After a group of jurors spent countless hours reviewing work submitted to this year’s Media Innovation Awards, the shortlist is finally being revealed.
Co-chairs Robin Hassan, director of integrated marketing and digital transformation at Unilever and Kevin Johnson, CEO at GroupM Canada, along with nine other media innovation experts, gathered virtually over four days in late October to deliberate the very best of the MIAs submissions.
Having being put on pause due to the pandemic in 2020, the MIAs returned this year with submissions that had eligibile dates ranging from July 2019 to July 2021 – a judging challenge not for the faint of heart, but one the jury rose to. Between the co-chairs, judges, and online jury, the submissions were narrowed down from two years worth of submissions to the 64 unique campaigns listed below.
The winners of the MIAs, along with Media Leader of the Year and Media Partner of the Year, will be revealed in a virtual show on December 2.
As always, the following list is arranged in alphabetical order and in no way reflects top performers:
| Entry Name | Agency | Client Name |
| #CanadaRemembers | Cossette Media | Government of Canada (Veterans Affairs Canada) |
| #FanFini Jersey Swap | UM & FCB | BMO |
| 6 Degrees Below The Horizon | Jungle Media | Sollio Agriculture |
| ActToo | FCB/SIX | MeToo |
| ADCC All-Nighter Webathon | Zulu Alpha Kilo | Advertising and Design Club of Canada |
| AI-Powered Creativity | Jungle Media | AutoTRADER |
| Bee Hotel | Wavemaker | Danone |
| BMO Eclipse VISA Infinite Card Launch | UM, Reprise & FCB | BMO |
| BMO Sustainability: Banking For Change | FCB & UM | BMO |
| Borat Subsequent Moviefilm | Initiative Media | Amazon Prime Video |
| Bugs Out! | Touché! | Wilson |
| Cal for Cal | FCB | Michelob Ultra |
| Can-Am Therapy | Touché! | BRP (Can-Am Off-Road) |
| Catch the Scam | Zulu Alpha Kilo & iQuanti | HomeEquity Bank |
| Chatelaine Summer Fun Guide | St. Joseph Communications & Patron Studio |
Georgian Bay Spirit Company |
| Check Your Reflex | Zulu Alpha Kilo & PHD Media | Responsible Gambling Council |
| Dealership Done Digital | Touché! | Volkswagen |
| ESCape Abuse | Union | Interval House |
| Escape Mountain | Touché! | BRP (Ski Doo) |
| Feed The Dream Tablecloth | FCB | Sobeys |
| Feeding Imagination | Zulu Alpha Kilo & Spark Foundry | Campbell Canada |
| Financial Fairness | FCB & UM | BMO |
| GE Appliances Restaurant Spotlight | Craft Public Relations | GE Appliances Canada |
| GIPHY | Bensimon Byrne | Arterra Wines (Jackson-Triggs) |
| Go Human. Book Human. | Broken Heart Love Affair | Internova Travel Group |
| Green Screen Shirt | Zulu Alpha Kilo | Harry Rosen |
| Grown With Love | Initiative Media | Wendy’s |
| HBC x Animal Crossing | Cossette Media | Hudson’s Bay Company |
| Heinz Bottleneck | Carat | Kraft Heinz |
| Hendrick’s Gin Presents Peculiar Puzzles | Jungle Media | PMA |
| Hyundai Goes Dynamic in Search | Innocean Worldwide | Hyundai Auto |
| Journey Jam | Initiative Media | Destination Canada |
| Ketchup+ | OMD | PepsiCo |
| Ladies, Rule the Road | Touché! | BRP (Can-Am On-Road) |
| Leveraging Love and Hate | Touché! | Sport Chek |
| Levi’s Double Portal: Cure For Joyless Shopping | UM | Levi’s |
| Loved ones forget themselves too | Cossette Media | Fédération Québecoise des sociétés de l’Alzheimer |
| Neutrogena Drag Race: Celebrating Your Inner Queen |
UM & Bell Media | Johnson & Johnson |
| No… You can’t do that! | Spark Foundry | Starbucks |
| Not For Lease | The Local Collective | Roncesvalles Village BIA |
| Oh Henry! 4:25 Buds: Bringing Buds Together | UM & Anomaly | The Hershey Company |
| One Million Strong | OMD | SickKids Foundation |
| Operation Puck Drop | Touché! | Canadian Tire |
| Operation Support Local | PHD | Scotiabank |
| Out-of-Work Mannequins | Zulu Alpha Kilo | Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) |
| Project Understood | FCB | Google AI / CDSS |
| Projecting Hope | Zulu Alpha Kilo | Cineplex |
| Publicly Traded | FCB/SIX | LifeStyles HealthCare |
| Reese Outrageous Flying Snack Cupboard | UM & Mosaic | The Hershey Company |
| Reeseter Virtual Egg Hunt | UM & Anomaly | The Hershey Company |
| See What Care Can Do | UM & Huge | Sinai Health Network |
| SingleCut Notes IPA | Zulu Alpha Kilo | SingleCut Beersmiths |
| The Art of Winter | Initiative Media | Travel Alberta |
| The C(ooh)VID-19 Dashboard | Cossette Media | Government of Canada (Public Health Agency of Canada) |
| The Gift You Didn’t Get | Touché! | Sport Chek |
| The Mental Game | UM | Movember |
| The More You O | Zulu Alpha Kilo | Consonant Skin+Care |
| The Polaroid Project | Jungle Media | McCord Museum |
| The Rainforest Fire Channel | Zulu Alpha Kilo & UM | Amazon Rainforest Conservancy |
| The Stranger Experiment | PHD | Arterra Wines Canada (Bodacious) |
| Tough Turban | Zulu Alpha Kilo | Pfaff Harley-Davidson |
| Vacation Intervention | Sid Lee Media | Air Transat |
| Won’t Wake the Baby | Carat | IKEA |
| Worlds Oldest e-Sports Team | Zulu Alpha Kilo & OMD | HomeEquity Bank / Royal Canadian Legion |
