All posts by Astral Studio

Kim’s Convenience is back for a 3rd season

DECEMBER 2018 –JANUARY 2019 | TORONTO
STREET FURNITURE • TSA

Since 2016, CBC has been broadcasting the famous sitcom “Kim’s Convenience”. To mark the launch of the 3rd season, an advertising campaign was created in order to thank the show’s loyal fans. For 2 weeks during the Holiday season, Astral wrapped transit shelters with show themed vinyl located at the corner of Soho and Queen St W. in Toronto. To further the connection with fans a customized distributor was installed on the external ad face providing transit riders with free Kim’s Convenience shopping bag.

Media agency: Initiative
Creative Agency: CBC

Starbucks Canada’s Cloud Bliss

MARCH 16, 2020 TO APRIL 12, 2020 | TORONTO
STREET FURNITURE • TSA

To boost the launch of “Cloud Bliss”, Starbucks Canada created a playful platform wrap using graphic clouds and bright colors to bring the beverage to life. Clouds were used as expressive iconography to make an easy connection in visualizing fluffy cold foam. The beverage offering, in either hot or cold, balanced the transition of seasonality from Winter to Spring. Ad face locations were selected close to competing coffee vendors to remind consumers that there is another choice out there. The creative was sure to capture and engage with consumers in the hopes that they would opt for this new and delightful spring treat.

Media agency: Spark Foundry
Creative Agency: Public Office

Intact Insurance, the Montreal Canadiens and Bell Media in a new partnership for a media-based multiplatform campaign

OCTOBER 2019 – APRIL 2020 | MONTREAL & TORONTO
OUTDOOR • DIGITAL SUPERBOARD

Intact Insurance has been a Montreal Canadiens partner for several seasons now. With Bell Media’s collaboration, a multiplatform campaign was developed to extend the reach of the client’s message.

Intact renewed its annual sponsorship of Canadiens hockey on RDS by adding contextual media components. The Media Creativity team innovated by proposing a brand-new format, i.e. a 10-second audio-video break-in animation, airing live during play stoppages. The animation was inserted on a wide shot of the ice rink and arena. In addition, a countdown spot aired at the end of a first-period commercial break, featuring Intact Insurance’s well-known spokes-character Rogatien – the taxi driver played by Patrick Huard.

The campaign also included dynamic creatives, both online and on Astral’s Digital Network. On game nights, the score was displayed in real time and each accompanying message was adapted accordingly.

The same technology (real-time score + contextualized message) was used for Intact Insurance’s Toronto campaign. During Maples Leafs games, different messages appeared on the Astral Digital Network, and showing the live score.

Media Agency: PHD Montreal
Creative Agency: Cossette

PepsiCo Scores with Hockey Fans Across the Country

FEBRUARY 10th-25th, 2020 | MONTREAL
TRANSIT • DIGITAL SUPERBOARD, VIDEO MURAL

For many years now, PepsiCo has been an important partner of the NHL and the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players’ Association). Leveraging an undying passion for hockey, PepsiCo is deploying exceptional ad campaigns, partnerships and sponsorship activations designed to cement the relationship between fans and the many assets in the league’s brand portfolio.

After unveiling a national brand image campaign on TSN to launch its new Pepsi Zero Sugar product (previously unknown as Pepsi Max), PepsiCo was now looking to capitalize on the free-agent transaction deadline to make a splash in the Francophone market. Our Media Creativity team came up with an innovative multiplatform proposal allowing PepsiCo to integrate its brand to our content, with visibility throughout our day-long coverage aimed at maximizing target audience touchpoints.

Using platforms that perfectly complemented one another, the strategy obviously put RDS front and centre as Quebec’s ultimate sports authority in terms of news, as well as expert analysis and commentary.

  • TV: RDS featured Pepsi Zero Sugar integrations on its various sets, as well a co-branded imagery, throughout the 2020 transaction deadline day
  • Digital & Social: Daily visuals highlighting different rumours and trades were showcased in Facebook and Instagram stories on the RDS and ÉNERGIE 94.3 accounts, and banners appeared at RDS.ca
  • Out of Home: Whenever a deal went down, an eye-catching “Transaction Alert” visual – with RDS and Pepsi Zero Sugar branding – popped up in real time on Astral’s large-format digital network in Montreal, as well as in the metro. Throughout the campaign period, visuals also appeared in restaurants and bars from the Astral Lifestyle network. And to top it all off, transaction-day coverage was broadcast live in Montreal’s Central Station on February 24.

Media Agency: OMD
Creative Agency: BBDO

An optical illusion for Loto-Québec’s scratcher “Grande Vie”

JANUARY 6 – MARCH 1st, 2020 | MONTREAL
TRANSIT • LUMIQUAI  McGill Metro Station

With a single advertising face in the Montreal subway, Loto-Québec managed to have public transit users dream a little. For its “Grande Vie” lottery ticket – which gives winners $ 1,000 every day for life – the Astral Special Projects team and the creative agency Sid Lee developed an infinity mirror. This optical illusion allowed transit users to reflect on the infinite possibilities a “Grande Vie” winner will face with its prize or even allows us to visualize what a daily prize of $ 1,000 could feel like.

Astral’s Special Projects team is always there to help you put your ideas into action, from the most serious to the most fun campaigns!

Media Agency: Sid Lee
Creative Agency: Sid Lee

UBER EATS: LET’S EAT

18 NOVEMBER TO 29 DECEMBER 2019 | TORONTO
DIGITAL • BRANDSCAPE, DIGITAL LARGE FORMAT, ROOFSCAPE

For its Let’s Eats campaign, Uber partnered with the MLSE to display game scores for the Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors to promote their food delivery service. In order to carry out this execution, Astral has developed a technology making it possible to update TSN’s real-time data on their digital products instantaneously.

Media Agency: Mediacom Canada

Facing some children’s impossible choices

OCTOBER 14 – NOVEMBER 17, 2019 | TORONTO
STREET FURNITURE • TRANSIT SHELTERS

Astral partnered with Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, a national charity for children and youth in child welfare, to raise awareness about the unbearable scenarios kids at-risk face and to increase support for its advocacy and fundraising efforts.

On different locations in the Toronto GTA area, our transit shelters were wrapped, featuring some of the “Impossible Choices” children in neglectful or abusive environments are forced to make every day. The key messages of the OOH and digital campaigns were to drive traffic on the Foundation’s website for people to donate and sign the pledge to help create a new normal for these children.

Media Agency: Empathy Inc.
Creative Agency: Field Trip & Co

Uniqlo Opening

SEPTEMBER 16 – OCTOBER 4, 2019 | EDMONTON
DIGITAL • DIGITAL SUPERBOARD
In September 2019, UNIQLO – a Japanese apparel brand – was launching its first store in Edmonton (AB)at the famous West Edmonton Mall. In order to create local buzz and excitement around the opening, UNIQLO Canadapartnered with Astral. Using our real-time technology, a countdown clock leading to the store opening was featured on strategically located digital boards in the busy West Edmonton Mall area. Other campaign creatives were displayed on various Astral faces in town, in high traffic locations.
The campaign was a hit: on opening weekend, a massive line up could be seen at the store, showing that Edmontonians really were excited about the arrival of UNIQLO!
Media Agency: Isobar
Creative Agency: DentsuBos

A billboard that predicts the 2019 Federal Canadian election results

OCTOBER 2019 | QUÉBEC CITY
OUTDOOR BILLBOARD • HORIZONTAL

The Festival de Magie de Québec, in collaboration with lg2, made quite a splash during the last Federal election. Five days before the general vote, a magician climbed onto an Astral billboard in Québec City and inserted his predictions in a mysterious envelope stuck on advertising face.

During election night, when the results were unveiled, the magician returned to the billboard to reveal the contents of his envelope. In addition to predicting the name of the next Prime Minister, he unveiled the right number in the percentage of votes cast.

Another creative stunt signed Astral, LG2 and the Festival of Magic in the National Capital.

Media Agency:
Creative Agency: lg2

A painted mural for Canada Goose

OCTOBER 7- DECEMBER 1, 2019 | TORONTO
OUTDOOR • WALL MURAL

In its most recent advertising stunt, Canada Goose, a leader in performance luxury apparel, Canada Goose paired up with artists around the world. The idea was to commission painted walls in prominent areas in major cities, such as London, Berlin, New York City.

In Toronto, street artist and painter from Rome, Alice, was chosen to showcase Canada Goose’s products. She featured a couple in the brand’s iconic coats with cultural references and the Torontonian skyline in the background.

Astral’s Wall Murals are in a class of their own – dramatic and impactful. These dynamic wallscapes and murals will stop consumers in their tracks to engage with your brand. Canada Goose and Alice hit the mark with this campaign!

Media Agency: Rapport WW (NYC)
Artist: Alice Pasquini

Find your GO Time

JULY 1st – AUGUST 25, 2019 | TORONTO
OUTDOOR • LARGE FORMAT DIGITAL

This summer, Metrolinx launched its high impact media campaign for GO Transit, the Greater Golden Horseshoe regional bus and rail service. The insight behind the campaign was that there are thousands of things drivers could be doing with their time instead of driving if they had taken the train or bus. Much of the campaign’s investment was in out-of-home and Astral was there to support the dynamic campaign.

Instead of developing 500+ different visuals for this campaign broadcasting each of them on our Digital Network at specific times, we used an app that could display a single visual with a wide variety of different messages. Those creatives were synchronized to display a different message at different times of the day. The clock on the Astral digital boards were also set to only show time and matched the time in Metrolinx’s creative.

Thanks to responsive technology, the resolution of the displayed image remained the same regardless of the size of the screen on which it was projected on our Digital Network.

Astral has a wide range of technological products and does not hesitate to offer its customers innovative out-of-home solutions for their campaigns! The ‘Find Your GO Time’ campaign is just one example of our know-how.

Media Agency: PHD Canada
Creative Agency: BBDO

ACTIVIA #CorpsEsprit

August 5 – 18, 2019 | MONTREAL
DIGITAL MURAL • BERRI-UQAM METRO STATION

Every summer, Montreal is host to a massive yoga gathering. Danone wanted to make the most of this event, which promotes a healthy body and mind, to promote the various Activia products and their benefits. Along with Wavemaker and Carl, Astral’s Special Project team developed a digital and dynamic out-of-home campaign Berri-UQAM’s new digital network. Thus, when a new metro car arrived at the station, a message would be displayed on the screens and various visuals of the campaign would appear. Other videos were also projected in the station while users wait for the next metro. To tie everything to the yoga theme, the floor in front of all four screens in the station was covered with fake green yoga mats, the dominant colour of the Activia brand.

Media Agency: Wavemaker
Creative Agency: Carl

SÉPAQ & AQUARIUM DE QUÉBEC

JULY 8 – SEPTEMBER 1 2019 | QUEBEC CITY
STREET FURNITURE • TSA

Sépaq (Société des établissements de plein air du Québec) wanted to take advantage of the summer’s tourist influx to attract people to Québec City’s Aquarium, which hosts more than 10,000 marine animals on 16 hectares. lg2 and Astral’s Special Projects Team came up with the idea of bringing a sensory experience to the users of the RTC (Réseau de transport de la Capitale) to encourage public transit users to visit the Aquarium.

Bus shelters in Québec City were transformed into a jellyfish aquarium! Ambient lighting with UV LEDs – a black-light type of lighting commonly used in aquariums of this type of marine animal – was installed in the bus shelters, giving users the impression of literally being immersed in an aquarium with these phosphorescent and hypnotic creatures!

Just by taking a look at the pictures, we can see that this simple execution is really spectacular… especially at night!

 Media Agency: Touché!
Creative Agency: lg2

Brasseurs du Nord – Boréale Beer

JUNE 17 – AUGUST 18 2019 | MONTREAL
TRANSIT • MURAL

Summertime is always a good period in the year to increase the awareness of alcoholic beverages. Brasseurs du Nord made no exception to this rule and took upon Astral to display its campaign for its Boréale beer.

Using nature and outdoor activities as main themes, the campaign could be seen on an impressive mural at the Place-des-Arts metro station in Montreal. Creatives have also been created for our Superboards and Horizontals along the exits of major highways leaving Montreal and Quebec City – thus making reference to the call of nature promoted in the campaign’s various visuals.

Media Agency: OMD (Montréal)
Creative Agency: lg2