Who: Canada Life with Taxi for creative, Mindshare for media and Saints Editorial for production, with music by Berkeley and post-production by Alter Ego.
What: A new ad that is the first piece of a larger campaign called “Experts Matter.” It’s the first major creative work for Canada Life since winning the business late last year.
When & Where: The 60-second ad went live last week on digital channels: Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin and trade publication sites. The larger campaign is planned for fall.
Why: In wildly unpredictable times, Canada Life wants to be an antidote to uncertainty by connecting the brand to expertise. Canada Life is talking not just about the expertise of its insurance and financial advisers, but experts that can help with physical and mental well-being. The campaign comes a little more than one year after Great-West LifeCo folded its Great-West Life and London Life brands into Canada Life.
“A lot of brands were thinking about what they could do at this time and what they could credibly say that doesn’t sound like everybody else,” said Taxi executive creative director Alexis Bronstorph. A big part of the Canada Life brand is the personal advisor network who share their expertise with customers to make the best choice for them.
How: The ad uses a mash-up of vintage and current film footage to illustrate the many ways experts have been valued in society, before the voiceover cuts to the modern context: “Today it feels like their advice is more important than ever before,” it says. Canada Life is working with experts like Crisis Services Canada to help provide distress and crisis help-line, and Imagine Canada to provide charities with support. “Because a little guidance today can do a world of good tomorrow.”
This was not developed during the first rush of pandemic era creative, the idea came several weeks in, says Bronstroph.
“It wasn’t the first wave [of advertising], it was like wave two or three I think we. We want to get it right and we wanted to say something that spoke to what they do as a company and told in the right way but. But once we were briefed it did happen pretty quickly.”
Like most of the COVID era creative, they relied entirely on stock footage to produce the ad.
And we quote: “Today, it’s more important than ever that we listen to and support the experts. That’s why we’re lending a helping hand; and using this opportunity to reinforce how advisors and organizations across the country are helping Canadians looking for guidance.”—Andrew Morris, vice-president, brand and sponsorship, Canada Life.
