Before 1929, women in Canada were not legally considered “persons”, excluding them from positions in the Senate. A group of determined women, known as the Famous Five, changed the course of Canadian history by petitioning the federal government for equal standing. Their work was controversial, so the path was long. After their petition to the federal government and the Supreme Court of Canada failed, they brought their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – their last resort. This case came to be known as the “Persons Case” and was ultimately successful.

The Famous 5 Foundation was created to preserve the legacy of these courageous women by fighting for their representation in Canadian history, which is currently overwhelmed with stories of male greatness. The foundation’s programming aims to inspire girls and empower women to be leaders.

Each year on October 18th, “Person’s Day” commemorates the success of the Famous Five. This is the foundation’s annual time to shine – to share their message, and raise awareness for their organization. They looked to us for a campaign that reached these objectives in a creative new way, resonating with a modern audience.

The campaign was conceptualized, shot, designed, developed, and launched in just 2 months – a real feat considering the number of high-powered women’s photo shoots we coordinated.

The campaign was launched on October 18th, Person’s Day, with the site going live, the video being posted to Vimeo and Facebook, and images being spread across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Because the campaign was pushed organically through social, with no paid media behind it, the scale was focused very locally. To our surprise, the reach extended past local individuals and news outlets, to publications across the pond, Like Elle France.

The primary objective of this campaign – increasing awareness of the Famous 5 Foundation – was without a doubt achieved. The video shared online received almost 4 times more views than other videos the organization has published online. An especially large increase in visibility considering there was no paid media behind it. The month of the campaign, traffic to the foundation’s site spiked 72.5% over the year’s average. Our goal of raising awareness locally was surpassed when the news coverage extended from local to global, getting picked up by publications like Elle France.

The awareness boost from the campaign led to a sold-out fundraising gala the following week, donations, and an increase in the number and calibre of volunteer applicants.