Who: The Atkinson Foundation, with Target for strategy, creative, production and media.
What: A punchy new awareness campaign for the “Good Fight Prize for Decent Work,” theFoundation itself, and the larger cause of good jobs for all.
When & Where: The campaign runs through the end of the year in digital and social, but the heartof the campaign was a series of full-page nomination ads in the Toronto Star.
Why: For more than 80 years the Atkinson Foundation—founded by journalist Joseph Atkinson,who was editor and then owner of the Star—has fought for a range of social causes and justice,systemic change and the support of grassroots efforts.
With regards to better working conditions, the Foundation advocates for, for example, betteremployment standards and insurance, as well as enhanced job quality for care workers..
The campaign both called for nominations for this year’s Good Fight Prize, while also raisingawareness of the cause itself.
How: The print ads spotlighted the workers, advocates, and organizers leading the fight forfairness on the job, while also raising broader issues about work itself.
The ads used stark portraits of individuals staring unflinchingly into the camera—clearly ready fora fight—while bold headlines used some light wordplay to make a heavy point: “The Devil hasenough advocates,” and “Wanted: Rebels with causes.”
Below the headline, long-form copy explained the importance of the fight for good work, theintroduction of the Good Fight Prize, and a CTA to visit the new GoodFightPrize.ca website. (Seefull ad below.)
“In a world gone wrong, we all need to make more advertising that does more than just sell stuff,”said Target founder Noel O’Dea. “For Atkinson’s campaign for decent work, we wanted to avoidthe declarative approach of presenting a laundry list of facts and arguments.”
A manifesto video spot takes viewers inside a school, where young kids answer the age-oldquestion: What do you want to be when you grow up?
But rather than the typical answers one would expect—doctor, lawyer, hockey player, orYouTuber (it is 2025 after all)—the kids list some of the many painful realities for a huge number ofworking Canadians today.
“When I grow up, I want to work three jobs just to get by,” says one. “I want long hours with noovertime,” says another, followed by “And no time off when I’m sick.”
“We cast real schoolchildren to hold up a mirror to society, one that reflects the hard truths aboutwork in today’s world,” said O’Dea. “Advertising has long used children’s voices to reveal biggertruths… We took that storytelling approach in a new and unexpected direction – one that speaksto the goodness and humanity in all of us. Because that’s what the fight for decent work is allabout.”
