Standing the Test of Time: How Canada’s Immortal Awards Finalists Were Selected

Selecting work for the North American round of the 2025 Immortal Awards was a uniquely direct affair at this year’s Canadian judging session. While there was still standard debate about what would best represent the country on a global level, whether there was an ideal number of pieces to send, and how best to shape perceptions, each plausible entry received its moment in the sun, before final, decisive choices were made.

In many ways, the quality of work was a major contributor to this outcome. Where in previous years, pieces promoted sporadically recurring debate, from the get-go, this year’s jury knew what needed to automatically qualify, and then worked through the remaining candidates with thoughtful, reflective precision.

“With this room, what I loved was the debates we had in terms of the ‘why’, and challenging each other in terms of what truly checked all the boxes,” says Taj Critchlow, founder and managing partner at Fela. “It was all about finding work that spoke not just to one thing, but several things. It reminded me of the importance of having a zoomed-out perspective, in terms of why we put things forward.”

Aiding this process, according to both Jacquelyn Parent, creative director at Rethink, and Dhaval Bhatt, founder and chief creative officer at Courage, was the fact that the jurors did not have to consider categories. Something that gave the room freedom to look at the submissions through an assortment of lenses, this kept the day’s discussions free-flowing, as the ins and outs of every entry were discussed thoroughly.

“So many of the other shows award within categories and are really specific, but today, there was a lot of discussion about how we represent Canada on the world stage, which felt different,” reflects the former, to which the latter adds, “What I love about the Immortals is it’s not encumbered by anything. There’s no set quota, and no podium that we have to hit. It’s a pure celebration of great work without guardrails or without anything steering it.”

Ultimately, seven pieces – the same number as last year – would be selected from the 21-project shortlist to represent the country in the later rounds of the competition. These were:

Dove - ‘Most Likely To’ (entered by Ogilvy Canada)
IKEA - ‘U up?’ (entered by Rethink)
KFC Canada - ‘Sorry, Manners’ (entered by Courage and Alter Ego)
Royal Ontario Museum - ‘Opera’ (entered by Broken Heart Love Affair)
SickKids Foundation - ‘The Count’ (entered by FCB Canada, Merchant and Soundtree)
SKIP - ‘Winter Delivery Fleet’ (entered by Courage)
Terry Fox Foundation - ‘Finish It’ (entered by Diamond)

(To view all the Finalists and see the entire shortlist, click here!)

Of this list, a few entries in particular were standouts for the jury. One such example, which received unanimous praise and required virtually no discussion, was ‘Finish It’, that, as Dhaval puts it, strongly appealed to his Canadian sensibilities.

“I look at what we put in, and I’m truly proud of each of those pieces,” he explains. “This is all work that’s been celebrated on the global stage and, frankly, will continue to be. However, I especially love ‘Finish It’. I’ve never watched that spot without feeling something. It’s easy to dismiss as something [non-Canadians] won’t feel, but it represents us. I’m very proud that the jury found it deserved to go up.”

Another standout of the day was ‘U up?’. Praised for the cleverness of its insight, the execution, and what it actually accomplished from a marketing perspective, for Pizza Pizza’s chief marketing officer Adrian Fuoco, the campaign really had a little bit of everything.

“The work used a very simple idea – we need to sell more mattresses – but was executed in such a clever way that people really connected with and got a laugh out of it,” he continues. “It definitely pushed the needle in terms of setting IKEA up as a brand people think of for mattresses. Speaking as a marketer, it’s incredibly satisfying if you can do something like that.”

Meanwhile, Stephanie Yung, chief design officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo, found a particular favourite with ‘The Count’. While she admits it’s tough to hedge her bets, the CDO, like many others in the room, found herself moved not only by the visuals of the work, but by FCB’s decision to build around the concept of ‘birthday beats’ – something Susan Irving, chief marketing officer at Kruger, revealed during discussions is actually an entirely Canadian concept.

“When I look at the ability and power to move someone and to get someone to act, you have to look at work like SickKids,” Stephanie adds. “It’s part of a platform that’s existed for a while, so the fact that it managed to create something new that’s just as compelling and beautifully crafted is remarkable.”

While the results of the North American round are yet to be shared, there was a strong sense of pride for the day’s picks, and, more than that, the discussions provoked by the gathered creatives, marketers and producers.

Reflecting on the aim of the competition, Alexis Bronstorph, chief creative officer at No Fixed Address, defined ‘Immortal’ as the type of work that “you’re going to refer back to when talking to your teams about what you want to see”, adding that she truly believes these seven selections could go on to stand the test of time.

“It’s just the best of the best,” she says. “We were looking at what can compete on a world-class level, and I loved hearing everyone’s points of view. There was so much passion, even when we disagreed – great jury room!”

Echoing Alexis, Taj notes that he’s eager to see how Canada does in the later stages of the competition, and that, given the work, he believes the country could well go on to land its third successive Immortal Award.

“To me, ‘Immortal’ means it’s timeless, it’s spiritual, it’s impactful, and it’s something that truly resonates on a higher level,” he concludes. “I feel the work that we selected for Canada truly represents this ideal.”