2025 Winner
SilverBest in Branded Content
Tim Hortons
"The Last Timbit"
Horizon Media
"The Last Timbit"
Horizon Media
Tim Hortons has been deeply woven into the fabric of Canadian life since 1964 — a place where millions of Canadians have gathered, day after day, year after year. But in recent times, that deep cultural bond had started to fade. The brand wasn’t resonating in the way it once had. As the agency looked to 2024 and the celebration of the brand’s sixtieth anniversary, something big had to be done to mark the occasion and rebuild that bond.
Something befitting the significance of the milestone, and something that upheld their longstanding tradition of shining a spotlight on real Canadian stories.
The insight was to rebuild that connection; a choice was made. With a strong foothold in the QSR landscape and recognized as the most loved Brand in Canada, Tims could create their own piece of Canadian culture instead of trying to follow others, leveraging brand over product to build a lasting impact.
The big idea was to celebrate sixty. The agency shone a literal spotlight on a remarkable Canadian story made for the stage.
“The Last Timbit”, a 60th anniversary musical, is based on the real story of a group of strangers who found refuge in a Tims during a serious snowstorm. And to do so, they told a story that reflected the brand's values at its heart, with putting differences aside to work as a community becoming the main theme.
A team of Canada’s best theatre creators brought this story to life led by the originating producer of the Canadian hit musical “Come From Away”, and featured an award-winning writing team and several broadway stars. “Last Timbit” was a full-length stage production inspired by real events. A historic 2010 snowstorm that left thousands stranded in Ontario, with many finding shelter in a local Tim Hortons. The musical ran for a week at Toronto’s historic Elgin Theatre, premiering to sold-out performances and earning glowing reviews from critics and theatre-goers alike.
To bring this to life, the agency focused on the immediate experience of a musical — live audiences. The primary audience for the show was Tims fans and/or theatre-lovers in Toronto and surrounding areas. They promoted the production on a tight timeline largely through PR and leveraged the credibility of the producer to mitigate skepticism from the theatre community and general public alike. The agency supported PR efforts with targeted out-of-home and print, a consistent stream of preview content on Tims social channels, and a sneak-peek influencer event.
But Toronto alone was not enough, so they partnered with Bell Media to bring “The Last Timbit” to Canadians coast to coast, creating a film version of the musical and streaming on Crave, supported by a streaming plan to ensure that every Canadian was able to experience the show.
The campaign rewrote the guidelines for innovation.
This is a first for a Canadian brand to ever produce a musical, taking creativity and experiential media to an all-new space. This masterclass in brand building demonstrated the calculated risks required for established brands to not only preserve authentic connections with established audiences, but to lean into unfamiliar areas to gain love with new consumers.
This campaign also broke ground with content streaming as the first Canadian-produced musical to stream as a stand-alone program on Crave, with 56,000 Canadians viewing the program.
The brand is fully baked into every aspect of the show: its plot, setting, songs, humour, and heart. It’s a beautifully-crafted 75-minute ad thousands of people cumulatively paid over $343,000 to watch — with 100% share of their attention. But what makes this something only Tims could pull off is that it doesn’t feel like an ad. Because the brand is so deeply woven into the fabric of our culture, it feels like a story that could happen to any Canadian, anywhere.
“The Last Timbit” garnered 630.3 million impressions, a 0.5% increase in positive sentiment on earned conversation, and a 79% increase in positive sentiment. It was the #1 Canadian Musical of 2024 and the Top 25 Most Watched Canadian movie of 2024 on Crave.
By turning a true moment of Canadiana into a cultural event, Tim Hortons reignited emotional relevance, generated major media coverage, drove ticket sales, and reminded the nation that it’s more than just a coffee chain.
Something befitting the significance of the milestone, and something that upheld their longstanding tradition of shining a spotlight on real Canadian stories.
The insight was to rebuild that connection; a choice was made. With a strong foothold in the QSR landscape and recognized as the most loved Brand in Canada, Tims could create their own piece of Canadian culture instead of trying to follow others, leveraging brand over product to build a lasting impact.
The big idea was to celebrate sixty. The agency shone a literal spotlight on a remarkable Canadian story made for the stage.
“The Last Timbit”, a 60th anniversary musical, is based on the real story of a group of strangers who found refuge in a Tims during a serious snowstorm. And to do so, they told a story that reflected the brand's values at its heart, with putting differences aside to work as a community becoming the main theme.
A team of Canada’s best theatre creators brought this story to life led by the originating producer of the Canadian hit musical “Come From Away”, and featured an award-winning writing team and several broadway stars. “Last Timbit” was a full-length stage production inspired by real events. A historic 2010 snowstorm that left thousands stranded in Ontario, with many finding shelter in a local Tim Hortons. The musical ran for a week at Toronto’s historic Elgin Theatre, premiering to sold-out performances and earning glowing reviews from critics and theatre-goers alike.
To bring this to life, the agency focused on the immediate experience of a musical — live audiences. The primary audience for the show was Tims fans and/or theatre-lovers in Toronto and surrounding areas. They promoted the production on a tight timeline largely through PR and leveraged the credibility of the producer to mitigate skepticism from the theatre community and general public alike. The agency supported PR efforts with targeted out-of-home and print, a consistent stream of preview content on Tims social channels, and a sneak-peek influencer event.
But Toronto alone was not enough, so they partnered with Bell Media to bring “The Last Timbit” to Canadians coast to coast, creating a film version of the musical and streaming on Crave, supported by a streaming plan to ensure that every Canadian was able to experience the show.
The campaign rewrote the guidelines for innovation.
This is a first for a Canadian brand to ever produce a musical, taking creativity and experiential media to an all-new space. This masterclass in brand building demonstrated the calculated risks required for established brands to not only preserve authentic connections with established audiences, but to lean into unfamiliar areas to gain love with new consumers.
This campaign also broke ground with content streaming as the first Canadian-produced musical to stream as a stand-alone program on Crave, with 56,000 Canadians viewing the program.
The brand is fully baked into every aspect of the show: its plot, setting, songs, humour, and heart. It’s a beautifully-crafted 75-minute ad thousands of people cumulatively paid over $343,000 to watch — with 100% share of their attention. But what makes this something only Tims could pull off is that it doesn’t feel like an ad. Because the brand is so deeply woven into the fabric of our culture, it feels like a story that could happen to any Canadian, anywhere.
“The Last Timbit” garnered 630.3 million impressions, a 0.5% increase in positive sentiment on earned conversation, and a 79% increase in positive sentiment. It was the #1 Canadian Musical of 2024 and the Top 25 Most Watched Canadian movie of 2024 on Crave.
By turning a true moment of Canadiana into a cultural event, Tim Hortons reignited emotional relevance, generated major media coverage, drove ticket sales, and reminded the nation that it’s more than just a coffee chain.
Credits
Media Innovation Awards 2025Tim Hortons – The Last Timbit
MIA2025_TH_TLT_Agency Credits
Agency/Client Credits
GUT Toronto
Founder & Chairman: Anselmo Ramos
Founder & Chairman: Gaston Bigio
Global CEO: Andrea Diquez
Global Head of Operations & Partner: Agustina Garavilla
Managing Director: Ryan O’Hagan
Chief Creative Officer: Max Geraldo
Executive Creative Director: Christian Buer
Head of Accounts: Natalie Street
Creative Director, Writer: Arjang Esfandiyari
Creator Director, Writer: Gaby Makarewicz
Creative Director, Art Director: Noreel Asuro
Creative Director, Art Director: George Lin
Creative Director, Art Director: Bobby Martiniello
Head of Strategy: Amy Badun
Head of Production: Aimee DeParolis
Senior Producer: Shannon Farrell
Group Brand Lead: Alessio De Civita
Account Director: Elana Prokopick
Account Supervisor: Namita Warier
TIM HORTONS
President, Canada & USA: Axel Schwan
Chief Marketing Officer: Hope Bagozzi
Head of Marketing Communications: Solange Bernard
Marketing Communications Director: Heather MacLeod
Media Director: Anthony Campos
Sr. Marketing Communications Manager: Rachel Meihm
Sr. Marketing Communications Manager: Nadine Nour
Media Manager: Roxanne Hugh
Horizon Media:
President: Robert Jenkyn
Vice President, Business Solutions: Jennifer Bidwell
Executive Vice President, Business Solutions: Richard Ivey
VP, Audio & Video Activation: Cobi Zhang
Director, Business Solutions: Tim Harris
Associate Director, Business Solutions: Ken Reyes
Director, Audio & Video Activation: Tanya Cross
Craft Public Relations
President: Lisa Pasquin
Senior Vice President: Ali Azzopardi