Virgin Mobile, MuchMusic and Roots have teamed up with Environmental Defence and the Province of Ontario in a new cross-country effort challenging Canadians to do something about global warming. Read More

Hints dropped at last year's upfronts that change was coming for CH are now fact. In what Sunni Boot calls an "avante-garde" deal, CanWest MediaWorks is bringing a top Comcast entertainment brand to Canada. Read More

After a hotly contested review process, Ottawa-HQ'd Dairy Farmers of Canada has appointed M2 Universal to manage complete media planning for its cheese business. The Toronto agency (a division of MacLaren McCann) has handled media buys for DFC for the past three years, while Cossette Canada did media planning for the multi-million-dollar account.

M2 president Hugh Dow tells MiC that his agency is "thrilled with the win," and has already begun strategizing on behalf of DFC with Taxi, which won as creative AOR for Dairy Farmers.

When Vancouver's Smak, an irreverent marketing agency if ever there was one, heard about a big upcoming protest by pro-drug-reform activists, they spied an opportunity for a client. Why not work the crowd at a "4:20" puff-in outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, they asked brand strategists at the Nando's Canada chain of flame-grilled chicken?

The goofy tie-in was green-lighted, so Nando's street teams showed up brandishing pseudo-protest signs reading: "Chicken for ALL Canadians." As they made their way through about 7,000 activists on the smoke-filled gallery grounds, team members passed out free chicken sandwiches to those hard hit by the munchies, as well as vouchers for quarter-chicken meals and, yes, branded matchbooks.

www.smak.ca
www.nandoscanada.com

CGC integration just doesn't get much more comprehensive than this. Read More

CBC is kicking off the promo for a potential fall winner, No Opportunity Wasted, with an eight-city tour at Chapters/Indigo bookstores by its host - Phil Keoghan, of The Amazing Race fame - along with an open casting call to Canadians. A stylish online spot at www.NoOpportunityWasted.ca encourages wannabe show candidates to audition or sign up at the microsite.

The show builds on Keoghan's personal philosophy, "Think Now," and bestselling book of the same name - the idea being to help people conquer procrastination and tackle life-changing opportunities. The reality series premiered in the US on Discovery Channel in 2004, and TV2 aired a New Zealand version of the show in fall 2006.

CBC has commissioned ten half-hour episodes, each giving contestants 72 hours to step outside their comfort zones and face their fears - from swimming with sharks to group bungee jumping.

No Opportunity Wasted, slated for an October launch, is produced by Toronto-based NOW Canada Productions and Suddenly SeeMore Productions.