Bensimon Byrne is a Canada's largest independent

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

, based in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

History

The company was founded in 1994 by Jack Bensimon and Peter Byrne with Eaton’s department store as its first client. The firm later acquired the Toronto digital agency OneMethod in 2012. From 2000-2005, the company reinstated the ''

I Am Canadian I Am Canadian was the slogan of Molson Canadian beer from 1994 until 1999 (via ad agencies Maclaren Lintas, then MacLaren McCann), and between 2000 and 2005 (by Bensimon Byrne). It was also the subject of a popular ad campaign centred on Canadian ...

'' slogan for beer brewer company Molson Canadian, a slogan which had been discontinued the year before by agency ''MacLaren McCann''. Bensimon Byrne Chief Creative Office David Rosenberg oversaw

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

's successful 2015 Canadian federal election campaign. Prior to this, the company had worked on other successful Canadian Liberal Party campaigns, such as those for

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

, and

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearl ...

. , the company had 225 staff members. In 2017, the company (including its subsidiaries ''Narrative'' and ''OneMethod'') moved its office into the

Canadian Broadcasting Centre The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

in Toronto, Canada. The firm is currently attempting an expansion into the US market.

Political attack ads

The firm is noted for its production of

attack ads Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack No. 1'', comic and ...

for federal and provincial Liberal Party campaigns, such as ads during the

2004 Canadian federal election The 2004 Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority but was able to continue in ...

campaign warning that

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

would have sent troops to Iraq, weakened gun laws, and not protected a woman's right to choose, ads during

's 2006 campaign warning that the Conservatives would put "soldiers with guns" on the streets and ads during the

2018 Ontario general election The 2018 Ontario general election was held on June 7, 2018, to elect the 124 members of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, won 76 of the 124 seats in the legislature and formed a majo ...

targeting "the real

Doug Ford Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...

.".

's team rejected the firm's advice to use attack ads during the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect m ...

Notable clients

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...

Constellation Brands Constellation Brands, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is an American producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits. Constellation is the largest beer import company in the US, measured by sales, and has the third-largest market share (7.4 percen ...

* Nestle *

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

Liberal Party of Ontario The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

Loblaw Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private ...

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

Workopolis Workopolis was a Canadian website specializing in online job searching. Headquartered in Toronto, Workopolis had offices in eight Canadian cities including Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver and provided its services in both English and Fre ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Jackson-Triggs Jackson-Triggs is a Canadian winery with vineyards in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia and the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario. In 1989 Donald Triggs, Allan Jackson, with a group of investors, purchased Cartier wines from John Labatt Limited and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Bensimon Advertising agencies of Canada Marketing companies of Canada Organizations based in Toronto