Six months ago, Cleansheet Communications created “Wheels”, a Canadian Tire’s advertisement for the Rio Olympic Games. (Check out our coverage on the ad here.)
The ad aired during the Olympics and continued through the Paralympic Games to promote Canadian Tire’s sponsorship of both the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams. This month, Most Viral Web shared Wheels on Facebook, followed by a share on The Times of India blog.
The video posted by Most Viral Web went from 3 million views to 20 million views in less than 24-hours. Since then, the ad has been viewed more than 138 million times.
The ad is filled with a heart warming message that promotes inclusivity and raises awareness on disabilities. The video has also helped fuel a celebration of Canadian values from viewers, with comments that demonstrate the power and relevance of this message today more than ever.
DIVERGE spoke to Eva Salem, the Vice President of Marketing at Canadian Tire to find out more:
How surprised were you to see this go viral?
The Wheels ad was created for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, so we were quite surprised to see it go viral six months after it originally aired. That being said, the response from Canadians during the Games was extremely positive, and since the ad’s message is universal, it was set up for global success.
What are Canadians saying about the ad?
The international response to Wheels has been incredibly positive, with much praise for the ad itself and the Canadian values of inclusiveness and doing the right thing. Canadians, in turn, are responding with pride, because this ad does more than resonate with them: it reflects them.
Why is its message so important currently?
Issues of inclusion and national unity are incredibly timely right now, both in Canada and abroad. Because this ad first aired six months ago, it demonstrates true Canadian values as opposed to being a reactionary message. Although the “We All Play for Canada” brand platform was developed specifically for the Olympics, this idea holds true for people beyond sport.
Does Canadian Tire plan to do anything else with the commercial now that it’s gone viral?
The response we’ve seen online demonstrated how relevant Wheels message is right now so we felt compelled to give it a small encore on TV. We ran the commercial during the Oscars broadcast in Canada and we’ll air it in a few select broadcast over the coming weeks. But we don’t have bigger plans for it right now.
Plans for 2017?
In 2017, we will continue to find creative, meaningful ways to spread messages of inclusion and sportsmanship, values core to our brand.
Additional thoughts?
Wheels is part of a three-ad campaign under Canadian Tire’s “We All Play for Canada” brand platform that celebrates intrinsically Canadian values like sportsmanship and inclusivity. The Outsider was the second in the campaign series that reflects not only how we see ourselves as Canadians, but how the world sees us at this time.
