Hasta La Creative!

Canada’s climate includes harsh terrain and gnarly winters—which is why its athletes are so hardcore, says a new ad for the nation’s Olympics team.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and agency Cossette created the campaign, titled “Ice in Our Veins,” for this year’s Summer Games in Brazil. The :60 centerpiece commercial immediately draws a distinction between the frozen landscape onscreen, and Rio de Janeiro, the famous beach town where the 2016 competition will be held in August. 

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If crazy political ads are their own kind of art form, this one is something of a masterpiece.

Wyatt Scott is an independent candidate for Canadian parliament. And taking his new spot as evidence, his platform consists primarily of riding giant geese and then jumping off to slay dragons with a sword. In other words, he’s sure to have the J.R.R. Tolkien fanboy demographic locked up, along with more general appreciators of science fiction and fantasy.

But even if his policies seem on the well-intentioned and compassionate side, his ridiculous pitch also includes some imagery that could be construed as vaguely offensive. (“Alien” is not the most politically correct term for undocumented immigrants, at least south of the border, though at least Scott gives the extraterrestrial a friendly fist-bump while talking about social programs.)

Nor is it clear what an image that appears to ancient Mayan temple Chichen Itza, located in Yucatan, Mexico—some 3,800 miles away from Scott’s electoral district in British Columbia—has to do with the indigenous people of Canada. (Though it’s true you could get there pretty fast on the back of a 747-sized Canadian goose.)

Regardless, those minor factual details pale in comparison to the greatest threat Canada apparently faces—which is a 1960s, Mars Attacks-style giant killer robot. Luckily, Scott has superpowers beyond being able to grow an instant beard.

Via TVSpy.

Nature Valley Canada shouts “You kids, get off my lawn!” in a curmudgeonly new ad from Cossette that contrasts the childhood memories of three generations of families.

The brand yearns for the good old days of fishin’, fort buildin’, and granola eatin’ in the great outdoors. And it argues that newfangled tablets and video games are just ruinin’ childhoods left and right, leaving parents with tears and fears for the future.

So, are they just engaging in intergenerational hate mongering here, or do they have a legit point? It probably depends on the generation you’re from, and whether you feel like you actually fit the technology stereotypes of that generation.

Boomers who’ve learned to stop worrying and love their tablets will feel just as criticized as millennials or Gen Z members who go hiking every weekend. And stuck in between are the poor parents in this video, shamed in front of Grandpa and Grandma for failing to provide a robust childhood of wilderness adventures for their technology-addicted kids.

Just watch the response this hot topic has generated as all three generations ironically fight it out in the comments section of the YouTube video. (Pro-tip for old people: Shouting down a sassy 14-year-old in the comments section of a brand page with ad hominem attacks does not make you a nature crusader.)

The tagline is, “Rediscover the joys of nature.” So, how is Nature Valley Canada helping people do that? Well, they’ve got a website that tells you where the National Parks are, gives 10 suggestions for what to do in nature, and lets you donate to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. In other words: nothing, really.

Of course, it’s possible that changing the trajectory of the entire technological revolution is beyond the abilities of a granola company’s Canadian marketing division. Which begs the question: Is it enough for a brand to stand for something, if it doesn’t actually do anything?

It would probably have been easier for the brand to champion nature and donate a ton of money to National Parks cleanup without pissing on technology at the same time. But it wouldn’t have generated nearly as many angry old people shouting, “Back in my day!”

And that truly would have been a tragedy.

“Bidding stands at 20 Facebook likes. … Who’ll give me 21? Going once, going twice … sold for 20 likes to the man with his face buried in a bag of Skittles!”

It’s true: the Mars candy brand, via BBDO Toronto, is hosting an online auction in which Facebook likes are the currency. Fans compete by amassing likes for bids they can place on a veritable rainbow of Skittles-branded prizes.

You must be a Canadian resident to participate. (Canada’s clearly in vogue at this marketing moment … first Loverboy and now this.)

Current items up for bid include a Green Apple Soccer Ball, Strawberry Skittles Headphones, a Lemon Skittles Vase, “Orange Skittles Oil on Canvas” (an objet d’art, which is described as “eye candy painted by the famous Citrussio”), and, most impressively, a Grape Skittles Acoustic Guitar.

“Every item was specially made for this auction,” says BBDO vp and associate creative director Chris Booth. “We wanted consumers to have something they can keep forever that also channels the humor of the brand.”

Launched in May and running through Aug. 6, the contest features new merchandise each week. So far, the most “expensive” item was an Orange Skittles Lamp, which sold for 483 likes. (Most items auctioned off have had a much lower sweet spot.)

Creating a campaign where users compete for Facebook likes might’ve been innovative a few years back, but it seems almost retro today. However, simplicity is a strength, because it makes the contest more immediately accessible than, say, BBDO’s faux-pyramid-scheme promotion where the prize was 1 million Skittles delivered to some lucky Canadian sugar-fiend’s door.