Feb 13, 2023

Toronto, February 13, 2023 – A series of Hollywood billboards that use cheeky messages to celebrate Canadian filmmakers have been erected near L.A.’s Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in the heart of Tinseltown. The billboards are part of the MADE Better campaign, which launched last week to highlight the abundance of Canadian talent in the entertainment industry.

Playing off Canadians’ reputation for being well-mannered, one of the billboards shares the message that Canadians are “Politely Kicking Ass. (Sorry.)”, while the other celebrates some of Canada’s buzziest directors via the message “Need Direction? Look North” with a visual of four directors’ chairs emblazoned with the names Villeneuve, Polley, Cameron, and Shi.

Amid the sea of “For Your Consideration…” billboards in L.A. this awards season, the Canadian signs stand out.

“Canada is having a moment in Hollywood with so many Canadian storytellers enjoying huge success right now. We thought we’d have a bit of fun with it, and we love that people are sharing the billboards online and it’s generating buzz,” said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund (CMF), which, together with Telefilm Canada, is behind both the billboards and MADE Better, a larger campaign celebrating Canadian talent.

“As proud Canadians, we are reinforcing and celebrating the strength of our talent in the screen-based industry,” said Francesca Accinelli, Interim Executive Director & CEO of Telefilm Canada. “Through the fun and effective placements of these billboards in L.A., we honour our fellow Canadians’ successes and remind our friends down south and around the world that Canadians have good reasons to play cheeky.”

While the directors named on the billboard are among the most recognizable Canadians in entertainment, the country’s talent pool is deep both in front of and behind the camera, producing world-class content for TV, film, web, and video games. The MADE Better trailer highlights how Canadian artists lead the way in many areas, including in critically acclaimed films and series like Simu Liu in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Bilal Baig’s Sort Of, Pour toi Flora’s tale of Algonquin siblings, comedy (Letterkenny, Schitt’s Creek, Maria, Les Boys) and video-game design (Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla).

“MADE Better is about giving us a chance to appreciate the incredible talent we have in this country and feel good about it — maybe even get a goosebump or two,” said Mathieu Chantelois, Executive Vice-President of Marketing and Public Affairs, CMF. “Canadians have been calling the shots in Hollywood for a long time and It’s time to spread the word about the outstanding entertainment we create, whether it’s in our country or anywhere in the world.”

Presented by the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada, the MADE Better campaign was created with agencies Rethink, Torque Strategies, and 123w.

Social media posts about the billboards also shared the hashtags #MADEBETTER and its French counterpart #CELEBRONSNOUS.

Check out the MADE | NOUS website (made-nous.ca in English, celebronsnous.ca in French) to see the MADE Better campaign spots and enjoy a curated collection of some of the shows and movies featured in the videos.