Toronto hot shop Zulu Alpha Kilo keeps the Advertising & Design Club of Canada alive with help from legends Dave Droga and Alex Bogusky

NYC-based Aussie expat David Droga, together with Alex Bogusky, and expat Canadians, Colleen DeCourcy and David Kolbusz, were just some of the global icons of the industry who generously stepped in to help save the Advertising & Design Club of Canada (ADCC), the country’s oldest industry club.

 

To bring in the necessary funds to keep the club alive, Toronto creative agency Zulu Alpha Kilo pulled off an ambitious 24-hour webathon. The livestream contained a mix of live and curated content, which featured a number of prolific names from the advertising and design community. It was all done in the style of an old-fashioned telethon, complete with impassioned pleas to save the organization.

Even the likes of David Droga and Alex Bogusky stepped in with provocative pleas. Both ad legends sat down for a rare, never-before-seen, intimate discussion with Zulu Alpha Kilo’s CCO & Founder Zak Mroueh to talk about everything from what it takes to do the best work in the world to their thoughts on vegetables–even the latter topic was captivating. It’s the only time Bogusky and Droga have ever done a talk together in history.

Edelman’s Global CCO Judy John moderated a panel on why the world needs more Canadian creativity, featuring two expat Canadians: Wieden+Kennedy’s Colleen DeCourcy and Droga5 London’s David Kolbusz.

Six copywriters from all over North America participated in a timed writing battle. Panels voted on the top 10 Canadian ads of all time. A legendary Canadian panel discussed the past, present and future of the industry. Panels debated Pro-bono vs. paid work and where our collective creative efforts should be focused. There was a live Q&A with Cossette’s Global CCO, Peter Ignazi, over Cheerios. Director X got candid about his creative process. A creative auction was held where a mug went for $1000. And Andrew Simon, ADCC President, read the annual to his daughters, his guinea pig Tulip, and fell asleep on air. He said, “As a non-profit, we’re in a very different position compared to other programs. We rely on the funding to help support our speaker series, student competitions and many other events that run year-long. Thankfully, we were able to save the ADDC.”

Auction items included advice on How to Start Your Agency ($1000), Positive Reinforcement from Andrew Simon ($130), a Socially Distanced Photoshoot ($250). Plus many agency CD were sold for one hour mentorship time slots.

The ADCC provides valuable support and opportunities to young and veteran creatives alike – they host educational events, host student competitions to promote the next generation of talent, create behind-the-scenes content that showcases how great Canadian creative gets made, and they’ve also preserved the last 71 years of Canada’s creative history in a digital archive.

Says Zak Mroueh, Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Zulu Alpha Kilo: “We’ve all missed the interaction with our peers during the pandemic and this once-in-a-lifetime event literally brought our local and global industry together. Through the industry’s generosity, we managed to raise the necessary funds.”

The ADCC All-Nighter, hosted by 6Degrees Christian Goutsis, took place on July 10-11, 7pm-7pm. The webathon ran through Eventstream, and the full 24-hour rundown will be viewable on the ADCC YouTube page.

Client: Advertising & Design Club of Canada
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
Creative Director: Zak Mroueh
Designer: Jeff Watkins, Vince Rozas, Zoe Kim
Writer: Nick Asik, Jackson Kemp, Dan Cummings
Art Director: Jenny Luong, Michael Romaniuk, Vic Bath
Clients: Michelle Ovcaric, Andrew Simon
Account Team: Erin McManus, Nina Bhayana, Rob Feightner
Planner: Tim Hopkins
Digital Producer: Michael O’shell
Senior Producer: Rebecca Adams
Editor: Felipe Chaparro, Ashlee Mitchell, Jessie Posthumous, Noah Mroueh
Post Production Producer: Sarah Dayus
Post Production: Zulubot
Studio Director: Greg Heptinstall
Studio Artist: Ashleigh O’Brien, Jeannette Downes, Andrew Martin
Audio House: 6Degrees
Host: Christian Goutsis