
OTTAWA — In its first-ever broadcast campaign, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is asking Canadian businesses to kick the .com habit and register a .CA domain instead.
The “Don’t Be a Traitor” campaign takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to educating Canadians about the benefits of using .CA domain names for Canadian businesses. The CIRA’s .CA Domain Squad is a group of persistent “law enforcement officials” whose methods may be extreme at times, but it’s only because they care, the CIRA said in a news release.
The CIRA said the goal of its campaign is to promote the value of a .CA domain name, with studies consistently showing that Canadians prefer to shop and do business at .CA websites and spend more money when they do.
“Even today, it is estimated that more than 50 per cent of Canadian businesses still don’t have a website. These businesses are missing out on economic advantages that the web offers, and if they don’t have a .CA domain, they are missing out on potential customers as well. Our goal with this campaign is to break through the noise with some over-the-top humour, and demonstrate the value of a .CA domain for Canadian businesses,” said Byron Holland, CIRA’s president and CEO, in the news release.
The “Don’t Be a Traitor” campaign was produced in partnership with the award-winning Giants & Gentlemen Advertising creative agency and Push Media.
“We were tasked with the goal of getting Canadian business owners to kick the .com habit and buy a .CA. So we brought home some Canadian pride, but not in the way you’d expect. We used a light, tongue-in-cheek tone with a squad that takes .CA very, very seriously,” said Alanna Nathanson, co-founder and chief creative officer for Giants & Gentlemen Advertising, in the news release.
The CIRA’s 30-second commercial will air over broadcast television in the Greater Toronto Area from September 23 until November 17. It will also be featured on streaming services and in cinemas across Canada. In addition, an integrated social media, search and content campaign featuring the .CA Domain Squad will accompany the commercial.
The CIRA has also launched a Choose.CA webpage highlighting its “Don’t Be a Traitor” campaign.