Go RVing Canada’s primal scream of an ad shows an office drone reborn in nature

Broken Heart Love Affair’s campaign is all about reconnecting with the explorer in all of us

Published On
Feb 15, 2023
An office worker escapes to the Great Outdoors

Editor's Pick

Work kinda sucks, right?

You suffer the humiliation of a commute—if you even still have a commute—and then you get to work and are bludgeoned into submission by the drudgery of an eight-hour day, surrounded by buffoons, struggling to find meaning in pointless tasks, totally separate from the real world that lies beyond, where you might actually feel some peace and fulfillment, not like some some cog in the machine of capitalism. (Geeze, I hope my employer’s not reading this.)

And it’s not just work but society in generally. If you end up being cut off from nature for too long, you eventually become cut off from yourself. 

Go RVing Canada feels your pain. And now, with help from agency Broken Heart Love Affair, they’ve memorably illustrated this yearning for freedom in a spot that’s all about getting back to nature—reconvening with the self who quite violently craves being there.

 
 

Some will say the film’s a little melodramatic, but Broken Heart Love Affair—the now 3-year-old Canadian agency formed by five Toronto-based agency executives—specializes in just this type of sweeping, cinematic statements. And if you find the guy’s behavior a little OTT, well, most of it surely isn’t meant to be taken literally. This is the land of metaphor.

The campaign is a homecoming of sorts for BHLA co-founders Denise Rossetto and Todd Mackie, who developed Go RVing Canada’s “Bring Back Wildhood” campaign eight years ago, when they were a creative team at Doug & Serge. The campaign later morphed into “Live Your Wildhood,” and now, “Find Your Wildhood.” 

“We’re so happy to reconnect with the ‘Wildhood’ platform,” said Mackie. “Eight years after its introduction, the genuine message that we all have a side of ourselves we love to connect with still resonates. Inspiring people to seek that side of themselves still feels right, particularly at a time we’re all trying to rediscover our humanity.”

“‘Wildhood’ is more than a campaign, it’s a state of being that exists in all of us—if we’re willing to look,” added Chris Mahony, president of Go RVing Canada. “We are all explorers, motivated by wanderlust, and our most powerful memories tend to be of the moments shared with loved ones, of discovery, of places that fill us with awe and wonder. This is where the magic lies. Big or small, these moments enrich our lives.”

In addition to the longform, the spot, which uses the José González song “Stay Alive,” will run on TV in 60-, 30- and 15-second cutdowns, as well as in social ads and digital search through the end of the year.

Credits

Date
Feb 15, 2023
Client :
Go RVing Canada
Agency :
Broken Heart Love Affair
President :
Chris Mahony
Director Digital Strategy :
Cyrus Irani
Content Marketing & Communications Manager :
Julia Bouterakos
Chief Creative Officer :
Todd Mackie
Chief Creative Officer :
Denise Rossetto
Chief Creative Officer :
Carlos Moreno
SVP Strategy :
Kristy Pleckaitis
Art Director :
Todd Mackie
Copywriter :
Denise Rossetto
Chief Business Officer :
Beverley Hammond
Client Success Team :
Ravi Singh
Client Success Team :
Maegan Thomas
Executive Producer :
Erica Metcalfe
Media Agency :
Jungle Media
Production Company :
OPC
Director :
Natalie Rae
Executive Producer :
Isil Gilderdale
Director of Photography :
Matthew Ballard
Producer :
Jason Aita
Wardrobe Stylist :
Kat Martinez
Wardrobe Assistant :
Wafa Rufaat
Editorial Company :
Saints Editorial
Editor :
Ross Birchall
Executive Producer :
Mackenzie Goodwin
Assistant Editor :
Phoebe Lorimer
VFX Company :
Darling VFX
VFX Artist :
Paul Binney
Executive Producer :
Stephanie Pennington
Color Company :
Alter Ego
Colorist :
Wade Odlum
Executive Producer :
Hilda Pereira
Audio House :
OSO Audio
Music Composer/Audio Director :
Daenen Bramberger
Executive Producer :
Hannah Graham
Casting Company :
Powerhouse Casting
Casting Director :
Melissa Cassin

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