ADC Awards
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Category
Design for Good / Advertising - Series
Annual ID
ADC104_ADV116M
Background
The Canadian Stuttering Association is an organization that offers resources, tools and support for Canadians who stutter, but no one knew that they existed. Our task was to create a digital campaign that drove awareness of the CSA’s website for the 410,000 Canadians who stutter.
In Canada, stuttering remains a largely misunderstood speech condition. The stuttering community, and their experiences, are often ignored, with many assuming all people who stutter sound the same.
In Canada, stuttering remains a largely misunderstood speech condition. The stuttering community, and their experiences, are often ignored, with many assuming all people who stutter sound the same.
Creative Idea
Stutter.ca was launched, along with 410,000 other unique URLs, to represent how each of the 410,000 Canadians who stutter, might pronounce “stutter.ca.” We used real speech patterns from the stuttering community to train an AI model that generated 410,000 URL variations. A backend system then redirected all URLs back to stutter.ca.
We launched a digital OOH, poster, and cinema campaign that authentically represented how people stutter and drove awareness of stuttering as a speech condition. We developed a typographic system inspired by three common stutters: prolonged sounds (blue poster), repetition (red poster), and pausing (green poster). Our typeface balanced legibility with intentional imperfections, like sharp cut-offs and asymmetrical letters, to mimic speech irregularities.
We launched a digital OOH, poster, and cinema campaign that authentically represented how people stutter and drove awareness of stuttering as a speech condition. We developed a typographic system inspired by three common stutters: prolonged sounds (blue poster), repetition (red poster), and pausing (green poster). Our typeface balanced legibility with intentional imperfections, like sharp cut-offs and asymmetrical letters, to mimic speech irregularities.
Insights & Strategy
410,000 Canadians stutter. But not all who stutter, stutter the same. In Canada, stuttering remains a largely misunderstood speech condition. The stuttering community, and their experiences, are often ignored, with many assuming all people who stutter sound the same. The strategy was simple, the CSA wanted to remind those who stutter that no matter how you say “stutter.ca” you’d get to the site.
Execution
To create stutter.ca and 410,000 alternate versions of the URL, we captured real speech patterns from members of the Canadian stuttering community and trained an AI model to generate 410,000 unique URLs that reflected their vocal variations. All the URLs led to a single home page offering resources and support for the Canadian stuttering community.
We created posters, digital OOH and cinema spots with a design system that reflected Canada's growing emphasis on authentic representation. Our wild postings grabbed pedestrian attention in the country's busiest commuter cities and high-traffic areas with its intentional imperfections. Our typography challenged traditional Canadian design standards, which typically prioritize clarity over authenticity. These assets created powerful moments of recognition, as community members were finally seeing their unique way of speaking acknowledged and celebrated in the public sphere. For the broader public, the campaign provided an innovative way to understand how different people stutter.
We created posters, digital OOH and cinema spots with a design system that reflected Canada's growing emphasis on authentic representation. Our wild postings grabbed pedestrian attention in the country's busiest commuter cities and high-traffic areas with its intentional imperfections. Our typography challenged traditional Canadian design standards, which typically prioritize clarity over authenticity. These assets created powerful moments of recognition, as community members were finally seeing their unique way of speaking acknowledged and celebrated in the public sphere. For the broader public, the campaign provided an innovative way to understand how different people stutter.
Results
Tangible results are proof of the good the work generated:
192% increase in web traffic.
4,594,226 impressions with $0 media spend
Our campaign's impact across Canada was significant, bringing unprecedented visibility to stuttering and challenging societal perceptions about speech differences. Speech therapists, psychologists, and teachers nationwide adopted our campaign as an educational tool to promote empathy and empower people who stutter. Feedback and love from the stuttering community highlighted how the campaign made them feel seen and understood, often for the first time. Ultimately, the campaign provided authentic representation for those who stutter, while creating empathy in those who don't. This dual impact made it both personally meaningful and educationally valuable.
One of our most surprising results was that over 172 other countries visited our site after seeing the work in the press, which means that the work had a global impact, as well as an impact in Canada.
192% increase in web traffic.
4,594,226 impressions with $0 media spend
Our campaign's impact across Canada was significant, bringing unprecedented visibility to stuttering and challenging societal perceptions about speech differences. Speech therapists, psychologists, and teachers nationwide adopted our campaign as an educational tool to promote empathy and empower people who stutter. Feedback and love from the stuttering community highlighted how the campaign made them feel seen and understood, often for the first time. Ultimately, the campaign provided authentic representation for those who stutter, while creating empathy in those who don't. This dual impact made it both personally meaningful and educationally valuable.
One of our most surprising results was that over 172 other countries visited our site after seeing the work in the press, which means that the work had a global impact, as well as an impact in Canada.
2025 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit Honor
Credits
PR / Marketing Agency
john st. / Toronto
Client / Brand
Canadian Stuttering Association / Toronto
Animator
Laura Baldesarra
Art Director
Jordan Bloom
Copywriter
Kim Monitto
Producer
Larissa Lee
Associate Creative Director, Art Director
Michelle Orlandi
CCO
Krystle Mullin
Account Executive
Elyse Vander Ende
Associate Director
Michelle Collie
Association of Board Members
Alexandra D'Agostino
Business Lead
Jessica DeSantis
CEO
Allison Ballantyne
National Coordinator and Board Chair
Eeva Stierwalt
PR
Tory Crowder
SVP Media
Paula Carolan Di Salvo
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