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Over four years, the Tough Cookies campaign has raised $1.7 million for the Fondation Charles-Bruneau through IGA stores across Quebec, Canada. IGA, Quebec's community-focused grocery chain partnered with the foundation, which funds pediatric cancer research across the province's four major children's hospitals.

Every year Sid Lee brings together kids who have beaten cancer to create characters that become temporary tattoos sold at IGA checkout counters. These “tough cookies” use their art not just to express themselves but to power a campaign where almost every dollar goes straight to research. The project shines a spotlight on these young survivors as kids reclaiming their childhood by imagining, creating, and playing.

The tattoos deliver instant fun when applied and unlock new play experiences every year from AR adventures to mobile games and interactive stories. Instead of just asking for donations, this creates a real exchange. Families get physical and digital entertainment in return for their support. It turns giving into shared play while celebrating the creative survivors whose artwork and ideas bring the research to life.

Here's how the concept evolved across four years.

For this edition, Sid Lee had the children draw their favorite foods connecting naturally to IGA's grocery context. Professional tattoo artists translated these drawings into temporary tattoos that came alive through augmented reality when families scanned them at home.

The young artists worked with Sid Lee to shape how their creations moved and interacted digitally. The emotional impact was powerful: one father got his son's design permanently tattooed on himself, honoring his child's victory over cancer. Meanwhile, the survivors' families shared their children's artwork and stories with pride across social media, creating organic amplification for the campaign.

The approach raised $450,000 in its first year, proof that Sid Lee's co-creation model with young survivors could drive both meaningful engagement and substantial fundraising results.

The second year introduced a mobile game where tattoos unlocked playable characters. Children designed a four-level side-scroller, think Super Mario Bros. where each level represented a different taste: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. This connected to the reality that children undergoing chemotherapy often lose their sense of taste, making the game both personal and meaningful.

The children invented heroes and villains, described the levels, and shaped the sound design and music. The challenge was delivering a complete game in under six weeks, an impossible task.

The creative shortcut was to have three teams work in parallel: kids co-creating characters, developers building the game engine, and designers who bought Super Mario Maker and used it as their level design tool. While coworkers wondered why the design team was "playing video games all day," they were actually prototyping levels on a Nintendo Switch and translating the designs to the final engine. Six weeks instead of six months.

The game attracted over 20,000 players, with families clearing over 4,000 levels, and was later adapted into arcade versions installed in hospitals, giving future "tough cookies" something engaging during treatment.

All this to say, it got a whole lot of attention from the industry. At the IDEA Awards, the project received the prestigious Coup de cœur – Produits et expériences numériques: a special jury distinction reserved for outstanding projects that transcend regular categories. This proved that creative problem-solving could deliver professional-quality experience on charity fundraising timelines and budgets.

By 2023, tattoos granted access to a contemplative search-and-find game where players hunted for hidden characters within animated illustrations. That year's young survivors created new characters while Sid Lee brought back designs from all previous campaigns, creating a comprehensive collection to discover. Montreal illustrator Audrey Malo populated bright, detailed scenes with this expanded cast of characters.

Kids and parents dove in together, spending around 11 minutes hunting down every hidden figure. Each find unlocked the story of a survivor which served as a powerful reminder of children who beat cancer and are thriving today. Players could even donate right inside the game, connecting their support directly to the research that’s saving lives. It turned playtime into something meaningful and deeply personal.

For the final year, tattoos unlocked interactive audio storytelling where children became heroes guiding characters through challenges and decisions. Young survivors created characters like Rocky Banana and The Ninja Avocado for these audio adventures. The stories used binaural audio that made voices whisper in one ear while magical sounds swirled overhead, making kids feel like they were standing inside the story.

The campaign partnered with Quebec's beloved children's show Passe-Partout, creating limited-edition tattoos featuring the show's iconic characters alongside the children's creations. For Quebec families, this collaboration felt like a natural fit—bringing together their local grocery store, a show many parents grew up with, and a cause they could support together.

Across four editions, Tough Cookies has raised more than $1.7 million for pediatric cancer research while engaging over 80,000 players in its digital experiences. The campaign extended beyond fundraising into real-world impact, with arcade versions installed in children's hospitals and families organically sharing their experiences across social media.

The campaign has earned six major industry awards across its editions, including recognition from Idéa, The One Show, and ADC Awards. Most notably, the 2022 game received the prestigious Coup de cœur jury prize—a special distinction reserved for projects that transcend regular categories.

At a time when donor participation is declining and fundraising competition intensifies, Tough Cookies has proven resilient by transforming charitable giving into family play. Rather than competing for attention with expensive merchandise or celebrity appeals, the campaign succeeds through simplicity: a temporary tattoo that costs pennies to produce but unlocks rich digital experiences year after year.

The approach addresses common fundraising challenges strategically. By meeting families at checkout with a low-cost, tangible item, it makes participation effortless while ensuring nearly every dollar reaches research. Each year's fresh format renews interest and brings families back, creating sustained engagement rather than one-time donations.

Most importantly, the campaign replaces abstract "research funding" with personal stories families can see and touch. When parents watch their children play games created by young cancer survivors, the impact becomes tangible: these are kids who are alive, healthy, and contributing their creativity. This connection between research success and family moments explains why Tough Cookies has grown into a platform that raises millions while giving parents and children something meaningful to share together.

This is what sets Sid Lee apart. It meant collaborating with kids to create art and then transforming it into interactive digital experiences that build real connections few traditional campaigns can match.