The brief was centred around bringing the Canva brand and product to life. The campaign needed to showcase Canva’s ease, creativity, and impact, while being bold enough to capture attention in one of London’s busiest environments – Waterloo Station.
One of the biggest challenges was translating the experience of software into something static and physical. Billboards don’t scroll, click, or animate, so the team had to find ways to showcase features like Magic Resize or Background Remover in a fixed, real-world format.
When Stink shared the idea of playing with the “9x16 vs. 16x9” aspect ratio through a Magic Resize execution, it quickly stood out. It distilled a core product feature into something instantly recognisable and uniquely suited to out-of-home.
The criteria were simple: each concept had to be instantly getable, inherently shareable, and directly relevant to the product. More than 200 ideas were generated — most didn’t make the cut, but those that did combined humour, simplicity, and clear product demonstration.
The campaign leaned into a tone that felt both distinctly Canva and distinctly British. Playful, tongue-in-cheek lines such as “When make the logo bigger goes a bit too far” captured the brand’s lighthearted voice while also poking fun at universal creative tropes.
Perhaps most importantly, the campaign reinforced that consumers are smart: they don’t need everything spelled out. The ideas that resonated most were the ones that were simple, single-minded, and rooted in insight and emotion rather than over-explaining.
Internally, the campaign has been seen as a breakthrough moment. It has helped set a new internal benchmark for what Canva campaigns should aim for: work that leads with creativity, connects emotionally, and showcases the product in ways that are impossible to ignore.
