We wanted educated, literate people to experience, just for a moment, what it feels like to struggle with literacy.

We created a message that made them look at an everyday object–a piece of paper–in an entirely new way. For the first time, they could suddenly realise a simple piece of paper can be an intimidating barrier. Ironically, we chose a print-oriented medium to talk about literacy. The creative relied on people’s inevitable curiosity to communicate a message about the widespread nature of Canada’s literacy problem. The media choice – transit platform posters – delivered exactly the kind of audience we needed: people who would have a moment or two to listen to the message, in this case while waiting for their train. Thousands of people passed this poster every day, and no doubt they spent a moment or two on their subsequent journey thinking about literacy. This idea only works if people take time to interact with it. Finding the right medium and the right location were critical factors in determining whether the ad would even have an audience. As strong as the creative idea was, we needed to find an environment that supported the interactive nature of the ad. It’s utterly unique. An interactive, talking transit ad has never been done in Canada (or anywhere else that we’re aware of).

This idea only works if people take time to interact with it. Finding the right medium and the right location were critical factors in determining whether the ad would even have an audience. As strong as the creative idea was, we needed to find an environment that supported the interactive nature of the ad.