A new voice for a new age of Canadian marketing

Who: Sir Corp. (Jack Astor’s), with The Garden for strategy and creative, Cairns Oneil for media, video directed by Clay Stang, editor Brett Erina and East Line Audio for sound.

What: “Work from Patio,” a playful activation and ad campaign inspired by idea that people who are supposed to be working from home would rather be “working” on a patio.

When & Where: The campaign launched earlier this summer, with a travelling “work pod” visiting different locations, supported by paid and organic social and outdoor / billboards.

Why: Even though more workplaces are starting to call their staff back to the office, many people are still working from home, which means fewer team lunches and after-work hangs with colleagues. So Jack Astor’s was looking for a way to remind people about its patios during the short Canadian summer.

“We’re known for our vibrant patios, but with the behavioural shifts we’ve seen post-pandemic, we needed a new way to invite Canadians onto our patios that better fit into their new daily routines,” said Anesie Johnson, vice-president marketing at Sir Corp., in a release.

How: The concept from The Garden was to imagine ways to help people fool their bosses into thinking they’re working from home when they’re really enjoying beers and nachos on a Jack Astor’s patio.

The agency created an actual “Work from Patio” pod, a soundproof booth with a living room backdrop enabling people to quickly and easily take Zoom meetings inconveniently scheduled during prime patio time. The pod has been touring around different Jack Astor’s locations.

“Capitalizing on the popularity of soundproof work pods, we thought it would be unexpected and fun to bring one to Jack’s patios,” said The Garden’s creative director, Lindsay Eady. Aside from the pod, all 37 Jack Astor’s locations across the country have “working from home” backdrops for customer selfies that prove they are working from home. A 30-second social ad, supported by other social posts and billboards, is driving people to a Jack Astor’s patio.

And we quote: “Not only is calling guests to ‘work’ from patio a timely, culturally relevant move, it’s exactly the type of irreverent, tongue-in-cheek behaviour Jack’s is known for.” —Anesie Johnson, vice-president marketing at Sir Corp.

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