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For the last year, Canada has been in financial crisis, leaving many feeling like they can’t get ahead. Wealthsimple wanted these Canadians to know that there were solutions. So rather than wallow in the struggle, or pander with false hope, we decided to make a fun, funny spot with a simple message: don’t let your money be lazy.
Then we found the perfect Canadian to serve as a stand-in for lazy, oafish, not-optimally invested money. Martin Short. We worked with Martin to write this spot, using his comedic talents to their full effect to serve as a metaphor for millions of Canadians’ slacking investment accounts, addressing a tense subject with levity and relevance.
Wealthsimple, the leading Canadian fintech company, wanted to spark a fresh conversation about money that puts them back into Canada’s cultural zeitgeist of young, modern investors. This was coming at a time when it’s clear that working hard and earning a six-figure salary is no longer enough. Wealthsimple needed modern investors who had an uncertain relationship with their money to wake up to the belief that their money should be working as hard as they do. Which ended up being our strategic brand platform.
Initially, they were looking for a headline grabbing brand stunt (for a modest $600K budget) until we landed on an idea which turned into a 60 second spot with one of Canada’s biggest stars.
The idea is to enlist the help of a famous, Canadian household name who’s known for working really hard and can help us deliver the Wealthsimple message in a humorous and compelling way that only Martin Short himself can do.
The campaign, “Short Work Day,” launched with a humorous 60-second spot in which Martin Short plays a lazy and entitled version of himself giving minimal effort on the set of a Wealthsimple commercial. After he botches his only line, shoo-shoo’s the makeup artist, and loudly demands a hot dog, Short makes his assistant carry him to a helicopter, where he is airlifted to his car—on the other side of the parking lot.
“Your money should work harder than Marty,” reads the closing title.
“Short Work Day” launched during the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) championship game, the Grey Cup in November 2023.
Canada based investment service Wealthsimple has exploded onto the scene in recent years. They’re known for providing everyday investors with tools usually gatekept by large hedge funds, and messaging that meets people where they are.
For our work to resonate with our audience, we knew we needed a Canadian voice to deliver our message, in a funny, self-deprecating way. The answer was Martin Short (of Only Murders in the Building, SNL, and many others). With his status as a Canadian legend and his history of playing hilariously self-centered characters, he was the perfect performer to give people the chance to stop stressing about their money for a moment, and laugh at it for a change.
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