MICHAEL PAL

VANCOUVER-based associate creative director and copywriter

Michael Pal is to advertising what Vlad the Impaler was to impaled human corpses: he’s a pro, he’s very sharp, and his work is killer.

GCI - WILDLY INGENIOUS

GCI is an Alaskan telecom that started in a van. 45 years later, they’ve brought Internet to the farthest reaches of the state with a network that spans more than 10,000 miles.

Our goal was to create a new brand platform that lived up to that wild level of ingenuity, honoured the bravery of living in Alaska and positioned GCI as a brand as daring and non-conformist as Alaskans themselves.

Travel Yukon -
a little bit metal

Selling the Yukon as a winter vacation destination isn’t easy. People think it’s too cold and there isn’t much to do. And they’re not entirely wrong - it’s pretty hardcore.

But for adventurous travellers, that’s a selling point. So we turned to a genre that’s as intense and unapologetically badass as winter in the Yukon, and created the world’s first tourism campaign disguised as a full-length metal song.

Then we turned up the volume, designing posters that mimicked metal band artwork, reframing activity itineraries as festival line-ups, and creating a line of collectable band merch. We even offered free tattoos (temporary, of course).

Recognition

Clios - Bronze
Applied Arts
Campaign Canada Mighty List 2024

7 West - Pizza Time

7 West is a 24-hour Toronto restaurant that wanted to boost off-hour pizza orders. A DM campaign targeted current customers by turning 7 West pizza boxes into reasons why pizza time can be any time. If someone ordered pizza at 1 PM, they received it in a box that suggested why 1 AM is also a great time to devour pizza. 12 boxes were designed and coordinated to delivery hours. Orders increased by 30%. Yum. Yum.


Recognition

2021 ADCC - Gold x2

2021 LIA - Bronze

2021 Clios - Bronze

2021 Applied Arts x4

2020 D&AD - Graphite Pencil

2020 D&AD - Wood Pencil

2020 One Show - Merit

2020 ADC - Bronze

2020 Dieline Awards - Silver

MCDONALD’S - GOOD MORNING CHAMPION

Sure, you didn’t run a marathon before the sun came up, but you did remember to clean that old tupperware in your bag and empty the cat litter. That’s a win, and you deserve to start your day like a champion with a hot cup of McCafé.

SObeys -
Clear the clouds

In 2022, after more than two years of school closures, virtual learning, isolation, and lost time with family and friends, child and youth mental health was an issue that desperately needed attention.

We created this spot to bring awareness to Sobeys “Family of Support”, a partnership with 13 children’s hospitals across Canada to fund programs, initiatives and child & youth mental health support.


GAIN - GAINIAC

There’s a fandom for just about everything. Beyoncé has the “BeyHive”, Justin Bieber has his “Beliebers”, and it turns out Gain laundry detergent has… “Gainiacs”. Yes, for real.

So we wrote an ode to Gainiacs everywhere, and brought it to life with the help of the perfect 80s track (and movie reference) and Craig Robinson’s sweet, sweet dance moves.


Featured in

Adweek | Variety | AdAge

AT&T - MADNESS LOVES COMPANY

Whether it’s Chet Holmgren, UCLA mascot Joe Bruin, or Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams, March Madness just isn’t March Madness unless you have some company to go crazy with (and a super fast connection from AT&T to stream it on).

We also took over the CBS Bracket Manager website and created a series of spots
that would air contextually depending on how you were doing in your pool.

Featured in

Adweek | Muse By Clio | AdAge

Bell -
tiff 2019

As the lead sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival, we were tasked to not only showcase Bell’s love of movies, but, more importantly, their love for movie lovers.