In June, the Marketing Awards will once again recognize creatives and agency builders revered by their peers for galvanizing the industry forward. They are the mega mentors who broke ceilings, gave back, nurtured talent, inspired a culture of creativity and elevated Canada on the world stage.

All of these qualities and contributions were easily recognized in ad giants Paul Lavoie and Marlene Hore, which is why they were selected to be the 2024 Hall of Marketing Gold inductees.

The luminaries were chosen by an advisory board of marketing vets Luc Du Sault, Judy John, Jo-Ann Munro, Steve Mykolyn, Frank Palmer, Jenny Smith, Christina Yu, Nancy Vonk, Sharifa Khan, Helen Pak and Will Novosedlik.

Hore stands as a pioneer and trailblazer who fearlessly challenged conventions and did more than her share to reshape the industry. From her humble beginnings in the continuity department of a Montreal radio and television station to becoming the first female creative director in Canada, Hore’s journey is a testament to perseverance, innovation and the power of fearlessness.

She started her career at Vickers and Benson Montreal in the 1960s and later left the shop for JWT Montreal. She was promoted to Montreal CD in 1976 (the first female CD in Canada), then to vice chair and national CD in Toronto. She would leave JWT in 1993 as national CD and EVP of the Canadian company, as well as an EVP of the global parent (again, the first woman to break into those particular boardrooms). Under her leadership, JWT Toronto was twice named strategy‘s Agency of the Year.

Lavoie, co-founder and former chairman of Taxi, began his career in graphic design before joining Montreal agency PNMD as an art director. After a stint at J. Walter Thompson, he landed at Cossette where he would meet his life – and later business – partner Jane Hope. At just 29 years old, he realized that while he enjoyed advertising, he hated the silos. His solution was to open his own shop.

In its early days in the 1990s, Taxi chased challenger brands. That changed, and the agency quickly added big-name clients including Mini Cooper, IKEA and Viagra. Throughout the next two decades, it grew from a handful of creatives to 150, and then opened a second Toronto location to accommodate growth. It opened offices in New York, Vancouver and Amsterdam, amassed thousands of awards, and saw the career launches of creative heavyweights, including Judy John, Zak Mroueh and Peter Ignazi, among many others. The shop was a bonafide success.

This year’s inductees will be recognized at the Marketing Awards gala on June 4 at The Carlu in Toronto. Attendance info can be found on the Marketing Awards website.

With files from Brendan Christie, Megan Haynes and Jennifer Horn