MONTREAL — An indoor billboard campaign that poked fun at the Office québécois de la langue française has won five CREA Awards, which recognize Quebec’s best advertising each year.
The campaign to promote comedy shows You’re Gonna Rire and En français SVP!, featuring comedian Sugar Sammy, highlighted what he does best: making fun of life in Montreal.
The multimedia campaign included billboards, television and radio ads — but it was the two versions of an indoor billboard scattered across Montreal’s metro system that really caught the public’s attention.
The original billboard said: “For Christmas I’d like a complaint from the Office de la langue française.”
After one citizen filed a complaint, the billboard then featured a black sticker that read: “Pour Noel J’ai eu une plainte de l’Office de la Langue Française” (For Christmas I received a complaint from the Office de la Langue Française.)
WATCH: Sugar Sammy vs the Quebec language police
Francois Cotetold, the Montrealer who filed the complaint, told Global News that he considered the ad a provocative violation of Quebec’s French-language charter.
His Facebooks posts about the complaint attracted considerable attention.
The awards include the Grand Prix Campagne Intégrée, one of the night’s most prestigious awards.
Other awards included Indoor Billboards (Sugargate), TV spot (Sugar Sammy – TV Campaign (Offrez Sugar Sammy) and Radio Campaign (Sugar Sammy).
The campaign was produced in collaboration with Montreal advertising agency Sid Lee.
Sugar Sammy has sold over 300,000 tickets to You’re Gonna Rire and En Français SVP!, which continue until spring 2016.
His hit TV show, Ces gars-là, also just wrapped up a successful second season and has been picked up for a third.
This spring Sugar Sammy was nominated for both an Artis Award and a third Olivier of the Year award.
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