Project: A print ad promoting Tim Hortons Strong (spec).
Challenge: Market a new dark-roast blend of coffee to Canadians between the age of 25-50 in major cities. Target current yet infrequent customers. Overcome resistance to change.
Solution: Tim Hortons fans are incredibly loyal to the brand. The flavour of Tim Hortons coffee is as much a part of this brand loyalty as are their donuts. Introducing a new dark roast flavour (keeping up with other coffee purveyors, including McDonald’s) is a risky endeavour considering the ferocious loyalty that exists for their traditional product (see: New Coke).
The proposal was to position the new dark roast coffee not as a high-end, new variety, but as a more extreme version of the original - Instead of calling it dark roast, this campaign would name the product offering ‘Tim’s Strong’. A series of images leaning into the stronger flavour (and nodding to the ‘salt of the Earth’, blue-collar, hockey-loving patrons courted by Tim Hortons) are intended to wave a red cape at a younger demographic, daring them to prove themselves as strong enough Tim Hortons fans by adopting a more extreme version of the original.
Design Notes: Logo © Tim Hortons, stock images © Shutterstock, Freepik.com, Getty Images.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ae69e4567068fffc6a1ba71baffaa498/9b2227d1-d859-4246-b990-d94cdbd15823_rw_1920.png?h=9fd92749b64e444a6f2e34f0705f680e)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ae69e4567068fffc6a1ba71baffaa498/97d5babd-d364-4ca7-a145-b7a73d11eef1_rw_1920.png?h=797c668e619266df6a763a05c4162903)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ae69e4567068fffc6a1ba71baffaa498/e044a49f-28cf-4e74-bd8f-9aaa8efbf3c3_rw_1920.png?h=bab1bdac2354576f7d55e2a0c9556d39)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ae69e4567068fffc6a1ba71baffaa498/2e65672a-38fc-4864-b5d0-05f9287e0fd6_rw_1920.png?h=9535b56a9de4e7dfe6b0b64801d286fe)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ae69e4567068fffc6a1ba71baffaa498/4b8a3052-cf17-4bf0-935e-d2f6529bb440_rw_1920.png?h=465afe7902f5031b84d0a175d7c85a57)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ae69e4567068fffc6a1ba71baffaa498/405c8d21-b65b-4f61-8dc6-59285874e3f2_rw_1920.png?h=31aacd454940f6e03a1e37fefbbb42bc)