Tim Hortons is forgoing hard sells or cups of coffee in its holiday marketing this year, instead focusing on a story that it hopes will unite Canadians around shared values, as well as help a key charitable partner.
“KindNext” begins with goose on the search for a new home after a fire strikes its old habitat. The goose initially has a hard time finding somewhere it fits in, running into vultures and macaws, until a Canada goose next to a snowy lake takes in the newcomer.
There is not a coffee, donut or breakfast sandwich to be seen in the ad. Rather, it aims to embody shared values of Canadians being kind to each other and making everyone feel included, according to Hope Bagozzi, CMO of Tim Hortons.
“These values are never more relevant than during the holidays – kindness is a gift we all have in us to give,” Bagozzi says.
What’s more, the spot also portrays a situation very close to Tims’ charitable partner for the campaign: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
“This story so eloquently captures the essence of forced displacement, and..we are excited to see it reach Canadians,” says Valerie Agawin, interim head of private sector partnerships at UNHCR Canada.
To support UNHCR, Tim Hortons worked with Veronika Kotyk, an illustrator and graphic designer who made her journey to Canada from Ukraine in June, to create a children’s book with a similar story to the ad. All proceeds from physical and digital sales of the book – called “A Nest in the North” – are being donated to the UN Refugee Agency.
The ad will be running on TV through the holiday season. Gut Toronto led creative on the ad, with Horizon Media on traditional media, Media.Monks on digital and Craft on PR.
