Plan ahead

Government of Yukon – Highways and Public Works

To remind people not to drive if they’ve been consuming alcohol or cannabis, the Government of Yukon’s department of Highways and Public Works wanted a multi-year campaign themed around long weekends and holidays—since these tend to be when impaired driving occurs most. This was a very ambitious brief, and we immediately joined forces with GBP Creative to flesh out our plan.

A photo of a zombie whose exposed teeth and partially exposed jaw (really fantastic makeup here) make it look like he has a goofy grin as he gazes at a lollypop he's holding up in one hand with a bowl of candies in his other hand. He's wearing a ball cap that says 'I love brains.' This is a truly excellent image, the best of the campaign.

What’s a fleshed out plan without a zombie?

We started by breaking each holiday down into a set of messages, then identified what characters would suit each holiday and each message. We had a great deal of latitude to incorporate humour into the entire campaign, latitude we were delighted to run with.

Here, is a batch of four posters. The first is the character I nicknamed Sassy Granny, who is holding a bottle of wine and a plate of treats. She's accompanied by the text 'Plan ahead: for grandma's heavy pour.' The next is a sad looking cowboy looking down at a witches' broom that has some sparks coming out like it's just failing to work, with the text: 'Plan head: so you've got your ride home.' Next is a dad-looking man in a red shirt with one hand to a phone operator style headset with the text: 'Plan ahead: so the family call centre is standing by.' Lastly, is a smug fella leaning on a wheelbarrow with a very disturbing come hither look, along with the text: 'Plan ahead: so you're not stuck hitching a ride home with Jim.'

This campaign was significant. Each holiday (nine in all) used four models with individual messages, and one group image with a message tied to the holiday in question.

Across the two phases and between English and French, a total of 855 files were provided to the client to cover all of the newspaper ads, posters, social media posts, and Google ads.

Another set of my favourite goofy images that we planned and executed. At the top left is a tiny, Pomeranian mixed breed-type dog that's tethered to a sled but is standing upright behind it, like a musher, along with the text: 'Plan ahead or it could be a long ride home.' Below that is a group shot of all of our New Year's Eve themed characters. Next to that is a photo of a young woman carrying a beer barrel and some other boxes identified as alcohol, climbing a 'snowy' trail similar to the famous photos from the Chilkoot along with the text: 'Plan head: don't discover you're over your limit.' Lastly is a man passed out in a sleeping bag from the Solstice themed batch, this time with French text: 'Prévois le coup : dégrise sous le soleil de minuit.'

Three of the social media placements and one example of a newspaper ad.

In addition to Gary and Bri Bremner at GBP Creative, a shout-out to Stuart Davis, Lea-Ann McNally, Tara Kolla Hale, Akiko Allen and Carolyn Westberg for their hard work on the photography to take the (sometimes wild) concepts and make them a reality with makeup, costumes, props, and other details that helped make this campaign fly.