Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world, spanning over 7000 km coast to coast. And ever since Terry Fox embarked on his historical one-legged cross-Canada marathon, people have been running, walking or riding across this vast country to raise money for charitable causes.

But for the first time, we decided to do it for a brand. An underwear brand, to be exact.

Since we didn’t have money for a traditional TV campaign (like the big underwear companies), Stanfield’s challenged one man to hitchhike across Canada, coast to coast, wearing nothing but Stanfield’s underwear.

He became a walking billboard for the brand, the ultimate product demo for the ultimate Canadian underwear company.

We partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society, then found an eager testicular cancer survivor to be our hitchhiker.

Next, we developed a Facebook app (GitchHiker.com) where fans could follow every aspect of his journey, including his current location, current temperature and current pair of underwear.

We then gave our Gitchhiker complete control of our Facebook and Twitter accounts – posting pics, videos and even pleas for help when he couldn’t find a ride.

We also created a limited-edition pair of underwear, with the universal hitchhiking 'thumbs up' on the crotch. A branded support vehicle also accompanied him, generating buzz along his 7000 km journey.

Finally, we leveraged media partnerships to increase exposure. The Gitchhiker appeared on TV morning shows, performed on stage at Second City (in his underwear) and got a ride from a cast-member of Canada’s most popular reality show, Dragon’s Den (who also stripped down for the cause).

In just 21 days, and with no paid advertising, the campaign earned over 47 million media impressions. It was covered by every major news network in the country and tweeted by various celebrities (including two “Avengers” – Mark Ruffalo and Cobie Smulders).

Along his 7000 km journey, the Gitchhiker was interviewed over 60 times by the media, including Canada’s two national broadcasters – CBC and CTV. He also performed on stage at Second City (in his underwear) and got a ride from a cast-member of Canada’s most popular reality show, Dragon’s Den (who also stripped down for the cause).

Even more impressive, Stanfield’s had a 500% increase in Facebook fans, traffic to stanfields.com was up 84% and online underwear sales increased by 50%.

The Gitchhiker also collected thousands of dollars in donations along the way, which – combined with Stanfield’s donation – garnered a total of $32,398 for the Canadian Cancer Society.