When Toronto went through lockdown, indoor dining was banned for more than a year. Restaurants were struggling. Sector sales were down 16%. And people were earning less and many worked from home.

Toronto-based agency OneMethod saw the dire pandemic situation as an opportunity to salvage the dying restaurants and potentially also feed those receiving less income. Aiding Good Fortune, a Toronto food bar with zero social budget for influencers or PR support, the agency came up with the idea of “Receats”—advising its client to rename dishes as office supplies on delivery apps Uber Eats and DoorDash.

Aiming to create a realistic possibility for restaurant customers to write off food orders on their employers’ office supply budget, the agency renamed items on the restaurant’s menu to appear like office supplies with believable names and realistic prices: A burger became a $10 stapler, an order of fries was a $5 wireless mouse. Finally, the agency redesigned Good Fortune's receipts so that they were made to look like office supply receipts from “GF Office Supply Co.,” a fictional identity of the restaurant.

The agency did minimal social media promotion on Instagram, but the “Receats” campaign gained explosive popularity on the internet. Social media users debated whether the fictional office supply company was creative or unethical, but the debate organically amplified the campaign and generated over 570 million media impressions. More than 300 stories were written about the campaign in at least 16 countries. Ivey, Canada’s top business school, used it as a business case in its curriculum.

Most importantly, Good Fortune increased its sales 34%.