Who: Advertising & Design Club of Canada and Zulu Alpha Kilo, with zulubot for production and 6Degrees for audio.

What: A 24-hour fundraising webathon and ad campaign to save the non-profit ADCC, which has been hard hit by the pandemic.

When & Where: The webathon will run from 7 p.m. July 10 to 7 p.m. July 11, with an awareness and communications push running now through email and social/digital channels.

Why: Because the ADCC’s most important revenue source, its revered ADCC Awards program, has been cancelled because of the pandemic, threatening the 72-year-old organization’s very existence.

The ADCC has been working to expand its offerings year round and to be more national. It’s looking for ways to diversify its revenue through corporate memberships, but the awards are important to keep the ADCC alive. “We need the webathon to be successful for that reason,” said ADCC president Andrew Simon. “We need the funding to survive, so it is a life-and-death situation.”

How: The ADCC reached out to Zulu Alpha Kilo to help rally the industry and generate contributions. While virtual gatherings have become commonplace in recent months, ZAK wanted to come up with something different. The solution was a 24-hour webathon, with segments ranging from creative battles, design documentaries and panel discussions with global creatives, to more offbeat content like Q&As with a creative eating breakfast (Peter Ignazi), and watching an agency founder sleeping at 3 a.m. (They declined to say who).

To promote the event, Zulu Alpha Kilo came up with a design system and some playful creative—including accomplished creatives and designers recalling their first ADCC win, and overdubs of well-known Canadian ads like “Bike Story” and Vim’s “Prison Visitor” (below).

The All Nighter Webathon logo uses a colour scheme to represent sunrise and sunset, while the centre of the logo turns like a clock. “That was the big idea,” said Zulu Alpha Kilo founder and chief creative officer Zak Mroueh. “That’s a phrase we hear in advertising all the time—pulling an all-nighter—so what if we pulled an all-nighter to save the ADCC.”

Who is taking part? Some of the biggest names in Canadian advertising and design are helping out, including Judy John, Terry O’Reilly, and Director X. It’s a testament to how beloved the ADCC is with Canadian creatives that so many have been so quick to take part. “Everyone who we have asked has said yes,” said Simon.

There’s also a creative auction with businesses from across the country contributing in various ways including portfolio reviews from the likes of Aaron Starkman, Jordan Doucette and Nellie Kim.

Quote: “For many creatives in Canada, the ADCCs are your first exposure to the excitement and thrill of the industry. It’s an incredible organization that has supported up-and-coming young talent for decades, and now it’s our turn to support them.” — Zak Mroueh, founder and chief creative officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo

Visit save.theadcc.ca for the webathon link to the livestream and donation page.