might be available in Little Canada. And in that little country, the smallest OOH can have big impact.

Greg Hudson, Media In Canada, editor

Knorr

One of the works that most caught my attention this year was Knorrs. The Unilever-owned brand partnered for the first time with Twitch to launch its campaign “#modtheveg,” which sought to make vegetables more valuable and important in online gaming.

The campaign, developed in collaboration with Edelman for creative and PHD for media buying, encouraged developers to produce in-game modifications, known as mods, and generate more points for vegetables, as meat-based foods tend to give characters the most points. As part of the initiative, Knorr partnered with different video game brands, such as Fortnite and Minecraft, to create more powerful in-game vegetable mods and test them with the gaming community. For the launch of the campaign, the brand also organized a broadcast on Twitch, in which two influencers played with new veggie mods in the Only Up Parkour game.

Given the growing popularity of video games in Canada (more than half of Canadians play online, according to MTM), Knorr made a smart move by entering the gaming space. According to the company, this approach not only immersed its customers in a new experience, but also allowed the brand to reach a wider audience. The easy-to-prepare recipe cubes (and the marketing for many of the products) include vegetables, so increasing the value of vegetables online could lead to an increase in their popularity in real life.

Knorr also launched “#modtheveg” in different countries, including Germany to the Philippines, the U.K. and Mexico.

Andrea Hernandez, Media In Canada, reporter

Héma-Québec

What really resonated with me this year was Héma-Québec’s campaign, “Side Hustle.” It struck me as incredibly clever and effective. Until someone directly experiences the ongoing need for blood or plasma donations – it’s hard to truly grasp how transformative that one simple act of generosity can be.

Researchers found that high achievers were most eager to make a meaningful contribution to society. So they encouraged these donors to proudly add “donor” to their public profiles on linkedin, and Héma-Québec turned a private act of kindness into a visible and inspiring movement. This small yet impactful gesture elevated the importance of blood and plasma donation, spreading awareness and inspiring others to follow suit.

The simplicity iin this campaign landed them on my “nice list” this year. And I’ll use this moment to plug, if you’re able to give blood or plasma this season, please do.

Lisa Faktor, Strategy, Media In Canada, publisher

BC Children’s Hospital Foundation

Every major nonprofit is going after the coveted “monthly donor,” a person who makes recurring donations that provides a reliable source of revenue to organizations, especially important during times of economic/fiscal uncertainty.

BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, in a campaign by agency partner One Twenty Three West, heroed this donor class in a uniquely humorous way.

In the spot, a kid in a hospital gown, sings the praises of everyday schmos and put them on an even playing field with neuroscience and congenital heart disease researchers.

Christopher Lombardo, Strategy, senior reporter

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