![](https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/christmas/lolo_et_lionel_sh_140-compositing-work_v006.jpg?mw=1420&hash=F3A243492CDB5DC8F9AED5AF7EC11E8F)
Bringing community to the table
IGA
There’s a common thread running through every IGA campaign: optimism.
Over the years, we’ve worked alongside the grocers to find the inherent opportunities within the challenges and pain points of the market. In doing so, we’ve sought out creative edges, produced iconic jingles and spots, and helped sponsor the Olympics. Fundamentally, it’s been our goal to share what IGA is: a down-to-earth, generous, and community-minded organization.
As a result, IGA is now one of Quebec’s most loved brands. Our work for them is localized on the ripple effects of sharing and food’s ability to bring people together, and ultimately meet the needs of IGA’s unique communities.
Over the years, we’ve worked alongside the grocers to find the inherent opportunities within the challenges and pain points of the market. In doing so, we’ve sought out creative edges, produced iconic jingles and spots, and helped sponsor the Olympics. Fundamentally, it’s been our goal to share what IGA is: a down-to-earth, generous, and community-minded organization.
As a result, IGA is now one of Quebec’s most loved brands. Our work for them is localized on the ripple effects of sharing and food’s ability to bring people together, and ultimately meet the needs of IGA’s unique communities.
Beyond aisles and cashiers
Grocery stores aren’t just places to shop—they’re community hubs. Places that all of us enter every single week to nourish ourselves and our families. Places where thousands of people had their only in-person interactions during the long days of the pandemic. IGA is the largest group of independent grocers in Canada, and its presence in Quebec dates back to 1953.
Over the years, we worked closely with IGA to combine storytelling, craft, and technology to develop an identity that transcended store and entered them into Quebec’s cultural zeitgeist.
Over the years, we worked closely with IGA to combine storytelling, craft, and technology to develop an identity that transcended store and entered them into Quebec’s cultural zeitgeist.
![](https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_abribus.jpg?mw=325&hash=DD37CB5950CB065BE79A16CA3FB1E9F9 325w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_abribus.jpg?mw=400&hash=203DC63A75582378186F7F22D2C59F2A 400w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_abribus.jpg?mw=500&hash=3C8E68A006C7477AD2CAABE423182272 500w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_abribus.jpg?mw=750&hash=B03F2CD94E12E5729716039AA87B6268 750w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_abribus.jpg?mw=1000&hash=7493654F3830AC573C6EA6F5DC2A0A40 1000w)
Behind the scenes of the song in your head
In 2019, IGA phased out plastic bags at checkout. A win for the environment, obviously, but a potential disaster for convenience; daily habits like heading to the grocery store empty-handed are tough to change. To offset the potential backlash, we opted for something memorable and lighthearted—the now infamous jingle Don’t forget your bags from folk band and Quebecois household name Bleu Jeans Bleu. We’re proud to say everyone within 10 kilometres of the province could likely recite it from memory.
Then came another surprise. We caught wind that masks would soon be obligatory in indoor spaces. Opting to be proactive, we suggested recording a spin-off of Oublie pas tes sacs that had a similar function: transforming something socially polarizing into something socially acceptable that was grounded in empathy and lightheartedness. Don’t forget your mask grew into a useful tool for merchants, hospitals, and even schools.
Then came another surprise. We caught wind that masks would soon be obligatory in indoor spaces. Opting to be proactive, we suggested recording a spin-off of Oublie pas tes sacs that had a similar function: transforming something socially polarizing into something socially acceptable that was grounded in empathy and lightheartedness. Don’t forget your mask grew into a useful tool for merchants, hospitals, and even schools.
![](https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_autocollant_caisse_16x4_5.jpg?mw=325&hash=A1487C7FD7C1F425D7AC3DE354F2B052 325w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_autocollant_caisse_16x4_5.jpg?mw=400&hash=D1E1EC5ED56CED9D27B43AF37DBAEA2F 400w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_autocollant_caisse_16x4_5.jpg?mw=500&hash=F2C78EF4B391EE123F232BE1C447D0C3 500w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_autocollant_caisse_16x4_5.jpg?mw=750&hash=DD5FF76A153BCA1F4A5EDC88ED9BAF70 750w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/oublie-pas/iga_autocollant_caisse_16x4_5.jpg?mw=1000&hash=4CE360911A386A6C24533046E1C1E8F4 1000w)
Art, technology, and cookies
How do you take the power away from something? Laugh at it. To empower kids living with cancer, we chose levity, not severity. In turn, IGA paired with the Charles-Bruneau Foundation to raise $454,684 for paediatric cancer research by creating dynamic tattoo sets. We hired seven little artists to draw up their favourite snacks. From there, an illustrator transformed them into temporary tattoos that could be scanned on phones via an app and come to life on screen. You can watch the full story here.
#ToughCookies wasn’t about selling anything. It was about breaking a rule: making the fight against cancer fun, colourful, and joyful, predicated on hope and resilience.
![tough cookies flash sheet](https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/tough_cookies/tough_cookies.png?mw=325&hash=2F352B6660ABC0D8067347A21C9BDF14 325w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/tough_cookies/tough_cookies.png?mw=400&hash=4349BBD26553B471439807204FB8B1CD 400w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/tough_cookies/tough_cookies.png?mw=500&hash=32DA8FCBA2B9ED5C005145006F92B921 500w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/tough_cookies/tough_cookies.png?mw=750&hash=039CA87BB00A84A9C4A6F652C5FBF977 750w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/tough_cookies/tough_cookies.png?mw=1000&hash=72CF62DD350984BB812AF34075CAE2D5 1000w)
A call to warm hearts
IGA’s celebrated Holiday Tales are always open brief at Sid Lee. We want to make sure we’re getting the best of the best storytelling, so anyone from any role can submit their ideas to be vetted by our Writer’s Room. You don’t have to have a creative job to be a creative person. The holidays offer brands a rare opportunity to create content that is deeply meaningful; with this in mind, we give the films all we’ve got. Over the years, IGA has leveraged the Holiday Tales to support the Charles-Bruneau Foundation, Women in Sport, and Tablée des chefs.
You can watch each of the spots here. Have a tissue handy.
You can watch each of the spots here. Have a tissue handy.
2018
2019
2020
![the trophy](https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/christmas/story_ig_en.jpg?mw=325&hash=00BC333D527172954D46149ACF58BB21 325w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/christmas/story_ig_en.jpg?mw=400&hash=C17BC9AF88D7E7A0E02A1A57D94EA21A 400w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/christmas/story_ig_en.jpg?mw=500&hash=E2E83B04E7AF8EA5A3A2865344C1277A 500w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/christmas/story_ig_en.jpg?mw=750&hash=5F804541AF7227D55919DFCA289E12A2 750w, https://cdn.sidlee.com/-/media/sidlee/work/iga/iga_2021/christmas/story_ig_en.jpg?mw=1000&hash=69D5B6BD2A5896A389923A064F898C6D 1000w)
This year, we did something special. For the first time ever, our Holiday Tale is two parts: the first having been released in December of 2021, and the second as a surprise sequel in January of 2022 to help IGA make a splash in the Olympic advertising space. The two stories are connected, following a young girl who learns hockey from her pensive grandfather and grows up to be a goalie for Team Canada. We thought there was no better way to announce the sponsorship than to leverage the goodwill the Holiday Tales established over the years across the country.
Becoming a brand that means something to its community is no small feat. It takes true philanthropy, a deep understanding of culture, and the guts to push the edges of traditional marketing. When the goods you sell bring people together in an intimate way, the stakes are high. IGA knows this, and rises to the occasion.
Becoming a brand that means something to its community is no small feat. It takes true philanthropy, a deep understanding of culture, and the guts to push the edges of traditional marketing. When the goods you sell bring people together in an intimate way, the stakes are high. IGA knows this, and rises to the occasion.