2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Quebec is Canada’s largest EV market by volume, where in 2023, electric vehicles accounted for over 40%* of all new vehicle registrations. Because of this, automotive brands advertise their EVs heavily in Quebec. But that makes it challenging to stand out. Add to that, Volkswagen is a smaller brand in Canada, with just a fraction of the marketing spend of the market leaders, some of whom outspend VW four to one.

To generate awareness for VW’s all-electric ID.4, the agency couldn’t compete on paid-media tonnage alone. So, instead of relying on a traditional campaign, they set out to create a unique cultural moment.

Quebecers refer to EVs as being “Sans Émission,” which translates to “no gas emissions.” But in Quebec “Sans Émission” also means “no broadcast signal” – referring to the overnight period when many Quebec TV channels go dark.

Playing off the double meaning of “Sans Émission,” the agency took an unused media space and turned it into a 4-hour-long comedy special starring a charging EV. To create this first-of-its-kind media stunt, the brand partnered with popular entertainment channel Noovo, which in its history, had never broadcast anything between 2 am and 6 am.

Then, the agency cast famous Quebec comedian Pier-Luc Funk – known for his quirky, deadpan style of humour – to perform 4 hours of improv comedy using just a Volkswagen EV and a handful of props.

They timed the launch of Sans Émission to coincide with the start of the fall TV season and promoted it exactly as if a celebrity were launching their own show.

Promotional campaign assets included billboards counting down to the show’s premiere. These were placed in Montreal’s arts and entertainment district near other billboards promoting movies or TV shows.

15-second TV promos aired in rotation with commercials to promote Noovo’s fall TV lineup, including a listing for Sans Émission in the TV guide. Social media teaser posts from Noovo, Volkswagen, Pier-Luc Funk, and entertainment pundits further amplified the buzz. To enhance visibility, Pier-Luc embarked on a radio show PR tour to promote the program. Following the four-hour live broadcast, Sans Émission was edited into bite-sized episodes and made available for streaming on Noovo.ca, where online viewers could seamlessly link out from an episode to Volkswagen’s website to learn more about the brand.

The “Sans Émission” comedy special was equal parts entertainment for a late-night TV audience and info for the EV-curious. Over 63,000 people tuned in between 2 and 6 AM, making “Sans Émission” the 6th most-watched live show on Noovo during the fall season. Notably, every other show in Noovo’s top 10 list
aired during primetime.

This exposure translated into significant increases across Volkswagen’s marketing funnel. The campaign garnered a 15% increase in awareness of Volkswagen as an EV brand, a 40% increase in familiarity with the all-electric, a 54% increase in consideration (94% would now consider buying an ID.4), and 100% purchase intent.

The campaign also delivered strong business results with a 64% increase in website traffic from Quebec to the ID.4-order-form following the live broadcast and 49% growth in Volkswagen’s share of the Quebec EV market.

Credits

Graham Lang, Chief Creative Officer, VML Canada
Allen Kwong, Executive Creative Director, VML Canada
Mike Richardson, Creative Director, VML Canada
Alexandre Béland, Creative Director, VML Canada
Alexis Caron-Côté, Creative Director, VML Canada
Jérôme Bajulaz, Sr Art Director, VML Canada
Johan af Ström, Writer, VML Canada
Chloee Desjardins, Writer, VML Canada
Zachary Richman, Writer, VML Canada
Kyle Simpson, Designer, VML Canada
Julie Goulet, Translator/proofreader, VML Canada
Alexandra Michaud, Producer, VML Canada
Luc Arbour, Group Account Director, VML Canada
Lidwine Assogba, Account Supervisor, VML Canada
Virginie Calderon, Account Manager, VML Canada
Amy Delafontaine, Strategy Director, VML Canada
Andrew Ahern, Group Strategy Director, VML Canada
Christine Maw, President, Type1/VML Canada


Daniel Libman, Executive Producer, Freshman
Louis-David Jutras, Director, Freshman
Louis-David Jutras, Editor, Freshman
Maxime Valsan, Director of Photography, Freshman
France Youde-Poulin, Post Supervisor, MELS
Audio House, Circonflex
Emilie Bertrand, Associate Media Director, Touché! Media
Vincent Guitard, Project Manager, Touché! Media
Terry Horton, VP Strategy, Touché! Media


Lynne Piette, Director of Marketing, Volkswagen Canada
Mark Dicks, Manager Retail Marketing, Volkswagen Canada
Jennifer Klepadlo, Manager Brand Marketing, Volkswagen Canada