Keeping billionaires away from our booze

In theory, everyone loves the idea of picking up a six-pack from the corner store. But let’s be real, while quick and easy, this convenience comes with a massive hangover. The Ontario government's expansion of liquor sales beyond public LCBO stores spells disaster for Ontarians. As OPSEU LBED workers headed into bargaining, the focus was on more than wages—they were fighting for their livelihoods against this corporate takeover.

But we all know the hard truth. People are motivated by things that impact their own lives. And while the public may feel empathy for workers who are facing job losses, it won’t necessarily move them to action. 

Corner store cold ones sound convenient. To help people think beyond that, we needed a solid strategy.

Here’s the thing: The LCBO is a massive contributor to public services that Ontarians rely on. Like, billions of dollars massive. Private liquor stores mean money that’s crucial to things like public education and health care is stolen from communities… and poured directly into the overflowing glasses of billionaire business owners. That’s a high price to pay for convenience.

Message testing revealed the key to moving and motivating our audience. The thought of your kid struggling in a crumbling public school, or a hospital so understaffed it can’t help you in a crisis—all while billionaires are toasting their growing profits—that’s when the anger really starts to brew. 

But we knew that we couldn’t just rely on the message in itself, we had to be careful to frame it in a way that didn’t guilt-trip our audience. Ontarians needed to feel good about their consumer choices; blame and shame leads to activist paralysis. So mixing facts with a splash of sarcasm, we set out to push back against Doug Ford and his privatization plans.

We centred our creative around a parody of a well-known billionaire who stands to profit from Ford’s policies (guess the reference). It wasn’t long before our fake billionaire “Callum” was delivering the iconic opening line: “Heeelllllooooo Pooooooors”.

Anchored by a flagship video, along with a radio ad, countless ad variations, and influencer outreach, we launched the “SoFundMe” campaign. Set in motion well in advance of the strike vote, SoFundMe began building awareness and persuading Ontarians that Ford’s plan to privatize the LCBO was designed to top up the glasses of the rich, while public services were left high and dry. The campaign culminated in a public pressure tactic—an action where constituents could tell Ford and his government to put a cork in their privatization plan.