Chicken Farmers of Canada’s (CFC) latest campaign aims to persuade young gymgoers that eating chicken is the key to reaching their fitness goals.

Instead of telling them how strong chicken can make them, they demonstrated it. The brand built a huge, heavy billboard with variations of the message “Chicken protein makes you stronger” and paid people to carry it throughout downtown Toronto. The messages varied based on location. For example, the brand featured a billboard outside the Ripley’s Aquarium with the phrase “‘I just benched 350,’ said no fish ever.”

Josh Stein, chief creative officer at agency partner, LG2, tells strategy that the “Builtboard” campaign was launched during National Chicken Month to explain the benefits of Canadian-raised chicken. It aligns with the positioning launched earlier this year with “Chicken Raised Right,” which reinforces that Canadian chickens are better for you.

The campaign – which included a public activation in which people dressed as chicks to pick up trash in Trinity Bellwoods Park, cheer on Toronto Marathon runners and hold doors open at Union Station – served as the base for launching the billboard, as the team seeks new ways to capture Canadians’ attention, Stein says.

“While a traditional billboard with our message would’ve made sense, a billboard that is heavy to carry and designed to not only deliver our message but to physically represent the power of chicken felt like a better way to put the muscle-building benefits of chicken on display,” he notes.

Claire Crombez, associate media director at ad buyer True Media, adds that CFC is aiming to reach a new audience with the campaign. Gen Z and young Millennials, specifically those who are interested in fitness, exercise, athletics and bodybuilding, are the new target. Internal research has shown that, while they are the Canadians who consume the most chicken, they’re beginning to have a negative perception of it and are getting distracted by protein powders.

“Gen Z and Millennials also make up over 40% of the Canadian population, while producing over 60% of CFC’s web traffic,” Crombez says. “By reaching these consumers in mainstream platforms and popular areas with strong contextual/interest targeting and a stunt, we can anticipate strong engagement and lifts in brand recall, while helping to raise Canadian chicken usage per capita.”

While CFC frequently uses paid social media, DOOH advertising is an entirely new channel for the brand, Crombez adds. As part of the activation, the brand also created T-shirts and a giveaway of chicken seasoning packets. The media plan included social media promotion, digital signage in more than 140 GTA gyms, plus influencer support. Craft managed PR.