Work of the Year: LBB's Favourite Canadian Ads of 2025
Our Canadian Work of the Year comes in two parts. First up is a bumper reel of every ad we loved over the past year, curated by looking back at our global Work of the Week selections and the finalists from this year’s Immortal Awards.
Secondly, the Canadian editorial team have done their best – and it was no easy task, we can assure you – to choose a favourite. This isn’t our way of saying these were the ‘best’. Rather, they’re the pieces we enjoyed, that we felt deeply, and that have stayed with us through a strong year for the local industry.
You can check out the full Canada Work of the Year Reel here.
For our personal selections, read on below!
SickKids - The Count
Chosen by Jordan Won Neufeldt
When it came to choosing my favourite Canadian campaign this year, FCB and SickKids’ ‘The Count’ was the clear choice. In fact, I’ve had it earmarked since it first came out, way back in April. There’s just so much to love!
From a creativity point of view, this truly is exquisite. The idea of taking the hospital’s 150th birthday, and then using it as a lens to explore the way the children it serves must fight for every birthday, is inherently powerful. And the decision to depict this through sports-inspired training sequences packed full of medical equipment? It sounds almost too clever for a spot carrying such a serious message, but it ends up being unbelievably emotional. The kid attacking the skull piñata. The effort to flip the giant six candle. The combined yells of defiance. All these months later, I still haven’t made it through a viewing without my eyes watering (and yes, I’ve had reason to watch it a good number of times).
There’s also such a great story here, which I don’t take for granted. Leading up to the release of ‘The Count’, people wondered what FCB’s first outing on behalf of SickKids would look like. After so many years of iconic campaigns - brilliantly handled by Cossette - how would the agency walk the fine line of distinguishing itself and kickstarting a new era, whilst paying homage to all that’d come before? So, to come out swinging like this, and deliver what may very well be one of the greatest SickKids ads of all time – on the first attempt – is an incredible achievement which deserves to be praised. ‘The Count’ really has a bit of everything, and I absolutely love it for that fact!
British Columbia Securities Commission - We're All F**ked
Chosen by April Summers
My pick has got to be 'We're All F**ked' by ONE23WEST. Released at the top of the year, this absurdist sing-a-long spot has stuck with me for all of 2025. That could be because of the freakish, uncanny valley visuals. Or perhaps it was the catchy as hell anthemic ballad which really hammered the message home. Both conceptually clever and genuinely effective, there is so much top tier craft to appreciate with this work. Conjuring up a memorable music video for British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) is certainly no easy task, but the culturally savvy team at ONE23WEST got the job done, transforming the somewhat complicated subject into an accessible (and oddly fun?!) film for all.
RONA - Build It Right
Chosen by Addison Capper
I am not Canadian nor have I ever played ice hockey. That said, watching endless reruns of The Mighty Ducks and witnessing a giant, bloodstrewn punch-up on the ice during a game at Madison Square Garden as a seven-year-old are both core childhood memories of mine. Despite all of that, as a Brit, ice hockey didn’t play much of a role in my life growing up.
And yet, despite being rooted so firmly in ice hockey, this RONA campaign from Courage and Spy Films’ Greg Hackett feels immediately relatable and nostalgic. Swap skates for sneakers and stick for my right foot, and the memories aren’t so different. For me, that meant endless hours kicking a football against various walls around my housing estate, and the inevitable telling-off when a ball went through a shed window.
