Barrett and Welsh
We put ideas first to make ideas last. We move people. To act and react. To respond and remember. To respect and represent. We are proud to be a certified B-Corp.
A minority-led, inclusion-focused, creativity-powered behaviour-changemaker that puts ideas first to make ideas last, Barrett and Welsh is not in the advertising business but in the moving business. To change themselves or others, or to hold firm for the principles that serve their shared humanity best. We are driven to create unforgettable, unexpected, long lived ideas that in turn create social
Barrett and Welsh wishes all who celebrate the Lunar New Year that it — and they — may radiate with the joy of a thousand brilliant ideas.
Described video: a slow zoom out on a hyper-real photorealistic image of a flaming pearl in the maw of a smiling multicoloured Chinese dragon lit by scattered embers. Three lines appear in sequence. 1. In Chinese: 龙光焕发, which means "may the dragon’s light glow" – a wish to radiate success and vitality from within. 2. Followed by an English line: May a thousand brilliant ideas be your dragon light. 3. A very happy Lunar New Year to all.
Hello, FB peeps. If you are (or know) South Asian Canadian parents-with-babies/parents-to-be in the GTA, I have a special treat for you. We've launched our first AI campaign (for RESP company Canadian Scholarship Trust). Enter your deets here to get a special personalized-by-AI video message, from your baby from the future. You'll also get a chance to win a $10K RESP (there are $20K in prizes to be won). Share freely with other parents in your network! Good luck!
Kids Say Thanks – Will Your Dreams for Your Kids Come True? By completing the short form below, you'll get a mauka to win a $10,000 CST RESP or one of 100 prizes worth $100 with our contest, and have read and agree to the contest terms. Receive a special AI-generated video from your baby!
It’s that time of the year when we at Barrett and Welsh post our traditional, el cheapo, tongue-in-cheek holiday greeting and then head off to get all silly on our eggnog. This year, we’ve prepared a one-of-a-kind Christmas video catalogue filled with carefully selected gifts (no real gifts included). If you work in our business, you’re sure to find something that speaks to you. Zoom in and view the carousel full screen for maximum enjoyment or click the link in our bio to view the video. Merry Christmas from all of us at Barrett and Welsh.
It’s that time of the year when we at Barrett and Welsh post our traditional, el cheapo, tongue-in-cheek holiday greeting and then head off to get all silly on our eggnog. This year, we’ve prepared a one-of-a-kind Christmas video catalogue filled with carefully selected gifts (no real gifts included). If you work in our business, you’re sure to find something that speaks to you. Click the link and view in full screen mode for maximum enjoyment. Merry Christmas from all of us at Barrett and Welsh.
BW Christmas Greeting 2023 Christmas Gift Catalogue Curated with love, care, and by Barrett and Welsh
A wish for dark times. And a message for . A salute to those who sacrificed so much. And a very Happy Diwali to all who celebrate. From the lamp-lighters at Barrett and Welsh.
Some shoots are great even when they begin at 3 am. Some shoots are great because they begin at 3 am. Thank you .sethi for that awesome day.
March is a very special month for us. Especially this year.
You see, in March 2003, we began our life as an agency.
Our founders introduced our tartan turban logo to the world by distributing our first business cards while on a shoot for another agency (a buccaneer sensibility that still infects us).
20 years later, here we are. It's the last day of March 2023.
The 2023 Strategy Creative Report Card was published earlier this month.
We ranked #36 out of the 139 agencies listed.
This is amazing to us. We rose to that position entirely with our multicultural work, work that won at the Marketing Awards.
Most other agencies on that list get there with massive mainstream budgets for gen pop campaigns. This is not to diminish their achievements. But they're big ships. And they have the deep pockets that go with Bigness. They have offices across the country, and win big at international, national and regional shows. They have annual budgets simply to participate in Cannes and the One Show.
Ourselves, we're from the Republic of Small. It's an independent, democratic island nation. The inhabitants are multicoloured and multilingual and smell delicious. But every time one of those big ships sloshes by, our little island is nearly drowned in its wake.
Our pockets have holes.
If we find extra money in them, it's usually used to hire more people of colour or to donate our services to pro-bono causes.
For all that, amazingly, it appears we have been able to do good and do well.
We’re the only multicultural shop in the top 40.
Even though this is a creative report card and account management, production and media are not ranked, there is no way we could have done this without every single one of us supporting each other. We did this because of the extraordinary team we have. From leaders to interns, every one of them is a winner.
Here’s looking forward to whatever comes next: the next milestone, the next ranking, the next brilliant idea, the next win.
But, hopefully, it's a pint.
If it is, we raise it to our team. And to the clients that believed in us and paid for the work that got us here.
Skol!
We are proud to have one of our own serve on the multicultural category jury at Strategy's 2023 Marketing Awards. Cyril Kirian is ready to use his superpowers as a force for good. Multicultural creatives be warned. Submit your best work. Judgement Day is nigh. :-)
Sometimes the brightest idea is switching off. From the bright idea people at Barrett and Welsh, and
This post is long overdue. But today, these beauties arrived, and the time turned right o’clock.
The Marketing Awards are our industry’s premier awards for creativity in advertising.
At the 2022 Marketing show, Barrett and Welsh walked away with a gold for our POCAM print ad: White Space.
Barrett and Welsh stood 5th in the overall rankings. Just after Rethink, Zulu Alpha Kilo, Cossette and John Street, and just above Leo Burnett, JP/TBWA, Wunderman Thompson, BHLA and Sid Lee.
We also won 3 silvers (for POCAM, Nia Centre and our Year of the Ox greetings) and 5 bronzes (2 of them for TD, CPAMO, POCAM, Lygia’s Brew and the Tartan Turban Secret Readings). It was especially gratifying to see two of our team who are newer immigrants pick up their first awards in Canada.
The Marketing Awards are a creative show. But creative work never gets to see the light of day without a massive amount of support from every discipline and every department in an agency. We celebrate the arrival of these awards today and all who chipped in, in all the ways they do, to keep our flag flying high.
On World Press Freedom Day, we are sharing this Barrett and Welsh Inc ad for immigrant journalism non-profit New Canadian Media We pause to acknowledge the courage and calibre of immigrant/refugee journalists. And we recognize that the continued absence/underrepresentation of these voices in Canadian media is an indicator of systemic exclusion. A truly free press welcomes all, freely. Shockingly, only 29% of immigrant and refugee journalists find work in Canada though 93% would like to continue working as journalists here. We need these voices. World-class talent from all around the world is all around us. Set it free. https://vimeo.com/387600656
They Stopped Bullets In an era of divisiveness and disinformation, a strong, diverse, free press is vital to the health of public discourse. But immigrant views are not adequately reflected…
Barrett and Welsh is proud to present Tartan Turban Secret Readings #33 (7 PM this Friday, Feb 25). This Black History Month special edition is curated by Dr. , the award-winning Nigerian-born poet and publisher. Featuring George Elliott Clarke, Lillian Allen, Clifton Joseph, Bertrand Bickersteth and H Nigel Thomas reading their poetry and reflecting on what Black History Month means to them as human beings, as Black individuals connected to a Black collective experience, and as poets. Tickets (free) via Eventbrite - link to book in ‘s bio. Hope you can make it!
For the 3rd year in a row, our cofounder and Chief Creative Officer, Gavin Barrett aka will be writing daily profiles of Black industry professionals on LinkedIn, to fight invisibility and to celebrate Black talent. This year are publishing every single profile he writes. Follow along by reading The Message or following Gavin on LinkedIn. It’s a chance to be inspired by some amazing people and experiences.
Stay tuned to read about these profile sketches, by Gavin Barrett, of successful industry professionals being published in next month:
https://tinyurl.com/4sbtk222
28 profiles of Black marketing professionals for Black History Month - Once again Gavin Barrett is posting profiles of Black people working in the industry, to fight invisibility and expand the community. This year, you can read all the profiles on The Message.
Judging award shows is one way leaders celebrate greatness in others, for the good of all. CEO spent the break judging the ATOMIC Awards. And co-founder Gavin Barrett aka kicks off 2022 by returning as multicultural category co-chair in Marketing Awards’ centennial year.
For this year’s Christmas greeting, we wanted to look away from the pandemic, and look into the crazy fun life we lead in the ad industry.
With its challenges and joys, it has found a way to keep us all employed, engaged and enthusiastic over 2021.
And so we present send to you our annual holiday greeting, replete with snakes wearing their best Christmas bows, ladders done up in Christmas lights, garlands of holly and red hot chilli peppers.
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.
And all the very best for a 2022 that treats us all, and the planet, more kindly.
We say we appreciate art and value our artists in Canada. And yet, artist median incomes are well below the poverty line, and IBPOC artist median incomes are 28% lower than white artists’. Support IBPOC artists with a donation to
Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO)'s Gatherings, which spotlight IBPOC artists & arts workers.
at https://gofund.me/3f9402a9. At Barrett and Welsh we are proud to support CPAMO in its work. Please join us. Donations help CPAMO pay these incredibly talented artists and the art they're sharing at this December's Gathering. And share this link to spread the word.
A very happy Mid-Autumn festival to all who celebrate. From all your friends at Barrett and Welsh.
It gives us great pleasure to share that Barrett and Welsh Inc has won a silver Graphis Design Award for our 2020 poster series for the Tartan Turban Secret Readings. The very talented Bhupesh Luther who is Creative Group Head at Barrett and Welsh is personally responsible for these stunning works of art (click link to view). Art directors and designers dream of this moment: cracking open a Graphis Inc. annual and seeing their work in its beautiful pages, alongside the work of the world's best creatives. Congratulations Bhupesh Luther! https://rebrand.ly/TTSR-Graphis
Tartan Turban Secret Readings - Graphis The Tartan Turban Secret Readings is a literary reading series that shines a spotlight on Indigenous and Visible Minority writers – for whom there are few such platforms. Readings primarily feature poetry, drama and prose. Each evening has a different curator – usually a writer or curator of som...
To all our friends celebrating today: an Eid al-Adha greeting to bring a smile to your face. As you share your blessings, may your generosity multiply your joys.
Happy Mother’s Day:
https://youtu.be/jyMZ_LOVcvo
MOTHERS DAY JOB INTERVIEW MOTHERS DAY JOB INTERVIEW
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Our Story
A minority-led, inclusion-focused, creativity-powered behaviour-changemaker that puts ideas first to make ideas last, Barrett and Welsh is not in the advertising business but in the moving business. We move people. To act and react. To respond and remember. To respect and represent. To change themselves or others, or to hold firm for the principles that serve their shared humanity best.
We are driven to create unforgettable, unexpected, long lived ideas that in turn create social and behavioural change, inclusion, acceptance and progress.
We want to make ourselves invaluable by embracing the future without fear to produce targeted, differentiating branding and communications of lasting value for the community that we, our clients and consumers all belong to.
We produce extremely creative, channel-agnostic, idea-centric work for a variety of clients in mass and multicultural markets across North America. (Whew!)
The agency has produced award winning ideas for government and packaged goods, for cars, beer, financial services, for sustainable development and transit (we may be a world leader in this category).
We are proud to be a certified B-Corp, one of very few Canadian advertising agencies to be recognized for our commitment to transparent, inclusive, sustainable business practices. B-Corps are to business what Fair Trade Certification is to coffee. There are more than 2,100 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together. B Corps like us are unified in our purpose to use business as a force for good by making sure people and place always matter in the way we conduct our business. You can read our B Corp report here.
Clients we have worked for: The Dalai Lama, TD Bank, Walmart, P&G, Allstate, Brampton Transit, Sobeys, Viva, York Region Transit, The City of Brampton, Niagara Region, Creative Spirit Art Centre, Burlington Transit. To name a few.
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577 Kingston Road, #301
Toronto, ON
M4E1R3
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Monday | 9am - 5pm |
Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
Friday | 9am - 5pm |
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