June 23
Jon Hamm is taking his role as SkipTheDishes pitchman to new heights in new TV and digital ads that are part of its “Do what feeds you” brand platform. The ads are from Arrivals + Departures, which saw its three-year relationship with Skip come to an end in April—when the food delivery service moved its assignment to McCann Canada after parent company Just Eat Takeaway consolidated its creative with McCann Worldgroup.
The new ads feature Hamm and his put-upon assistant Brandon eating shawarma (and dumplings) while sitting in a portaledge (we had to look it up) perched on a cliff 3,000 feet in the air. In addition to the 30-second spot “Cliffhunger,” the new campaign includes a 15-second spot (“Freeeedommmm”), two 10-second spots (“Breathe it in” and “Shawarma at the top”) and two seven-second ads (“God that’s good shawarma” and “Living on the edge”).
A+D has developed 35 individual pieces of creative featuring Hamm since he made his debut as Skip’s spokesperson in 2018. Speaking with The Message recently, Skip’s VP of marketing, Cheryl Radisa, said that no decision had been made on the Mad Men star’s future role with the brand.
SkipTheDishes also launched a Father’s Day campaign featuring Quebec media personality Patrick Groulx and his daughter. The fourth ad with Groulx sees him taking credit for his daughter’s unique style, which includes mismatched socks and slides, as well as a salad with a side of glazed donuts—only for his daughter to point out that she obviously got her sense of style from her mother’s side of the family.
Skip has continued to expand its Quebec footprint this year, launching in Drummondville, Rimouski, Granby and Victoriaville.
June 22
In response to the continued emergence of the sustainability and social justice movements, Citizen Relations has launched a social impact practice and appointed Shilpa Tiwari as global executive vice-president of social impact.
Tiwari was most recently at Economical Insurance, where she led an effort to embed sustainability throughout the organization in advance of an IPO.
“It’s incredibly important for corporations and institutions to make a lasting impact for societal change and the planet we all live on,” said Citizen Relations president Nick Cowling. “With Shilpa’s leadership, we’re able to help our clients deliver meaningful change and engage their audiences to participate.”
Jason Chennette has returned to independent PR agency CASACOM as vice-president of its Toronto office. Chennette has spent more than 20 years in PR working agency side with companies including APEX Public Relations, and client side with Intuit Canada.
“Jason’s extensive experience as a public relations professional will help our clients have more impact,” said CASACOM founder and CEO Marie-Josée Gagnon.
“It’s great to be back at CASACOM,” said Chennette. “It’s truly an incredible firm with a clear vision of how they want to elevate their clients and operate with a profound sense of humanity. I’m looking forward to continuing to support and exceed our client’s business goals.”
June 21
Sid Lee has made a series of changes at its Montreal office, including promoting Geneviève Boulanger and Garcí Iñigo to VP of account services, and naming Jean-François Lefebvre head of operations for the more than 450-person office. “All three will play a key role in writing the next digital, cultural and creative chapter in Sid Lee’s history,” said the agency in a release.
The moves follow the promotions of Élisabeth Jamot to VP of creative strategy and Vincent Ramsay-Lemelin to executive creative director responsible for digital creation.
“This next generation of leaders will bring fresh insight to how we innovate and remain the creative allies of choice for companies here and abroad,” said Sid Lee Montreal president Martin Gauthier.
Discount grocer Food Basics put out a Father’s Day campaign asking people to submit a photo of a family member with a “foodstache” for a chance to win free groceries. The promotion was supported by a campaign from Toronto agency Open including a 15-second online video and a series of supporting posts on Facebook and Instagram. “We thought the ‘stache was a nice, iconic device to connect our love for dads with our love for food,” said Open partner and creative director Martin Beauvais. “We went so far as to even alter the logo to include the ‘stache.”
