Canadians, tired of being blamed for bringing cold weather to the U.S., built a series of Hollywood billboards that use cheeky messages to celebrate Canadian filmmakers. A series of billboards (like the one pictured above) have been erected near L.A.’s Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the heart of Tinseltown. The billboards are part of a campaign, launched last week, to highlight the abundance of Canadian talent in the U.S. entertainment industry.
The campaign, called “MADE Better,” is sponsored by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada, and was created with the agencies Rethink and Torque Strategies, both from Toronto, and 123w from Vancouver.
Playing off Canadians’ reputation for being well-mannered, one of the billboards shares the message that Canadians are “Politely Kicking Ass. (Sorry.),” while another celebrates some of Canada’s buzziest directors via the message “Need Direction? Look North” with a visual of four directors’ chairs emblazoned with the names of (Denis) Villeneuve, (Sarah) Polley, (James) Cameron, and (Domee) Shi.
“Canada is having a moment in Hollywood with so many Canadian storytellers enjoying huge success right now. We thought we’d have a bit of fun with it, and we love that people are sharing the billboards online and it’s generating buzz,” said Valerie Creighton, CEO of CMF.
“As proud Canadians, we are reinforcing and celebrating the strength of our talent in the screen-based industry,” added Francesca Accinelli, CEO of Telefilm Canada. “Through the fun and effective placements of these billboards in L.A., we honor our fellow Canadians’ successes and remind our friends down south and around the world that Canadians have good reasons to play cheeky.”
Said Mathieu Chantelois, executive vice president of Marketing and Public Affairs, CMF: “MADE Better is about giving us a chance to appreciate the incredible talent we have in this country and feel good about it — maybe even get a goosebump or two.” He then concluded: “Canadians have been calling the shots in Hollywood for a long time and it’s time to spread the word about the outstanding entertainment we create, whether it’s in our country or anywhere in the world.”
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