2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Friends of Canadian Media is a non-profit, donation-funded organization with a mission to stand up for Canadian voices, in public broadcasting, news media, and culture. Historically, and in particular, Friends is known as the defender of Canada’s public broadcaster (CBC), and has been for 40 years.

Friends of Canadian Media is non-partisan by mandate, but the current political landscape and their mission to protect the CBC puts them in direct conflict with the Conservative Party and their leader Pierre Poilevre’s campaign to “Defund the CBC”.

With the future of the CBC hanging in the balance, the agency’s main goal was simple, but very big: Save the CBC.

They needed to create a campaign that would break through the noise. One that would open conservative minds to the importance and value of our country’s public broadcaster, while rallying all Canadians to vote in its defence.

Both sides of this ballot issue could be separated by just two letters. One side believed we should “Fund the CBC,” while the other was very vocal in suggesting we “Fuck the CBC” instead.

The agency turned the opposition’s hateful words into a campaign to protect the CBC.

When the nation’s public broadcaster becomes a political lightning rod, the conversation isn’t really about media anymore; it’s about identity, trust, and who gets to shape the national story. That’s exactly where they found themselves when Canada’s Conservative Party pushed a loud and well-funded campaign to “Defund the CBC.”

So, they decided to use that tension as the idea. With just three words (and some strategic blurring and bleeping), they launched “Fu** The CBC”, a provocative campaign that looked, at first glance, like a rallying cry against the broadcaster, but was in fact in full support of it.

“Fu** The CBC” was a national campaign with a regional budget, so all of the media placements and grassroots efforts were focused specifically on swing ridings, a strategy that allowed this campaign to genuinely impact the outcome of the election.

The campaign was centred around an impactful 60-second spot that immediately set the tone with a full “Fu** The CBC” rally and chant. In out-of-home, they opted for more grassroots-style placements. In key cities, they had fully wrapped trucks, wild postings, and large-scale projections on buildings at night. To accompany these efforts, they had equally impactful digital ads to reinforce the campaign within the agency’s detailed targeting in key swing ridings.

Beyond paid media, the fight to save the CBC garnered the support of like-minded influencers and even Canadian celebrities and creators who have ties to the CBC. They also hit the streets, knocking on doors, hosting town halls, and handing out “Fu** The CBC” merchandise that got big attention.

With just 3 words, they made a huge impact and started conversations about a key ballot issue. The comment sections of every social ad or piece of content shared garnered thousands of people sharing their 2 cents on this divisive issue. And as this bold campaign to protect the CBC garnered attention, it was covered by more and more news publications across the country. They had supporters installing “Fu** The CBC” billboards on their lawns, organic Reddit posts with thousands of upvotes, and people even started a GoFu**Me that raised over $10k in support of the CBC.

Across all platforms, the campaign received a total of 19 million organic impressions and 8 million video views (not including TV) in just 8 weeks. Thecampaign website received over 100K visitors, 7K of which subscribed to the Friends newsletter and vowed to vote in favour of the CBC. The campaign also brought in $471,000 for Friends of Canadian Media through fundraising. And most importantly, people went to the polls and voted in favour of the CBC in their swing ridings, contributing to one of the biggest comebacks in Canadian political history.

Of course, they can’t take credit for Mark Carney’s successful campaign and other factors in play, but the close election was ultimately decided by just 15 seats from ridings that their campaign was running in. Shortly after the election, Marla Boltman, Executive Director of Friends of Canadian Media, was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her notable contributions to Canadian Media advocacy and cultural preservation.

In conclusion, they saved the CBC.

Credits

Production/Post Production: Accomplice
Color Correction: Urban Post
Media: Jungle
PR: Middle Child


Stephen Flynn, Creative Director
Mike Postma, Creative Director
Cobie McFallon, Project Manager
Naqsh Sagar, Designer
Mike Masters, Executive Producer
Charles Wahl, Director
Rion Gonzales, Director of Photography
Amy Mielke, Editor
Scott Mackey, Sound Engineers
Emmett Rans, VFX Specialist