How to Make PR Not Boring: Two Canadian Campaigns That Got It Right

So you want to know what's working in PR these days? Well, I could give you some fancy marketing jargon that sounds impressive but means absolutely nothing, or I could just tell you what actually works. Let's go with option two, shall we? Because nothing says "I'm a professional" like skipping all the buzzwords and getting straight to the point.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS DONE RIGHT

Look, we've all seen those painful celebrity endorsements where some poor A-lister is clearly reading cue cards for a product they've never used. It's like watching your kid tell you they didn't eat the cookies while their face is covered in chocolate.

SLEEP DADDY: EUGENE LEVY'S PERFECT ROLE

Sleep Country Canada just nailed it by casting Eugene Levy as "Sleep Daddy" – a move that's as brilliant as it is slightly uncomfortable to say out loud. Levy isn't just a famous face; he's the perfect, trustworthy father figure who makes you feel safe about spending a third of your life unconscious on an expensive mattress.

The beauty of this approach isn't just in picking a celebrity. It's picking the right celebrity for the right message. When you're trying to get Canadians to take their sleep more seriously, you need someone who gives off "I've got wisdom to share" energy without being preachy. That's Eugene Levy in a nutshell.

THE LONG GAME STRATEGY

What's even smarter is they're planning multiple appearances throughout the year, turning Levy into the sleep equivalent of that friend who keeps texting you about drinking water and getting enough sunlight. It's not a one-and-done deal, it's building a character that audiences will recognize and (hopefully) listen to.

Thinking about celebrity partnerships for your brand? Here's what actually matters:

1. Authenticity over reach. Better to have a perfect personality match with a smaller audience than a celebrity mismatch with millions of followers.
2. Character development, not just face recognition. Sleep Country didn't just hire Eugene Levy. They created "Sleep Daddy," a character that can become shorthand for their entire brand message.
3. Long-term thinking. The best endorsements evolve over time, building equity in the relationship rather than burning through the novelty factor.

DATA-DRIVEN PR STORYTELLING

Want to know a secret? Nobody cares about your product. What they care about is themselves and their problems. That's why smart PR campaigns don't lead with product features. They lead with human insights.

Both campaigns we're looking at absolutely crushed it here:

SLEEP COUNTRY'S WAKE-UP CALL

Sleep Country's campaign is built on the tension that while most of us know sleep is important, we treat it like that friend we always say we'll catch up with but never do. Their national survey revealed only 16% of Canadians say they have a "very good" relationship with sleep. That's not just a stat – that's a story. That's the PR equivalent of finding out 84% of people are ghosting the one thing that keeps them alive.

KITKAT'S DIGITAL DETOX INSIGHT

KitKat went even harder with the data, uncovering that 95% of Gen Z Canadians reach for their phones the moment they take a break (higher than the national average of 80%). Two-thirds use their phones even when they planned not to. And here's the kicker: one in two say that instead of feeling recharged, their phone breaks leave them feeling distracted, stressed, or even sad. Only 37% of Gen Z say phone use during breaks has no effect on how they feel, compared to 51% of Gen X and 64% of Boomers, suggesting younger generations feel the digital drain more.

That's not just market research, that's the backbone of a cultural conversation. It's the difference between saying "Our chocolate bar tastes good" and "We've identified a legitimate mental health concern affecting an entire generation, and we might have a small way to help."

Here's what made these data-driven campaigns work:

1. Finding the tension point. Both campaigns spotted where people know better but do worse, the gap between what we want (good sleep, refreshing breaks) and what we actually do.
2. Making it newsworthy. Good PR research doesn't just confirm what we already know, it quantifies it in a way that makes journalists sit up and pay attention.
3. Creating an emotional connection. The best stats aren't just numbers, they're numbers that make you feel something. Like realizing your phone might be making you sad, or that you've been ghosting sleep for too long.

CROSS-CHANNEL CAMPAIGN EXECUTION

The days of "let's just send out a press release and hope for the best" are as dead as my hopes of ever having abs again. Modern PR campaigns need to work across earned, owned, and paid media with the precision of a Swiss watch or a Canadian curling team.

KITKAT'S EARNED-FIRST APPROACH

KitKat's campaign was explicitly described as "earned-first," showing how the PR strategy drove the broader marketing approach rather than being tacked on at the end. This is a huge shift from the old days when PR was brought in after the TV commercial was already shot.

AGENCY PARTNERSHIP POWER

Both campaigns were orchestrated by PR agencies. These aren't just publicity machines. They're communication partners who know how to make a story travel across channels.

The secret sauce for cross-channel success seems to be:

1. Starting with an insight strong enough to stand on its own as news.
2. Creating a clear, simple message that works across different formats and platforms.
3. Timing the rollout to maximize impact.

TARGETING SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS

If "everyone" is your target audience, no one is your target audience. What these campaigns did brilliantly was narrow their focus to speak directly to specific groups.

KITKAT'S GEN Z FOCUS

KitKat went laser-focused on Gen Z, designing their entire campaign around the specific ways younger Canadians use (and misuse) their phones during breaks. The campaign directly addressed their pain points and even offered a concrete incentive – 67% of respondents said they'd be more likely to take a phone-free break if there were an incentive, so KitKat literally offered them free chocolate bars delivered to their doors.

SLEEP COUNTRY'S BROADER APPEAL

Sleep Country took a slightly broader approach but still focused on the significant portion of Canadians who know they should care more about sleep quality but don't take action.

The takeaway for marketers:

1. Specificity is your friend. The more precisely you can define your audience, the more effectively you can address their unique needs.
2. Psychology trumps demographics. While age groups matter, what really drives campaign success is understanding the psychological needs and behavior patterns of your audience.
3. Incentives still work. Sometimes you need to sweeten the deal, especially when asking people to change ingrained habits like checking their phones or neglecting sleep health.

PR MOVES THAT ACTUALLY GET RESULTS

What's actually working in PR in 2025 isn't rocket science. It's just smart communication. It's taking the basics of good storytelling and adapting them to how people consume media now.

The most successful campaigns, like Sleep Country and KitKat, aren't doing anything wild; they're just executing perfectly. They find real human insights and pair them with creative ideas, all while making sure the message shows up everywhere their audience is looking.

If there's one thing to take away, it's this: the best PR doesn't feel like PR at all. It feels like a brand actually noticed something important about your life and decided to join the conversation in a helpful way. Kind of like that friend who shows up with exactly what you need, exactly when you need it – even if what you need is just a chocolate bar and permission to put your damn phone down for five minutes.

Want to create a PR campaign that actually cuts through the noise? Drop us a line at Winsome Marketing today. We'll help you find your brand's version of Sleep Daddy or screen time stats that make reporters sit up and take notice. No marketing buzzwords, just results that don't suck.