Montréal: The place I now call home - Montréal International | Clapboard Ad Archive
Montréal International’s 2021 campaign Montréal: The place I now call home, crafted by Gimmick Studio, marks a confident repositioning of the city within the travel and leisure category, emphasizing its unique combination of urban vitality, inclusivity, and expansive natural surroundings as a magnet for global talent and newcomers. Centered on a distinctive narrative film, the campaign asserts Montréal’s advantages through the lived experience of a new resident, foregrounding the city’s status as both a welcoming metropolis with a human scale and a dynamic destination where water, green spaces, and breathable air grant rare latitude in urban living. Speaking directly to the aspirations of international professionals and students, the communications reinforce Montréal’s broad appeal: quality job prospects, affordable cost of living, robust safety, and a full calendar of cultural and recreational options, all wrapped in an atmosphere of openness and belonging, are presented not in the abstract but as tangible benefits embodied in the user’s journey toward calling Montréal home. The strategy moves beyond the typical grandeur or cultural deep dive found in city marketing, calibrating its message instead to the value drivers that motivate real-world relocation decisions—space to grow, opportunity to thrive, and ease of integration for both career-seekers and students alike. Calls to action are sharply targeted and actionable, guiding professionals to talentmontreal.com and students to ichoosemontreal.com, tailoring the funnel to the distinct needs and ambitions of each segment. This audience resonance is underpinned by a creative approach that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery, deploying a relatable protagonist whose journey signals, with authority and warmth, the possibility for any viewer to write themselves into Montréal’s evolving story. The absence of celebrity testimonial or overt demonstration works in the campaign’s favor, letting the authentic tone and the city’s visible attributes do the heavy lifting in brand-building and trust formation. Social hashtags such as #liveinmontreal and #montrealmoments serve to extend reach and foster a digital community, reinforcing the emotional promise of belonging that Montréal International is keen to deliver. The campaign earns 64/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. At a time when global cities are competing for talent on the strength of their lived experience, Montréal: The place I now call home demonstrates how user-centered, lifestyle-driven positioning can establish both differentiation and emotional connection in the hospitality and tourism sector.