Uniting with others for a cause bigger than yourself offers no greater feeling of belonging. Japanese writer Ryunosuke Satoro said it best: “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” It’s an electrifying emotion that SickKids and Fondation Émergence ignited in thousands, if not millions; each issuing a call to arms in the name of kids health and social prosperity.

SickKids Foundation had a pretty hefty goal. It needed to keep the momentum of its award winning “VS” campaign going and raise 1.3 billion over 10 years for its hospital. However, the previous work had been so successful that anyone who had already donated felt they had “done their job.” So Cossette came up with a solution to persuade the altruistic to give again, while also calling on new donors.

The team found “sub-groups” among donors. They were friends, families and co-workers who had shared experiences with the hospital, and together, they became the faces of a campaign that mobilized “Crews” to join the fight.

Fifty-two influencers were chosen to rally support within their crews. They shared content from personal stories to provocative rally cries across social. JoinYourCrew.ca was the hub in which people could identify the crew they most relate to and then pledge their support for SickKids through a donation. Print and OOH ads were designed to reference “crews” in neighbouring locations (i.e.“the straight-razors” near barber shops). And finally, an anthemic spot showed crews converging on the site of the future SickKids hospital, calling on Canadians to join the fight.

The campaign managed to raise $68.7 million during the period, topping the previous year by $10 million. It also picked up three Golds: Evolution Strategy, Cause and Social Strategy, plus a Bronze for its Connection Strategy.

The power of standing together was also presented by the Fondation Emergence in “Pride Shield.” The work – created by Rethink and which won Gold in Social Strategy and Gold in Cause – allowed the organization to explore a creative platform that could trigger discussions about the plight of the LGBTQ+ community in some less progressive nations.

For the campaign, Rethink created a ballistic experiment in which 193 pride flags (the number of member countries in the UN) were aligned and shot with a .45 calibre bullet. A single flag stood no chance against the bullet, but with each flag, the bullet lost power, eventually stopping in its tracks.

A video was created and housed on PrideShield.com, where people could take action, donate to the cause and bring the “Pride Shield” to their city. What began as an experiment, became a content piece, and now lives on as an art installation: today, museums exhibit the flag to remind people to stand together to make a difference.

Fans for the fans

Fresh tires are a grudge purchase. But Fountain Tire didn’t want to be the dreaded dentist of retail, so it found a passion it could share with customers: the Edmonton Oilers.

As the team’s ultimate fan and sponsor, the brand made the ultimate sacrifice – it donated its employees’ bodies to the fans.

“Fanbods” was a human typeface made for fans, by fans. Real employees were painted as crazed Oilers fans and turned into every letter of the alphabet. Fans could use the “Fanbods” font to create cheers and send them to the Oilers on social.

Real “Fanbods” took to the stands at games and the interface was used by fans from 24 out of 31 NHL hockey teams. The FCB-created campaign also won a Silver award in Challenger Strategy.