Creative agency buys $10k of blank ad space to give everyone a break from ads

Wunder, an independent Canadian creative agency based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has taken out $10,000 worth of advertising space only to fill it with absolutely nothing. In a stunt that ultimately goes against what the agency exists to do, the self-initiated campaign – titled White Christmas – offers respite from the deluge of advertising at this time of year by posting blank ads on print and digital billboards, buses, bus stops, newspapers, social media and even radio.

“As a creative agency we typically spend our time creating ads and promoting brands, but this year we’ve decided to do the opposite and give everyone a break from ads during the holiday season,” explains creative director Stephen Flynn. The team, which usually spends its days designing experiential and print marketing campaigns for brands, such as a fake airline for restaurant Donair, and packaging for marijuana brand Kushed, secured the space around two months ago.

They planned to run completely white adverts – though it must have required some negotiation not to appear like a mistake – or worse, the decline of traditional advertising sales. The only one that provided a roadblock was the radio ad, which they’ve dodged with a “long pause” preceded by an explanation.

A short film sees the campaign coming together in the local community, installers pasting up crisp white posters to the apt soundtrack of The Drifters’ White Christmas.