The Canadian Advertising Museum McLuhan Award has been given to Molson Canadian and its agency partners for the “I Am Canadian” campaign.
The work was feted at Thursday night’s 64th annual Advertising & Design Club of Canada Awards (ADCC) in Toronto.
This is the second time the McLuhan Award has been presented. It was launched last year as a joint effort between the Canadian Advertising Museum, the McLuhan Estate and ADCC as a way to recognize the lasting impact that McLuhan’s innovative philosophies had on communications. The judging requirements call for eligible campaigns to be developed – either in part or entirely – in Canada and appear in Canadian media.
This year’s award honoured Molson Coors and its advertising, marketing, branding, design and digital media team for developing and successfully maintaining a multiplatform campaign that “best demonstrates how the use of new and traditional media is transforming communications in today’s environment,” according to a release.
Molson Coors’ agency from 1994 (when the campaign first launched) to 1999 was MacLaren Advertising. Bensimon Byrne carried on the work from 1999 to 2005. The “I Am Canadian” messaging was brought back this past June by current agency Rethink, 10 years after Molson Canadian had wrapped up the original campaign. The famous tagline was resurrected at the end of a 90-second online spot called “The Beer Fridge.” In the ramp up to Canada Day, Molson Canadian senior marketing manager Chris Blackburn said the brand was bringing back the strapline on a limited basis.
Doug Robinson, CCO at Doug & Serge and chair of the award’s 2013 judging committee, said the campaign enthralls, entertains and inspires Canadians “with a sense of patriotism seldom seen in this country.”
The judging panel also included Maple Leaf Foods CMO Stephen Graham, Canadian Advertising Museum director Doug Linton, Gravity Zero principal Ian Mirlin and Swim principal Nancy Vonk.
