Immortal Ideas Have the Brand at the Centre, Says IKEA Canada Marketing Lead Jacqueline Wark

“As much as I appreciate great craft (and I really do!), that likely won’t be the ultimate thing that dazzles me.”

In an industry landscape filled with advertising award shows centred purely around creativity, Jacqueline Wark’s perspective stands out. And, as director of marketing communications at IKEA Canada, she’ll be bringing a different lens to the Canadian jury round of The Immortal Awards 2026 – one which the competition will undoubtedly be bettered by.

“I’m really interested in ideas that are simple, tangible and distinctive,” she says, speaking ahead of the September 4th entry deadline. “Ideas that feel inherently right for that brand, rather than simply being a great idea that could belong to anyone. I’ll be looking for bold work where the brand is truly at the centre of the idea. Where only that brand could say it, and they can genuinely stand behind it. For me, that’s where a good idea becomes a great brand idea.”

This ethos carries weight. Last year, it was Jacqueline’s own brand which took home an Immortal Award alongside Rethink for ‘U Up?’, a campaign which saw IKEA slide into Canadians’ late-night DMs to promote mattress sales.


Here, the win reinforced to IKEA Canada the value of championing work that breaks through unexpectedly, taps into the cultural conversation, and allows people to immediately engage.

“We were taking a calculated risk by being intentionally cheeky, but in a very playful, very IKEA way. And I think that’s something I’ll be looking for on this year’s jury as well,” Jacqueline continues. “The work you remember is rarely the work that simply communicated the message most efficiently. It’s the work that finds a more interesting, creative way to make that message matter. ‘U Up?’ was incredibly simple in its execution and at its core, but it put the brand at the centre of a bold, clever idea that made Canadians smile and want to talk about it. The simplicity of it made it easy to understand, but the creativity of it made it worth remembering.”

Equally important is that anything selected for the North American round should be “bigger than just the campaign itself”. Aware she’s not simply there to evaluate the year’s best creative, but the work that can actually stand the test of time, there’s three metrics the business leader will keenly look for.

The first is that anything presented starts with a strong insight. “Something that feels so obvious, it’s been sitting right in front of us the whole time, but somehow we’ve never seen it that way before,” she suggests.

Jacqueline also craves entries featuring “that magic combination of distinctiveness and simplicity”. Here, if a given submission doesn’t feel “unmistakably” like its brand, and the idea isn’t immediately accessible, it probably won’t stand much of a chance.

As for the third? Stickiness.

“Does it make me feel something? Will I still be thinking about it tomorrow? Will I want to tell someone about it? Will my friends outside of marketing want to talk about it? That’s usually the test for me,” she emphasises.

For those wondering what a historic example of this might look like, Jacqueline points to IKEA Canada’s own ‘Start the Car’ – a campaign which, internally, is still lauded as a creative and strategic North Star.

“Twenty years later, it’s still funny, still unmistakably IKEA, and people still use the phrase in everyday conversation,” she says. “That’s pretty hard to beat. So, that’s the bar I’ll have in my head when I think about truly great work.”


However, there are already some campaigns in this year’s batch which the juror has high hopes for. In particular, KFC and Courage’s ‘Hockey Smile’ exists as “pure perfection” in her mind, due to its ability to tap into sports fandom, create conversation, and keep the QSR’s most distinctive brand asset front and centre.

“A+. I loved everything about it,” she asserts.


Similarly, the Cossette Vancouver and McDonald’s platform, ‘Cowboy Closeups’, also holds a special place in the leader’s creative heart. “It had local relevance, leaned into specific [Calgary] Stampede culture, and put the product at the core,” she explains. “Brilliant.”


Nevertheless, Jacqueline will arrive for judging at Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Toronto office with an open mind, eager to see what else rises to the top. While both campaigns are examples of outwardly simple yet hard-working ideas, Canada’s strong showing on the global awards circuit this year leaves her confident the country’s calibre of creativity will make its mark in the competition’s later rounds.

Ahead of the big day, she’s already preparing to immerse herself in “the world of creative excellence”, so that she can truly contribute to discussions about what work might ultimately prove ‘Immortal’. She knows narrowing it down won’t be easy, but is looking forward to conversing with fellow jurors, and, if all goes to plan, walking away with some fresh inspiration of her own.

“[Being selected] means a lot,” Jacqueline concludes. “I’ve spent my career on the brand side, so the opportunity to step outside of my own brand and immerse myself in some of the best work across the industry is incredibly exciting. I’m really looking forward to hearing different perspectives in the room, challenging my own thinking, and hopefully helping to recognise work that genuinely feels fresh and meaningful.”