To highlight the unique nature of D2L’s personalized online learning platform, Z.A.K. reimagined the standard school desk.
The agency world, like the supermarket shelf, is full of look-a-likes. Zulu Alpha Kilo (Z.A.K.) was founded on the belief in contrary thinking and seeing the world differently.
“There’s no greater risk than putting work into the world that’s more of the same,” says founder & creative chairman Zak Mroueh, who was recently honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the CMAs.
The Vancouver office worked with the Vancity Original apparel brand to create “VanBack,” a campaign to bring the NBA back to the city.
Mroueh credits this recognition and his shop’s consistent creative and business success to an uncompromising mission to fight “sameness”.
Christine McNab, who was recently promoted to COO, adds, “Every brand has something special. Every brief has something special. It’s our job to find that magic even when it’s hiding and push against the category convention.”
This may explain why a lot of the 15-year-old independent’s creative output doesn’t often look anything like an ad at all.
In 2023, this included reimagining the standardized student desk for educational software company D2L. Transforming New York City’s fire hydrants into summer cooling stations. Designing a basketball jersey with a price tag of $200 million to help bring back an NBA franchise to Vancouver. Launching an anti-gun violence campaign which included filing a first-of-its-kind human rights lawsuit against the U.S. government.
It also included three Effie wins for “Fixed-Rate Pizza”, a game-changer for Pizza Pizza, who were also honoured as a strategy Brand of the Year. Hot on the heels of the biggest interest rate hike in decades, consumers across Canada could “Lock-in their pizza rate” like they would a mortgage. With over 1.1 million Fixed-Rate Pizzas sold to date and $19 million in additional revenue, Pizza Pizza extended the program in 2023.
Teaming up with Pizza Pizza, the agency launched the highly effective “Fixed-Rate Pizza” campaign that helped people lock in the price of pizza, as Canada’s inflation hikes skyrocketed.
“Boring is expensive. We never want to see a marketing budget wasted on work that isn’t truly distinct. Real people need to recognize and remember it,” says president and CEO Mike Sutton. “Fixed-Rate pizza is a great example of a client with the bravery to break away from the sameness of their category.”
When Sephora wanted to launch their Colour IQ Shade Matching Technology, Z.A.K. created a 360 campaign and immersive installation “Sephora Illumination” that celebrated the diversity of beauty in Canada.
Even when Z.A.K.’s solution was just an ad, it was creating “Somewhere, Anywhere,” a musical spectacle that became the most watched Superbowl spot of the year on YouTube with over 118 million views and the second most watched of all time.
“We’re proudly a creative company,” says Mroueh, “But we wield our creativity as a tool that has the
power to transform business and organizations. There’s always a purpose behind it.”
Identifying that purpose, and getting clients to take that leap of faith, is rooted in honest partnerships with mutual trust. “It’s all about being co-conspirators together, strategic together and taking a massive creative leap together,” adds Sutton.
Z.A.K. partnered with Street Lab in New York to create “Splash Spots,” that replace fire hydrant caps across the 5 Burroughs, transforming gushing water into a playful spray that releases 50% less water.
This vision is brought to life by a growing team that includes recent hires like Jenny Glover, CCO in Toronto, Emily Garvey, head of strategy, in New York, and Erica Shalinsky, executive strategy director, in Vancouver.
The New York and Vancouver office joined forces to help Manny and Patricia Oliver, whose son was killed in the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, file a first-of-its-kind human rights lawsuit against the U.S. government for failing to protect its citizens right to live with, “The Lawsuit for Survival.”
“We’ve all been part of agencies that said yes to everything,” Mroueh reiterates. “All the business ideas and creative successes that have fueled our growth over the years were often a result of keeping the status un-quo.”
The debut work for Booking.com was “Somewhere, Anywhere,” a Super Bowl musical spectacle starring Melissa McCarthy. It racked up 118 million views, making it the most-watched Super Bowl commercial of 2023 and the second most-watched of all time on YouTube.
He likens it to the classic Seinfeld episode in which George Costanza realizes he must start doing the opposite of everything he did in the past to find success in life.
McNab notes, “We’ve always believed in going against the grain in our creative work and how we run our business because you can’t expect your clients to do it if you don’t.”
The indie shop tapped celebrity cake designer April Julian for “Cake Fake,” where she created hyperrealistic cakes to show that the possibilities are endless with KitchenAid Canada.
It’s all made Zulu Alpha Kilo an agency in big demand. “We’ve been told by clients that our process is like therapy,” Sutton says, unabashedly. “Sometimes our client partners just need a gentle push to see what’s possible when you embrace creativity, contrary thinking and break away from the same old formulas.”
CONTACT:
Christine McNab
Chief operating officer
christine.mcnab@zulualphakilo.com
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