2025 Winner
GoldBest in Retail and QSR
GoldBest Integrated Campaign - Budget Over $250,000
BronzeBest Disruption
Boston Pizza
"Manifest The Win"
UM + Mekanism
"Manifest The Win"
UM + Mekanism
For 32 years, Canadian hockey fans have endured a painful drought; no Stanley Cup wins for a home team since 1993. As a sports bar built around shared celebrations, Boston Pizza found itself at a cultural crossroads — the country’s perennial playoff heartbreak had turned optimism into apathy and was threatening to dampen sales and traffic.
For the previous year’s hockey Playoffs, Boston Pizza rallied Canadians to cheer on the final Canadian team for a win, and in the process reversed a pre-pandemic, dine-in decline at the restaurant. But after a crushing loss in Game 7 of the finals, Canada’s emotional well had run dry.
The challenge for 2025? Confront the restaurant category’s challenging socio-economic environment and use media to reignite fan belief and make Boston Pizza the epicentre of playoff optimism to reboot the turnaround growth story. But how do you get fans to continue to think about your restaurant – and choose to visit — when they have lost faith in the game?
The answer lay in the strange resilience of diehard fans who cling to their rituals — praying to team paraphernalia, sitting in the same seat each game, and even wearing the same (and unwashed) gear during winning streaks. This isn’t just superstition; it’s ‘magical thinking,’ a psychological response that offers control when outcomes feel uncertain. It’s within this irrational hope and key consumer insight that they saw their campaign opportunity: if fans believed their actions could influence the outcome, what if they 100% embraced this mindset and gave them a national stage to try?
Based on this strategic approach, the idea was born: "If We Plan It, We Will Win." A cheeky comeback to a rival's taunt — "Why don't you just plan the parade?" — which they embraced boldly throughout the Playoffs. From that provocation, the agency built a campaign that turned frustration into faith, setting the stage for Boston Pizza to become the home of Canada’s Stanley Cup dreams.
To ensure Boston Pizza’s provocative media strategy was powered by the most robust approach to drive impact, the agency designed a breakthrough “Manifest the Win” campaign to show fans just how far ahead of itself Boston Pizza was committed to going to champion Canadian hockey fans — via moments of manifestation.
Amplifying fan manifestations was at the heart of the agency’s strategic approach. This included hyperengaging with fans on the street, where they partnered with Sportsnet & conducted pre-game interviews, to co-opting and fueling the organic power of influencers and superfans like Steve Dangle, who had published social posts before each game with predictions for his beloved Leafs.
A progression of TV spots aired in each of the first four rounds of the playoffs, which followed the building of a Boston Pizza float for the inevitable cup parade. The second round ad revealed beloved Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield as the captain of the parade bus. After the Edmonton Oilers clinched a spot in the finals, a custom ad played right after the win, showing fans zipping up their waterproof coats in anticipation of champagne bottles being popped in the dressing room.
Mirroring the broadcast, the agency drove reach on key channels and reinforced sequential storytelling. For each round, a different spot aired, giving fans an update on how the parade bus was coming along.
They drove innovation by making calculated, big bets and deeply immersing Boston Pizza in the momentum of playoffs culture and rituals, through category-first, show-stopping media activations: they developed their own scent. Integrated & amplified via influencers/podcast executions, “Our Champion Scent” was designed to smell like a locker room post-celebration — a mix of champagne and sweat.
They literally planned the parade. When the Oilers made the Finals, they quickly pivoted to ensure the fans were ready to celebrate and created digital OOH TSAs and boards that corresponded to the hypothetical parade route in Edmonton. They even built their own high-impact OOH activation by literally building a branded parade bus to drive around the city to “pre-celebrate” with Canadian fans via media amplification.
The agency uniquely tapped into cultural hockey moments. Driving tremendous earned media, they leveraged iconic, custom t-shirts in a nod to a pivotal moment in the 2025 playoffs, created a shrine to the hockey gods where fans could go pray, and produced an on-site activation at a Boston Pizza in Edmonton where the parade bus was revealed. They didn’t just SAY they were manifesting the win, they actioned it.
Boston Pizza’s brilliant “Manifest the Win” campaign enthralled Canadian sports fans from coast to coast and drove action. In the face of a highly challenging economic environment, they blew the doors off their business goals and delivered phenomenal sales and traffic results.
While a Canadian team might not have claimed the Stanley Cup in 2025, Boston Pizza absolutely won the hearts, the attention, and the wallets of sports fans. They reinforced the brand’s distinct positioning as Canada’s champion of the sports fan and are ready to “Manifest the Win” next year!
For the previous year’s hockey Playoffs, Boston Pizza rallied Canadians to cheer on the final Canadian team for a win, and in the process reversed a pre-pandemic, dine-in decline at the restaurant. But after a crushing loss in Game 7 of the finals, Canada’s emotional well had run dry.
The challenge for 2025? Confront the restaurant category’s challenging socio-economic environment and use media to reignite fan belief and make Boston Pizza the epicentre of playoff optimism to reboot the turnaround growth story. But how do you get fans to continue to think about your restaurant – and choose to visit — when they have lost faith in the game?
The answer lay in the strange resilience of diehard fans who cling to their rituals — praying to team paraphernalia, sitting in the same seat each game, and even wearing the same (and unwashed) gear during winning streaks. This isn’t just superstition; it’s ‘magical thinking,’ a psychological response that offers control when outcomes feel uncertain. It’s within this irrational hope and key consumer insight that they saw their campaign opportunity: if fans believed their actions could influence the outcome, what if they 100% embraced this mindset and gave them a national stage to try?
Based on this strategic approach, the idea was born: "If We Plan It, We Will Win." A cheeky comeback to a rival's taunt — "Why don't you just plan the parade?" — which they embraced boldly throughout the Playoffs. From that provocation, the agency built a campaign that turned frustration into faith, setting the stage for Boston Pizza to become the home of Canada’s Stanley Cup dreams.
To ensure Boston Pizza’s provocative media strategy was powered by the most robust approach to drive impact, the agency designed a breakthrough “Manifest the Win” campaign to show fans just how far ahead of itself Boston Pizza was committed to going to champion Canadian hockey fans — via moments of manifestation.
Amplifying fan manifestations was at the heart of the agency’s strategic approach. This included hyperengaging with fans on the street, where they partnered with Sportsnet & conducted pre-game interviews, to co-opting and fueling the organic power of influencers and superfans like Steve Dangle, who had published social posts before each game with predictions for his beloved Leafs.
A progression of TV spots aired in each of the first four rounds of the playoffs, which followed the building of a Boston Pizza float for the inevitable cup parade. The second round ad revealed beloved Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield as the captain of the parade bus. After the Edmonton Oilers clinched a spot in the finals, a custom ad played right after the win, showing fans zipping up their waterproof coats in anticipation of champagne bottles being popped in the dressing room.
Mirroring the broadcast, the agency drove reach on key channels and reinforced sequential storytelling. For each round, a different spot aired, giving fans an update on how the parade bus was coming along.
They drove innovation by making calculated, big bets and deeply immersing Boston Pizza in the momentum of playoffs culture and rituals, through category-first, show-stopping media activations: they developed their own scent. Integrated & amplified via influencers/podcast executions, “Our Champion Scent” was designed to smell like a locker room post-celebration — a mix of champagne and sweat.
They literally planned the parade. When the Oilers made the Finals, they quickly pivoted to ensure the fans were ready to celebrate and created digital OOH TSAs and boards that corresponded to the hypothetical parade route in Edmonton. They even built their own high-impact OOH activation by literally building a branded parade bus to drive around the city to “pre-celebrate” with Canadian fans via media amplification.
The agency uniquely tapped into cultural hockey moments. Driving tremendous earned media, they leveraged iconic, custom t-shirts in a nod to a pivotal moment in the 2025 playoffs, created a shrine to the hockey gods where fans could go pray, and produced an on-site activation at a Boston Pizza in Edmonton where the parade bus was revealed. They didn’t just SAY they were manifesting the win, they actioned it.
Boston Pizza’s brilliant “Manifest the Win” campaign enthralled Canadian sports fans from coast to coast and drove action. In the face of a highly challenging economic environment, they blew the doors off their business goals and delivered phenomenal sales and traffic results.
While a Canadian team might not have claimed the Stanley Cup in 2025, Boston Pizza absolutely won the hearts, the attention, and the wallets of sports fans. They reinforced the brand’s distinct positioning as Canada’s champion of the sports fan and are ready to “Manifest the Win” next year!
Credits
Client: Boston PizzaJames Kawalecki, VP, Marketing
Niels van Oyen, Director of Marketing
Sean Megna, Marketing Manager (On-Premise)
Taylor Campbell, Associate Marketing Manager (On-Premise)
Agency: UM Canada
Nicole Beaulieu, EVP, Client Business Partner
Michelle Arksey, Senior Director, Connections Planning
Quinn Harris, Manager, Connections Planning
Emily Elliott, Senior Connections Planner
Austen Wells, Senior Director, Integrated Investments
Joaquin Naval, Manager, Integrated Investments
Robert Fornasiero, Senior Buyer, Integrated Investments
Agency: Mekanism
Executive Creative Director: Julie Nikolic
Creative Directors: Mike Blackmore, Chris Obergfell
Head of Strategy: Ian Barr
Senior Strategy Director: Joseph Elkouby
SVP & GM: Edith Rosa
Group Account Director: Heather Mirynech
Account Executive: Sierra Haddleton
Integrated Production Director: Lily Tran
Junior Producer: Sydney Fitzgerald
PR Agency: Heads & Tales
Co Founder and Co CEO, Heads+Tales: Katie Muir
Senior Director, Heads+Tales: Lauren Orlando
Senior Account Manager, Heads+Tales: Andrea Chick
Senior Account Executive, Heads+Tales: Madison Gerrie
Account Executive, Heads+Tales: Carly Lottman
Senior Account Executive, Heads+Tales: Sophia Ntentes