2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Good Start offers baby formula designed to be easy on baby’s tummy, supporting healthy development from infancy through toddlerhood.

Baby formula is a highly competitive category. Similac and Enfamil dominate with established brand loyalty and clinical proof points, while European brands continue entering the market.

In this crowded space, category marketing looks the same. Brands compete on nutrition claims, ingredient stories, clinical testing, and parent reassurance. Messaging focuses on what’s in the bottle. Every brand claims to support babies’ development and health.

For a smaller player like Good Start, competing on product features alone isn’t possible against established market leaders with massive marketing budgets and retail dominance.

This created a classic David vs. Goliath challenge: a smaller brand with limited relative spend needed to break through against category leaders with significantly greater media investment, distribution power, and awareness.

There is also a cultural reality the category has ignored: Moms who bottle-feed experience judgement. Over 1 in 2 parents say they’ve been shamed for bottle-feeding. More than 276,000 women a year in Canada struggle to breastfeed, and more than 36,000 can’t.

Yet the category remains silent, treating feeding as a purely technical decision.

They recognized that to break through, Good Start needed to own a territory no competitor was claiming. Rather than match competitors on product claims, Good Start could stand with moms on something the category had ignored entirely.

The goal was to break through a crowded category not through product superiority, but by improving brand health, shifting perception, and building long-term loyalty by addressing a real emotional barrier: the shame moms carry when it comes to bottle-feeding.

With limited ability to outspend or out-distribute category leaders, Good Start could not compete with a traditional product-led message alone.

Especially while the category ignored a critical cultural tension: moms who bottle-feed face judgement and shame – yet no brand addressed this reality.

The objective was twofold. To publicly support bottle-feeding moms, regardless of brand choice
Combat the stigma around formula feeding and the moment a bottle is involved, feeding becomes public discussion.

“Suck It”, a movement that fights back against feeding judgement.

Bottle-feeding judgement is often loud, unsolicited, and public. Instead of ignoring it, they chose to use it. “Suck It” reclaims the very language and attitude behind feeding judgement and turned it into a response moms can own.

The idea is simple: if feeding becomes a public discussion the moment a bottle appears, moms deserve a way to answer back. Suck It works as a double entendre – referencing both bottle-feeding and a blunt rejection of judgement – giving moms permission to stand their ground without apology.

Rather than speaking for moms, the campaign gives moms an opportunity to speak for themselves – transforming judgement from something absorbed quietly into something that could be pushed back against, publicly and confidently.

Over 1 in 2 parents say they’ve been shamed for bottle-feeding. That’s a lot of moms being made to feel like they’re doing something wrong simply for how they feed their child.

Through social listening, they found that judgement is not occasional. It is constant, visible, and reinforced in the very spaces where moms go for advice and community. Judgement towards bottle-feeding moms is relentless, with comments like “breast is best and honestly sooo easy” and “it’s selfish for a mother to choose formula feeding.” Feeding choices are no longer personal – they’re policed.

Feeding a baby should be simple. But for many moms, it isn’t.

Research from the Journal of Maternal and Child Nutrition shows that moms who formula feed report more guilt than those who breastfeed, and that guilt stems from stigma that chips away at confidence and identity – seeing themselves as a “bad mother.”

This revealed that the problem was not just perception of formula, but the emotional cost of using it.

These feelings are rarely shared publicly. Instead, moms carry them privately, fearing judgement if they speak up.

They realized the category reinforces this silence. Formula brands typically focus on product benefits – helping moms choose the right formula – but rarely acknowledge what happens after that choice is made.

Good Start saw an opportunity to step into this silence. The strategy was to stand with moms publicly – challenging feeding judgement head-on and showing support for mom’s informed choice.

Strategic planning identified a gap in messaging and a gap in the category’s role – shifting Good Start from a product provider to an advocate for moms. Instead of competing on product superiority, Good Start could compete on cultural relevance.

The campaign generated 52.9 million total impressions, including 854K earned impressions, indicating authentic word-of-mouth spread. It also drove more than 78K microsite visitors with a 13% engagement rate, achieved a 168% higher click-through rate compared to the 0.25% industry benchmark, and delivered a 94% video completion rate, 14% higher than the industry benchmark.

Change in Consumer Behaviour: “Suck” It gave moms license to talk openly about feeding judgment. What had been private shame transformed into public dialogue. Moms shared their bottle-feeding stories and built a community around the issue the category had ignored.

More than $100,000+ in formula donations to Food Banks Canada supported families regardless of feeding choice, extending the brand's commitment beyond marketing.

Good Start positioned itself as a brand that participates in culture authentically. Media coverage amplified reach. “Suck It” resonated as a cultural moment.

Credits

Good Start

Joel Martins, Director of Marketing
Karman Colosimo, Sr. Marketing Manager
Catherine Chung, Marketing Manager
Aarushi Raizada, Marketing Manager

McCann

Jordan Doucette, CCO
Josh Hansen, CSO
AJ Jones, CSO
Bill Schaefer, Creative Director
Pedro Izzo, Creative Director
Matt Smith, Associate Creative Director
Ethan MacDonald, Sr Copywriter
Tina Peng, Sr Art Director
Olivia Hashka, Art Director
Cassi Kaplan, Copywriter
Jessie Ko, Jr Art Director
Sabrina Lau, Sr Strategist
Stef Fabich, Executive Producer
Alanna O'Brien, Sr Producer
Maddie Estabrooks, Producer
Sharon Nelson-Bailey, Producer
Emily MacLaurin-King, VP, GAD
Brandon Sellers, Account Director
Farida Shagara, Account Supervisor
Andrew Brown, VP, Director of Digital Solutions
Erin Zatylny, Sr. Digital Project Manager
Adrian SuvWeb Designer

Craft
Kate Finlay, Head of Business Leadership
Travis Wood, Head of Content

Spark Foundry
Valerie Jolivet, Group Account Director
Axelle Gougeon, Sr. Media Planner
Frederique Legare-Grondin, Media Planner

Edelman
Gabie D'Agrosa, Sr Account Director
Kellie Williamson, Account Manager
Adje Eversley, Sr. Account Executive