Kathleen Wynne is on the run – in a good way. A new TV spot uses the Ontario Premier’s running habit as a way to talk about her values.
The 30-second spot, “Never Stop,” hits airwaves Nov. 14. Created by Toronto agency Bensimon Byrne, it shows her running through rural Ontario, (an all-day shoot near Orangeville, Ont.), while she talks about goal-setting in a breathless voiceover. It will run throughout Ontario on TV, as well as being available on YouTube.
“Here are things most people don’t know about me: one, I love running,” the ad begins. “Two, I try to speak simply and get to the point. Three, I set goals — really hard-to-accomplish goals. Four, I never stop until they’re done.”
The spot is the second TV spot “to attempt to introduce the premier to Ontarians,” said Jack Bensimon, president of Benismon Byrne. Ontarians value strength in their leaders, Bensimon said, and the team wanted to use running as a metaphor for her ability to make good decisions and keep the province on track.
Benismon created another ad for Wynne, called “First Day,” that launched in July. The creative team came up with the new idea after talking to friends and family who knew Wynne well, and thought that the bit would be “memorable, attention getting and engaging.”
Wynne could face a provincial election as early as May 29 – about six months from now. Her Liberal Party has faced criticism in the prolonged cancelled gas plants scandal, although an Ipsos Reid poll released Nov. 7 pegged her Liberal Party’s popularity at 34% of decided voters, slightly above the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP.
