Foundational insights,brewed at home.
Fort Garry Brewing is Manitoba’s oldest microbrewery, with a history that includes multiple ownership changes—including a period under Molson and a merger with Carling O’Keefe. But by the early 2000s, the brand had returned to independent hands. Our campaign helped reestablish the company under the leadership of the founder’s great-great grandson—just as the province was entering a microbrewery renaissance.
It wasn’t just a return to local ownership—it was a return to a gritty, self-reliant spirit that felt deeply Manitoban. That independent drive was reflected in the brand itself and in the people behind it. The same DIY, no-nonsense, strong-willed identity we explored here would later form the foundation for major institutional branding work—most notably, for the University of Manitoba, Travel Manitoba and Economic Development Winnipeg. But its earliest expressions showed up here first, in three modest TV spots that celebrated our province’s stubborn optimism and deep pride of place.
Those foundationalinsights? They didn’tcome from a brief.
Before strategy had a seat at the table, the creative department was already doing the thinking. The voice, the tone, the point of view that came to define so much of our later institutional work—that started right here, in a small campaign for a scrappy independent brewery.
Live Here and Love It
Challenge: With major national brands dominating ad space, Fort Garry Brewing needed a way to connect with local drinkers in a way that felt real. The challenge was to stand out not by trying to be louder or glossier, but by doubling down on what made Manitoba… well, Manitoba.
Solution: If you’ve lived here, you know the type: the guy in shorts and sandals in two feet of snow. The backyard barbecue in late March. The first pothole is as much a sign of spring as the first robin. Manitobans don’t wait for spring to be perfect—they celebrate it anyway. This campaign leaned into that spirit with humour and affection, pairing local truths with the rally call: “Live Here and Love It.”
And yes—the aspect ratio is 4:3, and the resolution looks like it came off a potato. But for its time, it hit the mark.
Results: Though modest in scope, the campaign ran for a few years, made its way onto packaging and carved out a clear, resonant identity for the brand. More importantly, it laid the groundwork for a line of thinking—about regional voice, cultural tone, and emotional alignment—that would go on to inform some of the agency’s most successful large-scale brand platforms in the years to follow.
ClientFort Garry BrewingProjectLive Here and Love It CampaignYear2000