How do you fit a Canadian tyre brand into an Olympics and Paralympics campaign? Canadian Tire gave Leo Burnett Toronto quite a task.
The agency’s answer is as emotive and inspiring as any Olympics or Paralympics campaign so far. That’s a real achievement. It is hinged to two noteworthy observation. The first is that the 2024 Paris Olympics are shaping up to be the first Olympic Games to feature the same number of male and female athletes. This is a significant milestone for women’s sport and women in general.
The second observation is that Canadian Tire, long-term Team Canada partner, is the first Canadian company to make a 50/50 sponsorship commitment in women’s professional sports through its Women’s Sport Initiative. That’s a significant business initiative.
Leo Burnett’s Believe in Her Olympics campaign for Canadian Tire reflects the company’s focus on driving positive change from playground to podium, and its hero commercial, Next Legend, drives that message into the world’s hearts and minds.
“We built our spot around a baby with a world of sport potential, who is revealed to be a girl (and maybe a future gold medallist). It’s a rare opportunity to help Canadian Tire build upon a movement as powerful as supporting women in sport. We are so excited for this work to widen eyes and encourage girls to pursue their sports dreams,” stated Andrew Hart, creative director, Leo Burnett.
The campaign builds on the brand’s We All Play for Canada platform, an expression of Canadian Tire’s commitment to enabling and celebrating the power of sport and play in bringing people together. It features the voices of prominent Canadian sportscasters, Jim Hughson (ENG) and Pierre Houde (FR) over the sports anthem, Eye of the Tiger, best known for its role in the original Rocky film. Both the track and voiceover are carried across the campaign, including social and supporting TV/OLV spots.
The campaign includes media integrations with CBC, TikTok and The Gist. CBC content will highlight top Canadian women in sport moments as they play out real-time in Paris. TikTok content reprises the viral How It Started vs. How It’s Going trend to tell the origin story of Canadian Tire partner athletes as they grew to be Olympians and Paralympians. Athletes featured include Aaliyah Edwards, Aurélie Rivard, Jacqueline Simoneau, Kia Nurse and Skylar Park. The program also includes content creators from all walks of the sports industry – broadcasters, coaches and former athletes – who share their own journey and how far they’ve come.
