HARROD & MIRLIN/FCB SUPPORTS THE ARTS WITH NEW CAMPAIGN
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based Harrod & Mirlin/FCB is showing its support of the arts in the Greater Toronto Area with the creation of a new ad campaign to raise awareness of Arts Week, running September 23 through October 1. The campaign was created on a pro-bono basis in an effort to raise awareness of the annual event and encourage people to attend. Arts Week has been held yearly since 1987 by Arts Toronto, a not-for-profit charitable organization that celebrates the arts and artists in the Toronto area. In creating the campaign, Harrod & Mirlin aimed to change the perception of people viewing art in a formal way. The campaign message "Everyone needs art" is intended to communicate that art is more than the opera, ballet and art galleries but in fact is found in everyone's lives. One execution shows a white plaster cast that has been signed with drawings and messages. Another features an alien shape shaved into the back of someone's hair. The campaign includes a 30-second television spot, transit shelter advertising, bathroom ads, print advertising and outdoor posters. Transit shelters were donated by Mediacom and club and restaurant locations featuring bathroom ads were donated by NewAd Media. The campaign launched early September and runs until the end of the festival.