Taking the Pulse with a 2023 Ad Young Blood winner
Chenice Piercy brought a concept to life with Bill it Bezos
February 1, 2024
Chenice Piercy may be one of our Applied Arts Young Blood winners, but she is not new to the Awards circuit. Chenice has been winning Awards since she dreamed of making it big while learning her craft at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. She’s driven to use her craft for purpose-based advertising. That passion to do good was brought out in the Bill It to Bezos ad campaign she and her creative team at Angry Butterfly created for the Jane/Finch Community Centre. The campaign won in 8 categories!—Cause-Related Advertising, Experiential/Digital Engagement, PSA/Charity Digital Advertising, Social Streaming, Digital Engagement Campaign, Small Community, Shoe-String Budget, and, of, course, Young Blood Digital Advertising—Now that’s a WIN!
Let’s see how this multi-award-winning Art Director keeps her passion alive.
What is your creative process?
Each project is unique, so my creative process differs each time. I begin by absorbing as much information as possible on the subject, googling questions that arise, revisiting the brief repeatedly, and jotting down initial ideas. Once I've had a minute to let things sink in, my creative partner and I dive into work, brainstorming until our brains hurt. Our collaborative process often manifests as a lengthy, somewhat chaotic Google doc where insights and half-baked ideas live together. Once ready, we polish our strongest ideas and keep crafting until they reach their best form.
What is the most difficult piece you worked on? What were the challenges?
During the pandemic, I worked on a campaign that involved farmers all across Canada. With restrictions in place, we turned to remote filming, dispatching film kits to farms countrywide. We collaborated with farmers via Zoom to gather footage for our spot. We can all agree that a remote Zoom shoot is far from ideal. Coupled with patchy cell service in rural areas, it led to technical challenges, communication barriers, and moments where we had to 'trust the process,' all while racing against the clock to capture farms in optimal lighting during sunrise or sunset. Despite these hurdles, we managed to capture 11 farms across nine provinces in approximately seven days. There will always be challenges, no matter the project - and I see it as my job to use creativity to help solve them.
What is the project you are most proud of? What was your creative process?
Bill It To Bezos stands out as my proudest project. It raised awareness and funds for an important client, the Jane/Finch Community & Family Centre, but It also injected wit and levity into public service advertising.
Bringing B2B to life was a total all-hands-on-deck creative process. Our amazing strategy team unearthed the info on Prime Gaming Twitch subscriptions. Creatively, the challenge lay in crafting a compelling wrapper that would entice people to donate their Prime Gaming subscription to JFC.
Throughout the process, we explored various approaches: dubbing real footage of Bezos, leveraging Alexa to narrate our story, and even contemplating a darker, 'Anonymous-esque' portrayal of Bezos. Ultimately, we settled on a 3D render of Bezos as the face of our Robin Hood campaign, allowing us to poke fun at the billionaire while advancing our cause.
Who is your creative hero?
I don't want to sound like I'm evading the question, but it's honestly too difficult for me to choose just one. I find inspiration from numerous talented women who have paved the way in advertising, enabling queer women like myself to find a voice in this industry.
How do you stay inspired?
I'm perpetually curious and constantly exploring interests beyond advertising. At any given time, you'll find me dabbling in way too many things: mixed-media art, bookbinding, paper sculpting, playing guitar (badly), or being absorbed in a book. I am most inspired when I step outside my advertising bubble and learn about the world around me.
We can't wait to see the future results of your inspirations. Congratulations on this stellar campaign!
