Nescafé is bringing a sustainability message to the Super Bowl telecast in Canada with a beautifully shot commercial from the agency Courage that shows how people reuse the brand’s coffee jars.

Last fall, the new Toronto agency traveled to three continents in three weeks to shoot its first work for Nescafé, and this spot is similarly cosmopolitan. Shot by director Omri Cohen, it shows the jars being used to store pasta in a kitchen, candles at an altar, hardware in a workshop, buttons in a fashion studio, and more. All the while, a plaintive piano track plays, giving the film a poignant vibe.

“Every empty jar is full of possibilities,” says the end line.

The DIY sustainability seen in the spot is meant to emphasize Nescafé’s own commitment to taking care of the planet.

“From the way we source our coffee to every step along the way, at Nescafé we are using our global scale to bring sustainable change for our planet. But the simple act of reusing our coffee jar is an action that people all over the world have already been doing for years and years,” said Carm DaSilva, VP of Nestlé Coffee Canada. “We really saw an opportunity to celebrate that as a way to inspire and share how people are creating possibilities with their jars.”

“This was one of those ideas that, frankly, was right under our noses this whole time,” added Joel Holtby, co-founder and chief creative officer at Courage. “The thing that I love most about this one is how easy it is for people to see themselves in it. It evokes a real sense of intimate familiarity with something that is so universal.”

The spot will roll out globally after the game. The campaign includes OOH (see below) as well as social ads with instructions on how to peel off the jar’s labels, and a website to create and print new labels. 

While dwarfed by viewership numbers in the U.S., the Super Bowl is still the single largest broadcasting event in Canada, with nearly half of all Canadians tuned in at some point for the game in 2022.