Early in my career, I took part in a bunch of ad competitions. I was lucky enough to win a few times, which meant all-expenses-paid trips to the Cannes Lions Festival.

The Cyber Bully Test

CANNES YOUNG LIONS | GOLD

CHALLENGE
Using only a banner ad, inspire people to stand against cyber bullying.

INSIGHT
People cyber bully others without knowing. Victims often report that cyber bullies say mean-spirited things without realizing how hurtful their words actually are.

IDEA
We ask people to find out whether or not they’re a cyber bully. Our banner scrapes a user's social media and highlights cases of intentional and unintentional cyber bullying. This makes people reflect on their words and become more mindful of what they say, preventing future instances of cyber bullying. See how it works below:

CREDITS
Art Director: Sally Fung
Copywriter: Jason Soy

Deposit Your Discounts

NATIONAL ADVERTISING CHALLENGE | GOLD

CHALLENGE
Make saving for the future easier for millennials.

INSIGHT
Millennials shop online to save big, but afterwards, they treat their discounts as disposable income rather than true savings.

IDEA
We give online shoppers the option to deposit their discounts into a long-term savings account using a web plug-in.

CREDITS
Art Director: Sally Fung
Copywriter: Jason Soy

A Moment of Silence For Addicts

NATIONAL ADVERTISING CHALLENGE | GOLD

CHALLENGE
Create a radio campaign to raise money for Fresh Start Recovery Centre, a rehabilitation facility for addicts.

PRESSBOARD

Note: After winning the competition, we partnered with Fresh Start Recovery Centre to actually produce the radio spot. You can hear it here.

CREDITS
Art Director: Naeem Walji
Copywriter: Jason Soy

The Fine-to-Spend Debit Card

NATIONAL ADVERTISING CHALLENGE | SILVER

CHALLENGE
Help millennials become smarter about their spending and finances.

INSIGHT
The last chance to get millennials to reconsider spending is right when they pull out their debit card before a purchase.

IDEA
We’ll create the Fine-to-Spend Debit Card—a digital debit card that lets users budget their disposable income and quickly check their balance on the card itself, helping millennials develop smarter spending habits.

Note: We came up with this idea prior to budgeting apps and digital wallets becoming mainstream.

CREDITS
Art Director: Sally Fung
Copywriter: Jason Soy

Step Away From The Screen

CANNES YOUNG LIONS | SILVER

CHALLENGE
Using only a banner ad, convince parents to sign their children up for the David Suzuki Superhero Challenge—an initiative to get children back into the great outdoors, so they can be inspired to one day save the planet.

INSIGHT
The digital screens that people will see our banner ads on are the same screens that are distracting children from playing outside.

IDEA
Using webcams, we’ll create banners that track how close users are to their computer screens. Messages will only appear when the user moves far enough from the webcam. The banner then invites parents to get kids away from screens and back to nature. You can see how it works (sort of) below:

CREDITS
Art Director: Sally Fung
Copywriter: Jason Soy

The Manmote

NATIONAL ADVERTISING CHALLENGE | SILVER

CHALLENGE
In the mobile category, create something that makes Bull’s-Eye Barbecue Sauce famous among men.

INSIGHT
When you’re enjoying saucy barbecue and watching TV, there’s nothing more annoying than having to wipe your hands clean before using the remote.

IDEA
We’ll create the Manmote—a voice-activated TV remote app to let you enjoy your shows and your barbecue without interrupting either one.

Note: This idea was much more impressive before voice-activated assistants became the norm. Thanks Google.

CREDITS
Art Director: Sally Fung
Copywriter: Jason Soy