The latest campaign from auto service chain Midas is tackling pain points for consumers, while poking fun at mechanics offering poor customer service.

The creative, titled “Don’t Put up With B.S.” (referring to bad service), is inspired by the common trope of a customer staring confusedly while an auto mechanic explains a car issue to them. The campaign introduces “Carsplaining Carl” and “Just Wait Walter,” a pair of bad-service auto mechanics, to underline the kind of service Midas wants to avoid with its customers.

The multimedia campaign was informed by research conducted by agency partner BarkleyOKRP, which included 1,000 consumers across Canada, with results finding that women are three times more likely as men to feel anxiety about being “car-splained” or spoken down to, and feeling twice as intimidated as men.

The research also found that half of respondents said they’ve experienced bad service in auto repair shops, while 90% of respondents feel they have been overcharged, and two-thirds said they were mistreated at least once by being pushed into unneeded services, or otherwise ripped off or pressured.

“The ‘Don’t Put Up With B.S.’ campaign, was built entirely on real consumer insights and stories customers shared about their experiences in auto care,” says Midas GVP of franchise marketing Paul Elliott. “We recognize consumers’ needs, expectations and vehicles are constantly evolving, so Midas franchisees’ must too. This campaign is a part of the Midas ethos, and we will continue to address ‘BS’ through training, by strengthening our digital offerings, and being bold with our messaging.”

The campaign is designed to highlight Midas’ commitment to simple, straightforward communication with customers for improved auto care. It’s also set up to convey key benefits with the brand, like a guarantee on select parts.

“This campaign speaks to our mission as a company to provide good service to all our customers in the way we take care of their cars and in how we take care of them,” Midas VP of marketing Phoebe Hennessy adds. “This means total transparency in letting them know up-front what needs fixing and what can wait. And we promise all customers to help them make a plan without the upsell.”

While BarkleyOKRP handled creative behind the campaign, it was produced with close collaboration with Ogilvy and Icon Media to ensure proper localization in Canada. The work has also been adapted into French for the Quebec market. The French extension includes DOOH in the Montreal area, as well as local digital banners with Locala and paid social media for Meta and Instagram, running in the Montreal and Gatineau markets.

The campaign launched earlier this month, and is centred around a TV spot, with cutdowns for OLV. It’s airing on networks across Canada like CTV, Sportsnet, TSN, Discovery, History and W Network. The campaign also includes OOH boards in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.