Anthony Atkinson on Canadian Success via Cognitive Diversity
"Great creative has no boundaries. The best work can come from anywhere. Meet some of Canada’s best creative thinkers. The work is world class and consistent."
Canadian production company FRANK Content is a proud supporter of Little Black Book as its partner for the Canadian market. As part of that relationship, LBB is sitting down for a chat with the brightest and best minds from across Canada's advertising industry. Today, LBB’s Ben Conway has the pleasure of talking with Anthony Atkinson, executive creative director at Cossette.
A champion for creativity and a natural storyteller, Anthony is an award-winning and highly strategic creative with two decades of experience in the business. During this time he has worked for agencies including Wieden + Kennedy, Leo Burnett, Mr. President, and now Cossette, where he had previously worked as a copywriter from 2008-2012. His portfolio includes work with numerous global & national brands with achievements that have been celebrated within the industry and in culture.
Talking to LBB’s Ben Conway, he speaks about taking inspiration from his work outside of Canada, the Quebecois uniqueness and stubbornness within Cossette’s DNA, and how strategy and craft in the Canadian industry are finally catching up with its bold ideas.
LBB> How did you get your start in the industry?
Anthony> I started my career as a designer. I’ve always loved design, but I found myself gravitating more toward advertising and conceptual thinking. I often found myself working on design projects with clients and then finding ways to sneak in a billboard idea. That’s when I knew it was time to see what else was out there.
LBB> When did you start at Cossette and what was the attraction? What were you doing before joining? Could you sum up the ride with Cossette so far?
Anthony> After spending time as a designer, I worked for a motocross magazine while doing a bit of soul-searching. It was there that I actually fell in love with writing. I would write a few stories for the magazine, telling tales of my North American escapades while on the moto circuit. That’s when I discovered copywriting as a possible career path. It brought my love for storytelling and ideas to life in a way I never knew possible. So, I went back to school, took a post-grad program, and was hired by Cossette at the end of my term.
Cossette has a good reputation for nurturing young talent. I took the gig, and early in my internship, I was given a chance to write for TV. Before I knew it, I was producing my first commercial and campaign with a young Jeff Lowe. Four years later, I moved to London.
LBB> You’ve worked at agencies in several different markets. What key differences and similarities have you observed?
Anthony> While working in Canada taught me how to be scrappy with bold ideas and the art of writing good comedy, London opened my eyes to brilliant strategy and craft. When it comes to strategy, I feel like Canada is just starting to catch up. Not only in our own strategic approach, but also in our clients’ appreciation for it. Since moving back to Canada, I routinely stay close to my strategic partners to help shape strategy. I really enjoy and appreciate what it takes to create a clear and succinct launchpad for creativity.
Next was craft. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know what it truly meant to be a copywriter until I worked at Wieden + Kennedy London. There I worked with brilliant writers who shaped me into the creative I am today. Every word was scrutinised; every point in the story was shaped, pushed and exhausted until we all walked away with what everyone believed was the best possible product we could deliver. It was a focus on art and craft that’s been hammered deep into my soul, and I’m better for it. It was also in London where I found my voice in a presentation room. The Brits really know how to tell a story and captivate an audience. I love this part of the process - presentations for me are like story time, ‘Gather round everyone, let me tell you a story about laundry detergent’.
LBB> Cossette places a focus on being a ‘strategic partner and creating ‘integrated brand experiences’ - can you elaborate on this philosophy?
Anthony> Like many agencies these days, we’re obsessed with culture and creativity. But diversity in thought is the key to unlocking a brand’s role in culture today. We’ve built the largest, most international and cognitively diverse strategy department in Canada. It’s critical that we bring fresh and diverse perspectives forward, while providing content in context to what’s going on in the world around us. This is how we unlock behaviour-changing brand strategies. We work with inputs from futurology and semiotics to comms planning, and from AI to data science and beyond.
That’s all a lot of jargon to say we go deep and come out with enlightened strategic clarity. Once you unlock that, you can develop disciplined creativity that transcends any one touchpoint and produces award-winning work.
LBB> What is the ‘#onecossette agency model’ and how does this impact the work that you and Cossette do?
Anthony> Cossette is the most integrated agency in Canada. At the heart of this is #onecossette, which means all as one. It’s a model designed to celebrate diversity in thought, experience and expertise. It helps break down boundaries or silos and makes room for creativity.
Our goal is always to help everyone on the team do the best work of their lives. This includes our clients. They’re at the centre of this model, surrounded by a tightly integrated team of experts that become an extension of the marketing team. Because if our clients are successful, we’re successful. This model is also the reason that Cossette is recognised time and time again for creative effectiveness.
LBB> When it comes to hiring new talent, do most come from Canada? Are there a lot of people from abroad looking to come to the market right now?
Anthony> We’re seeing a lot of interest from international markets. Most of our full-time teams are from Canada, but there are a few of us from the US, UK and abroad. Many of our international hires work in our strategy department. For a small market, we make quite a lot of noise on the international stage, so it’s no surprise people are attracted to working here. That, and it’s a pretty great place to live - minus the long winters and bad traffic.
LBB> How has the Canadian market changed since you started? Is there more international interest/business in Canada now?
Anthony> I’m privileged to work with some amazing partners here at Cossette. Our clients are intelligent, strategic marketers. Not only that, but they also have a keen eye for creativity and push us to achieve our best work. So I guess the biggest change I’ve seen is that many of our clients believe in the power of creativity because they’ve experienced first-hand how it can drive their business. We’re all speaking the same language more and more. Clients are becoming more creative. Creatives are becoming more business-minded.
We’re also seeing a lot of Canadian agencies think well beyond their borders. Our ideas here at home are being adapted by other markets that see Canada as a perfect testing ground for creativity before rolling them out in their own markets. I’ve always loved being an underdog or punching above my weight. Canada may be small, but we’ve proven our ability to compete and win.
LBB> Cossette started in Quebec - for those of us outside of Canada, is there a Quebecois spirit or attitude that is more specific to that part of the country?
Anthony> Since day one, there’s been a certain stubbornness about doing things differently that’s rooted in Cossette’s DNA, and we believe this is a core trait of Quebec’s creative culture. There’s also a huge sense of pride in Quebec. It’s mostly based on the uniqueness of the culture and French language. Just as Australians have a very specific way of depicting their culture in advertising, the most effective work that Cossette does in Quebec has that cultural resonance.
LBB> How do you feel about this upcoming generation that has grown up with unprecedented technological access and self-taught skills? How will Cossette harness and develop this young talent?
Anthony> This question keeps me up at night. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had the privilege of being taught and mentored by some very talented and generous people. But so much of that was by me knocking on their door, stopping them in a hallway, or tagging an extra five at the end of a meeting. I also picked up so much just by being in constant close contact with my peers, picking their brains and being nosey. Now all these impromptu conversations need to be booked and planned.
This immersion into our business is so important, and we’re working to emulate it as best we can by coming into the office more regularly, making time for these kinds of open-door chats, and being proactive in reaching out to our young talent. Where it used to be mostly on junior talent to pester CDs, it’s now equally important that CDs constantly reach out to junior talent.
LBB> Is there a piece of work that you created in the last year that you’re especially proud of? Feel free to give us a couple of examples and explain why you chose them.
Anthony> Our work with SickKids has always been a point of pride. This year saw three campaigns released, each telling a different story and delivering on a different strategic objective. ‘Be a Light’, ‘Lottery’ and ‘Brave List’ all worked together in exceeding our donation goals. For a campaign that has been running for over five years, it’s great to see SickKids VS still carry such momentum.
Our Google team is really hitting its stride too. Our work with Simu Liu saw success here in Canada and soon after in other markets. Our design team has also been producing some great award-winning work for World Wheelchair Rugby. The campaign was beautiful, but the design really stole the show. Finally, we rebranded Cannabis Amnesty and released a short film that was slightly under the radar for a campaign called ‘Legalize Us’. For many, it was a passion project, and a true expression of film craft despite a small budget.
LBB> Is there a piece of Canadian work from the last year that you kind of wished you had created, or that you admire?
Anthony> Parkscapes by BBDO Toronto still haunts me as one of my most recent favourite pieces of work. Even if Taylor Swift hadn’t picked up one of the samples, I’d still love it. Such a smart and beautiful idea.
LBB> Cossette says the “source of everything” that it does is a “combination of creativity and relevance” - how do you achieve this balance? Which projects have found this sweet spot for you?
Anthony> This is quite simple for me. It’s basically great strategy and creativity at work. A great strategy should be relevant to a moment in culture and then be executed brilliantly. I’ll refer to our work with Google and Simu that was launched at a time of some horrific Asian hate crimes. We worked with Simu and his relatives to tell a story the way he wanted, one that celebrated his language, family and culture in an authentic way.
LBB> Do you have a creative hero and if so, who?
Anthony> George Lois has made quite the impression on me. I love how he blurred the lines between advertising and art. His covers were provocative and culturally fuelled. He shook people up, forced them to think and created work that was unignorable. He made people feel something.
LBB> And finally, what do you enjoy doing to relax and unwind when you’re not working?
Anthony> During the pandemic, I took up brewing beer as a hobby. I then created my own brand for fun and called it ‘Bluffs Beer’. It embraces how bad the beer is and how terrible we are at brewing with an unapologetic tagline of ‘We’re working on it’. Self-deprecation has always been a favourite pastime of mine.
