Who: Mark’s, with Cartier for creative and strategy; Les Enfants for production (directed by François Méthé); sound by Circonflex; media by Touché and Canadian Tire Digital Operations; and Veritas for PR.
What: “The Beauty of Being Here,” a new mostly national campaign on the retailer’s “All things simple” platform. It celebrates Canadian communities from coast-to-coast, while showing how Mark’s has the right clothes for any occasion (or weather) for the people who live there.
When & Where: The campaign is live now, running across Canada except Quebec (there’s a different campaign for L’Équipeur in Quebec). There’s a 90-second version for online organic, with 30s and 15s for paid TV, digital and social.
Why: Mark’s introduced “All things simple” in late 2020 as part of an effort to challenge the notion that it is all about workwear. “We really want to break free from that, and tell the world that we’re there for casual as well, and we’re just great for everyday wear,” said Victor Dagenais-Benoit, vice-president of strategy and partner at Cartier, which has been the lead creative agency for Mark’s nationally since 2020.
Part of that strategy is to show how Mark’s makes it simple for Canadians to get the right clothes for any kind of weather, climate or setting.
“Our role is to make Canadians’ lives simpler no matter where they are,” said Sean Goodwin, vice-president of strategic marketing at Mark’s, in a release. “You can find Mark’s in communities big and small across the country. That allows us to better understand what it takes to live, work, and explore life in Canada.”
How: The campaign is built around video of real Canadians in communities across the country, explaining the beauty of where they live—from the unique weather and land, to the community, culture and spirit of the people themselves—all while wearing just the right outfit from Mark’s, of course.
“The goal was to showcase how we’re local in a sense, that Mark’s is really close to its communities,” said Dagenais-Benoit. “We know their reality and we want to show that we’re tailored to Canadians wherever they live and whatever their challenge weather-wise.”
“It really is elegant in its simplicity, man,” says one man, talking about the beauty of St. John’s. “The best things are simple.”
The spot ends with a narrator explaining the connection to Mark’s. “And the beauty of being here, is that we are inspired to make living, working and exploring simpler out there,” she says. “So you can embrace the beauty of wherever your here is.”
Cartier and Les Enfants went across the country to shoot the content, which was cut in a number of different formats.
“They’re all real Canadians,” said Dagenais-Benoit. “It was crucial for Mark’s for it to be authentic and if wanted people to [represent] where they’re from, we needed those to be real people. So, no actors.”
And we quote: “If we can outfit people to better enjoy everything from a rainy day in Vancouver to a casual shed party in St. John’s, all while providing a simple shopping experience, then we’ll have done our job.” — Sean Goodwin, vice-president, strategic marketing, Mark’s
