Boréale

Here’s to local pride

A small gesture, a bold message: choosing local as the first sip of resistance.

Services

Strategy
Creative

Brief

In February 2025, Donald Trump announced the first U.S. tariffs on Canadian products, sparking outrage across the country. Out of this heated moment came a spontaneous idea: without a formal brief, the creative team pitched Boréale a bold slogan — “Je bois local, mon Donald” (“I drink local, Donald”) — to ride the news cycle, rally consumers around local products and strengthen the brand’s emotional connection with its audience.

Problem to Solve

Timing was everything. To make an impact, Boréale needed to be the first to publicly champion buying local in response to the tariffs. The challenge was to turn a spontaneous idea into a visible, memorable campaign before the story lost momentum. In just 48 hours, the concept became a series of billboards across Greater Montreal. With its cheeky tone and instantly memorable phrasing, “Je bois local, mon Donald” was primed to become a rallying cry.

Solution

At 2 p.m., billboards went up across Greater Montreal. Just 43 minutes later, the campaign was making headlines. The blend of humour and breaking news triggered a rapid viral wave, delivering a ninefold return on media investment. Months later, a summer wave of the campaign kept the momentum going, boosting spontaneous brand awareness to 30% — over 20 points higher than other microbreweries — and cementing Boréale as the only true Quebec microbrewery in the public’s mind.