When Andrée-Anne Hallé was invited onto the stage by Paul McCartney during his performance at Montreal’s Bell Centre in 2011, it was a dream come true for the lifetime Beatles fan. But the dream only became reality after Hallé garnered support from her “Handshake McCartney” campaign on Facebook that called on her idol to shake her hand.
What was the “most magic and improbable moment” in her life also “proved that when you make an effort and really try, anything’s possible,” says Hallé, who emerged from the experience with a hug, a conversation with McCartney and his autograph on her arm (now a tattoo).
Hallé has made use of that “effort pays” lesson to build a wildly successful copywriting career at LG2 in Quebec City that has included multiple awards.
While doing her BA in communications at Université Laval, Hallé worked on student advertising campaigns and kept in touch with LG2 creative director Luc Du Sault, who first saw her stuff at a portfolio night. He offered her a tryout after she graduated in 2009, and she’s never left. “I love working as much now as I did my first day,” says Hallé.
Hallé has created concepts for virtually all of LG2’s clients. For Quebec’s automobile insurance board, her radio spots on the dangers of texting while driving led to her being named Copywriter of the Year at the 2013 CREAs. (“U killed me,” says a victim from beyond the grave who crashes while typing the letter U.) And her work on Krispy Kernels’ “Meditation,” a TV spot highlighting a meditation session gone awry, won a Bronze Lion, at Cannes, in 2014.
Du Sault cites Hallé’s perseverance and willingness to go outside the box to create unusual solutions for her remarkable success. “She comes up with things I’ve never seen,” he says.
Outside of work, Hallé is the lead singer and sole woman in the seven-member Celtic punk band Irish Moutarde, which has headlined at festivals in France and Quebec City. The band even has its own beer, Olaf named (after its giraffe mascot), which is sold in Quebec City bars and dépanneurs.
“My priority is work at LG2, but it’s important to have other passions,” says Hallé, who sees herself remaining a creative 10 years from now. “It’s a métier you learn from all the time.”
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