ISSUE

Spirits Canada, the national voice of the spirits industry, was preparing to take the LCBO to court over what it described as unfair pricing policies and retroactive chargebacks. The concern: if allowed to continue, these practices could force spirits brands out of Ontario, limiting consumer choice and destabilizing a competitive marketplace. To support its case—and apply pressure—the association needed bold, public-facing concepts that would communicate the potential fallout to Ontarians and decision-makers alike.

INSPIRATION

This wasn’t a traditional awareness campaign. These were ads designed to shift a negotiation. We approached the creative as both a warning and a metaphor, using clever, literal visuals to speak to the idea of “breaking spirits.” The work leveraged emotional cues and visual tension to underscore the real consequence of the LCBO’s policies—not just to the industry, but to the everyday consumer.

IMPLEMENTATION

The ads were never intended to run. Instead, they were created as strategic pressure pieces—visuals that could be shown behind closed doors or circulated in political advocacy contexts. Designed for maximum impact and clarity, they gave Spirits Canada the ability to say: this is what we could run if this continues.