2026 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Dairy Queen Canada is best known for its Blizzard treats and iconic red spoon, with strongest performance in summer. However, between December and March, Blizzard Treat® sales typically decline by about 35 percent, despite Canadians continuing to consume ice-cream throughout winter. The challenge was not demand, but relevance. Blizzard Treat® simply fell out of consideration once temperatures dropped.

The business objective was to reverse this predictable winter decline by reigniting cravings, restoring top-of-mind awareness, and reframing Blizzard Treat® as appropriate for the coldest months of the year. This needed to be achieved with a modest budget and without relying on traditional paid media.

The target audience was Canadians aged 18 to 54 who remain active outdoors during winter and regularly purchase quick-service restaurant treats, particularly in high-snowfall regions with strong DQ presence.

The campaign transformed winter itself into the medium by turning snowbanks into oversized Blizzard treats. Following one of the snowiest winters in years, naturally formed snowbanks were converted into large-scale installations using custom-built red spoons and Smarties toppings. These “Blizzard Banks” appeared overnight in Ottawa, Collingwood, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Whistler, surprising people as they went about their winter routines.

Rather than placing advertising into the environment, the work became part of it. Installations were located near sidewalks, skating rinks, and community gathering spots, encouraging discovery, interaction, and sharing. Their playful scale invited photography and user participation.

The physical installations powered a broader activation driven entirely by earned channels. User-generated content, influencer participation, and coverage from The Weather Network extended the work nationally, allowing a local stunt to become a country-wide story.

“Blizzard Banks” delivered strong results with no paid media support. Over three days, the campaign generated 5.1 million earned impressions, 32 media stories, and exceeded earned media targets by 1,400 percent.

Most importantly, it drove a 10 percent year-over-year increase in February Blizzard Treat® sales, totaling a 2203 percent ROAS and reversing the brand’s typical winter decline and proving that creativity rooted in culture can deliver meaningful business impact.

Credits

Vinicius Dalvi, Chief Creative Officer
Victor Yves, Head of Art
Josh Dornan, Senior Art Director
Claire Mills, Senior Copywriter
Larissa Visentin, Art Director
Jackson Rothwell, Copywriter
Serene Gaspar, EVP, Managing Director
Bobby Malhotra, EVP, Managing Director
Mary Chamber, Chief Strategy Officer
Shawna Hayman, SVP, Brand Lead
Silvia Parkinson, Group Account Director
Haleigh Magill, Account Director
Rachel Senay, Account Supervisor
Chris Whyte, Group Strategy Director
Rylee Strachan, VP Digital Strategy
Abby Guthrie, Digital Strategy Director
Eliza Pratter, Jr. Digital Strategist
Chris Desjardins, SVP, Sponsorship & Events
Sabeeca Ali, Director, Brand Experience
Ryan Balter, Account Executive
Chris Taylor , Program Director
Benjamin Jones, Associate Technical Director
Myah Wills, Designer
Mike Charal, Team Lead, Motion Design
Elliot Berkis, Designer
Sydney Wills, Production Designer
Yuriy Leheta, Production Designer
Marley Garren, Junior Motion Designer
Terry Theofilactidis, VP Commercial Content
Reid Marshall, Director
Alex Chan, Photographer
Rebecca Burtnik, Post Producer
Ingrid Theiner, Editor
Angeli Pineda, Editor
Adam Kemp, Colourist
LePub MTL, Audio Mixing
Ginger Sherwell, Senior Account Director, Media Profile
Alyssa Bomben Tomczak, Senior Consultant, Media Profile
Halli Gallo, Consultant, Media Profile
Gemma Mastroianni, Influencer Marketing and Content Strategist, Media Profile
Donna Smith, VP, Media Director, DentsuX
Amali Senarath Yapa, Director, DentsuX
Claudia Rodriguez Proano, Account Director, DentsuX
Herleen Bansal, Sr. Media Planner, DentsuX
Vinod Talreja, Associate Partner Manager, DentsuX
Stephanie Estanislao, Coordinator, Buying, DentsuX
Priyanka Lokre, Digital Planner, DentsuX