The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Learn more about The One Show 2026
Category
Innovation / Use of Media in Public Relations
Annual ID
OS24_PR080M
About the Work
Career, family, and other obligations have Canadian men struggling with what some are dubbing the “friendship recession.” To better understand this issue, Budweiser commissioned the first national survey and uncovered some shocking facts: 7 out of 10 men spend less time with their friends as they age. As the only beer with friendship in its name, Budweiser sought to be the first brand to raise awareness for the issue by doing something only they could: Removing the “Bud” from its iconic 147 year old wordmark, to remind consumers that life is not the same without their buds. The Bud was removed from Billboards, the Sportsnet studio, in stadiums, on social handles, and even on the beer labels themselves. Everyone wanted to know: where did the bud go? And why? Then on International Friendship Day, they brought the Bud back by releasing an emotional film where they asked real Canadian men to consider what life would be like without their friends, followed by a total Blue Jays game takeover including a 1 minute long blackout on Sportsnet that encouraged viewers to reach out to their friends. This culminated in developing a simple tool, ThatsWhatBudsDo.ca, which aimed at sending reminders with the singular goal of encouraging friends to reconnect. It sent texts during specific moments of the day (after-work, before the long weekend, during the Jays game) with gentle prompts for consumers to reach out to their buds. The impact was massive: thousands of friends signed up for our tool, it broke social conversation records for the brand, PR impressions and the campaign had an overwhelmingly positive reception that resonated with consumers and cemented Budweiser as the official beer of friendship.
2024 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Anomaly / Toronto
Media Agency
Dentsu / Toronto
PR / Marketing Agency
Veritas Communications / Toronto
Client / Brand
Labatt / Toronto
Production Company
OPC / Toronto
Unreasonable Studios
Editing Company
Outsider Editorial / Toronto
Art Director
Sasha Barkans
Content Creator
Devante Mowatt
Copywriter
Cristina Piñeros
Design Director
Shawn Lambino
Designer
Melissa Zeta
Group Creative Director
Neil Blewett
Motion Designer
Scott Booth
Producer
Sydney Price
ECD / Partner
Dave Douglass
Social Strategy Director
Matt Stasoff
Account Coordinator
Shirley Truong
Account Director
Danielle Haberman
Account Supervisor
Sarah Loo
Brand Director - Mainstream
David Sheedy
Brand Manager
Stella Cho
Business Director
Anjelica Kapetanos
Digital Producer
Danielle Zhang
Head of Brand Strategy
Mak Kattan
Head of Client Services
Matt Holton
Head of Comms Strategy
Kira Montgomery
Head of Production
Marie-Pierre Toure
Online Company
Darling VFX & Colour / Toronto
OOH Producer
Jacklyn Bonsignore
President/CEO
Candace Borland
Senior Brand Manager
Jake Brunt
Senior Communications Manager
Veronica Bart
Sound Design Company
Grayson Music Group / Toronto
VP of Marketing
Andrew Oosterhuis
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