2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Purdys Chocolatier, a Canadian chocolate maker established in 1907, has been a beloved brand for many Canadians, known for their holiday chocolates such as advent calendars and assorted boxes. However, while Purdys experienced growth in sales, transaction counts decreased as millennials and new Canadians who were unfamiliar with the brand became less connected to it. The challenge was to make Purdys top of mind for the holidays and create an emotional connection with all Canadians, without relying on past traditions. To achieve this, Purdys wanted to respond to a cultural insight relevant to today and express their belief in the power of chocolate to create experiences of joy and connection.

Recognizing the cultural insight that many of us take for granted the joy of picking out our favorite chocolates from a box, the company identified a group of people for whom this was not possible - the 23 million North Americans who are blind or partially sighted. To address this issue, Purdys launched the Holiday Braille Box - a first-of-its-kind, fully accessible box of chocolates designed specifically for the blind and partially sighted community. The box included braille orientation tabs, a braille chocolate legend, and a QR code that linked users to an accessible audio version of the legend. To make the box accessible to even more people, the full Purdys chocolate legend was also made available in the 10 most spoken languages in Canada.

The Holiday Braille Box was launched from December 2-24, 2021, with a product video featuring four members of the blind and partially sighted community sharing their experiences and feelings of exclusion. The box was sold in stores nationwide and online, and the initial run sold out within hours. Two additional runs also sold out, leading to the box being made available year-round as The Braille Box. The campaign earned media coverage from national and international outlets, including Yahoo, which praised Purdys for "Thinking outside the box," and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, which stated that Purdys is "helping change what it means to be blind," directly supporting the organization's mission. Overall, the Holiday Braille Box campaign successfully created an emotional connection with all Canadians while also making a meaningful impact on an overlooked community.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director: Leia Rogers, Morgan Tierney,
Mike Dubrick
Creative Director: Sean O’Connor, Sheldon Rennie
Associate Creative Director: Jordon Lawson
Art Director: Jake Gauthier
Writer: Evan Kane
Designer: Jake Gauthier, Abrie Miller
Print Producer: April Haffenden, Claire Khan
Lead Strategist: Darren Yada
Strategist: Anna Shkuratoff
Amplification Strategists: Sara Lemmermeyer, Meredith Montgomery, Aliz Tennant
Photographer: Clinton Hussey
Studio Artist / Typographer: Darina Kosikova, Linda Dumont
Broadcast Producer: Zara Thomas, Yogi Omar
Production Company: R+D Productions
Director of photography: Thomas Buchan
Line Producer: Richard Amies
Post Production House: R+D Productions
Editor: Alijah Monckton
Audio House: Wave Productions
Producer (Audio House): Craig Zarazun
Engineer: Craig Zarazun
Account Services: Katherine McKeen
Client Supervisor: Julia Cho