Canadian Tire

"Ice Truck"

Typically car and truck batteries are very low priority products. But during winter in Canada, temperatures at night can often dip as low as -40° Celsius. Canadians are frustrated by vehicles that don't start due to long-term exposure to extreme cold conditions.

To position the MotoMaster Eliminator batteries in the minds of consumers, the strategy was to push the limit of the battery and create the ultimate cold-resistance test.

To demonstrate the capability of the battery, the brand and its agency partners created a fully functioning truck made of 15,000 lbs of ice. The Canadian Tire "Ice Truck" attempted to set a World Record for being the first, self-propelled ice creation to be driven.

The brand revealed the "Ice Truck" to Canadians two weeks leading up to the NHL Winter Classic event by releasing footage teasing Canadians online. The brand documented the construction, testing and finally the World Record attempt.

PHD implemented a content dissemination strategy and gathered experts of all disciplines from display and social to search and PR to create a consumer-centric content strategy. It developed partnerships with Google and Facebook as well as local websites. The agency even reacted to weather reports and increased advertising exposure during the coldest days. The campaign culminated with a TV ad with the Ice Truck taking centre stage during the NHL Winter Classic.

Sales increased 70% vs. previous year, and the campaign generated 3,500,000 YouTube views, 1,000,000 Facebook likes and 40,000,000 earned Canadian impressions, 80% of which linked the brand with innovation.