Allan Mah

Is Nestea the drink of the future that will make you smarter, increase your stamina, and give you liquid courage to do almost anything? No. That would be an overpromise. In fact, the only thing it does manage to do is give you real tea refreshment. This spot extols the virtue of keeping it real in a world that’s saturated with all things fake.

The Collingwood Elvis Festival is the world’s largest Elvis celebration of its kind; attracting nearly 40,000 attendees. To attract even more fans to the four-day event, a campaign was launched to prove that anyone can feel like Elvis. A series of out-of-home posters feature a cop, handyman and doctor in Elvis Presley-inspired bedazzled jumpsuits were created. Additional work included ambient stunts, radio and even an Elvis voice-activated garbage can that thanked people for keeping the festival clean. 

Do people go crazy when they think they’re getting a too good to be true deal? Yes. In fact, more than half wouldn’t even report a cashier’s mistake and run off as nonchalantly as possible.

It’s a mini moral dilemma that affects everyone to the core. And yes. This happens at IKEA. A lot.

We celebrate this insight for the rarest of all IKEA sales that happens only twice a year, when prices are so good, people think it just has to be a mistake.

IKEA “Start the Car” is a beloved tv spot that has become ingrained in Canadian culture. Running for at least two decades, the spot has been used in as many as 13 different countries including the USA, and completely reshot with different actors for markets in France and Türkiye.

Today, “Start the Car!” can still be heard, often times yelled in an IKEA or even when someone gets a great deal that’s just too good to be true.

In 2017, “Start the Car” was chosen by TIFF as a Top 10 Essential Ad in Canadian Cinema. In 2018, Deadpool did his own version and added an expletive for good measure.

In 2024, “Start the Car” was voted as the All-Time Greatest Canadian Spot, according to the readers of Campaign Magazine.

The fragrance by Dior is both captivating and dangerous. The glass bottle was cleverly designed to emulate the shape of a tempting red apple, considered to be forbidden fruit.

Poison has fatal allure. It was fitting to reinforce the dangerousness of Poison with the equally deadly, and visually striking venomous snake, spider, and scorpion, complete with inviting headlines to seduce.

The Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame was an intimate museum that housed some of the most interesting boxing artifacts in Canada, offering a unique glimpse into the world of Canadian boxing. A number of period piece posters were created to help drive attendance. It successfully did just that and also gave us some nice mentions at national award shows too. Following the owner's passing in 2006, the museum closed.

In this 60 second tv and cinema spot, Audi Canada pays homage to the beauty of Canada's vast and varying landscape. With dramatic prose and epic film, we entice old and new Audi owners alike to explore this land with quattro all-wheel drive. Since it’s introduction, sales continue to rise. The film was honoured at many award shows, including a gold win at the Canadian Marketing Association, automotive category.

Seinfeld is considered to be the one show that led to a Renaissance of sitcoms. Nine years redefined ordinary comedic storytelling, by focussing on everything from awkward experiences, the minutiae of life, to laughable annoyances. It is a show about nothing. 

Decades later, Seinfeld’s popularity endures as a benchmark of funny. To celebrate Seinfeld’s impact on comedy and culture, a Renaissance themed Seinfeld art exhibit was created to give everyone the opportunity to appreciate the comedic genius of nothingness in galleries across North America, side by side with other masterpieces created over the millennia.

Insights, anecdotes, and little known facts about Seinfeld would be shared. Even Seinfeld Renaissance paintings and sculptures depicting the show’s characters, and scenes, along with props, and objects of interest would be on display. Visitors would be provided an audio tour to listen to curators speak about individual pieces with a respectful, yet comedic tone.

Since 1892, Dare Foods has been making cookies and candies from Kitchener, Ontario. Over the years, the company has expanded. This 60 second animated stop motion tv spot, celebrates Dare’s long held vision to make wholesome food that feels good. This look and feel translated easily to a variety of media and was awarded a Bessie for craft the year it was released.

In this campaign of 15 second spots, we feature people in humorously urgent situations and demonstrate how the speed of an Interac Flash transaction can get them out of their predicament. Supported through online banners, social media, and in-store media, these spots also ran in all movie theatres across the country.

'Be in the Black' highlights the benefits of using your own money for everyday purchases instead of paying with credit cards. This 60 second tv spot became a dramatic call to action for all Canadians to take control of their money.

In the initial launch, Interac recorded 5.2% transaction volume growth within the first three months and a 24% increase in growth compared to the same period the previous year. The spot also won some hardware, including 3 golds at the Midas Awards. I'm proud to have had a hand in creating this platform. 'Be in the Black' continues to resonate with Canadians today. In 2016, the platform earned Gold Integrated for the financial category and a silver Cassie.

Interac wanted Canadians to do away with cash and cheques, in favour of Interac e-Transfer. So we created Dr. Trapasso, Doctor of Money Transferology, to dramatically make this point in his study at makecashandchequeshistory.com. It’s here where our good doctor presented his hilarious version of history and the many perils of out-dated money exchange. Users could browse through three mockumentary videos and a collection of relics, each proving e-Transfer to be the simpler and safer way to transfer money. This website was honoured at the Webbys and multiple award shows. And Interac e-Transfer continues to be one of the most popular services they have to offer.

http://thinkinginsidethebox.ca/make-cash-and-cheques-history/

Packaged in a small silver can, Molson Cold Shots is a 6.0% beer that is remarkably strong. This naturally led us to create a poster and online campaign with a mighty midget wrestler in a silver suit and a red maple leaf. What’s stronger than a midget in a silver Luchador mask and skintight jumpsuit? Nothing. Can you imagine our meeting with the client? Sales were amazing. And getting recognition from our peers at award shows was a nice touch too.

With an impressive mix of performance, style and innovation, the all-new Audi Q7 is a great expression of the brand mantra, Vorsprung durch Technik (Advancement through Technology). Anyone who gets behind the wheel will easily understand how that greatness projects onto the road. To prove it, we created this 90-second film featuring a 3D projected Audi Q7 on a magical ascent up a mountain – captured entirely in camera with no special effects added.

Not everyone would be willing to give the shirt off their back for a stranger, but would you put a shirt on your back with a stranger? To prove that we all fit in this world together, we approached random Canadians from all walks of life and asked them to share a tailored, two headed t-shirt. The result was overwhelmingly positive.

The Brides’ Project is a not-for-profit organization that sells donated wedding gowns. All profits from these sales are donated to cancer charities. To date, The Brides’ Project has raised over half a million dollars for cancer research and support. This print and poster campaign was designed to emulate bridal ads, and ran in wedding magazines as well as at bridal shows across the country.

Upper Canada College (UCC) faced a two-pronged challenge: a decline in alumni participation and a lack of diversity in applicants. The task was to make an old-school, stodgy brand relevant in today's world. That led us to develop ‘Tomorrow Thinking,’ which made the brand promise clear: UCC believes in equipping boys for a changing future. The chalkboard with real students, provided the perfect canvas to differentiate the school from all others. 

Have you heard of Hump Day? Now there's Hump Date. In an effort to boost Wednesday attendance at Cineplex VIP Cinemas, we created this ongoing promotion to give movie patrons a midweek movie and dinner for two – all for $50. The campaign included radio, POS materials, social media and contests asking Canadians to share their Hump Date moments. The promotion is an ongoing success story. Cineplex has never been busier.

No European children were harmed or disappointed in any way during the making of this tv spot. It does however, make for an entertaining little diddy about chocolate Easter eggs.

Greenpeace isn’t an organization just made up of hippies who willingly block whaling ships on the open water. In this print campaign, we shift this stereotype by showcasing the changing face of Greenpeace members and the acts they’ve committed for the sake of environmental conservation since 1971. Membership spiked and many advertising juries around the world took notice.

DestinationPride.org is a data-driven search platform that reimagines the Pride flag as a dynamic bar graph. It visualizes the world's LGBTQ+ laws, rights and social sentiment as a tool for travellers to gauge safety and acceptance of any city or country.

It was only fitting to create a logo that merges this ever-changing data and the letter “D.” Used initially at the time of launch and for all award show submissions, this visual identity was an efficient and elegant way to symbolically encapsulate the brand story in a compact design.

In 2018, Destination Pride has gone on to earn many accolades from prominent national and international award shows including 6 Cannes Lions for website and mobile design.

Women who have used men's shaving cream, usually have regrets. It just left skin feeling tight and dry. This non-foaming, moisturizing shave cream with natural shea butter and extracts is one of the few made just for women. These print ads served to launch eos and differentiate it from all other products on the market.

Virgin Mobile has been in Canada for over 15 years, providing the country with exceptional smartphone service. And now with this launch campaign, Virgin Mobile is now Virgin Plus, offering Canadians mobile + internet + tv.

The launch campaign marked a new beginning for this telco. TV, print, outdoor and digital dramatically teased this change by removing Virgin Mobile and revealing Virgin Plus in a variety of ways.

Drawing inspiration from the iconic manual, we created a way to show how simple it was to install an IKEA Kitchen. Step 1: Buy it. Step 2: Do whatever you want while IKEA installs it for you.

People For Good is a not-for-profit organization that encourages Canadians to do everyday good deeds. Busy schedules and demanding lives, often distract us from treating each other well. With the belief that no one is born bad, we set out to remind people that we all have the opportunity to get back to good in this tv, print and online campaign.