Canva, the online design platform, has taken to the streets with a new out-of-home (OOH) campaign that is getting a lot of attention for its clever and humorous approach. By focusing on the real-life, everyday frustrations of designers, Canva has created a campaign that is not only relatable but also effectively showcases the solutions their platform offers.
The campaign features a series of billboards that turn common design struggles into witty visual jokes. One billboard, for example, shows a comically oversized logo with the caption, “When ‘make the logo bigger’ goes a bit too far.” Another displays a transparent background, highlighting the platform’s Background Remover tool. These inside jokes create an instant connection with the creative community.
Instead of a hard sell, Canva’s campaign uses sharp, visual storytelling to let the product speak for itself. It highlights features like “Magic Resize” by showing a design awkwardly forced into the wrong dimensions, a common mistake for designers. This strategy of leaning into user behavior rather than just listing product features is a powerful example of effective product marketing.
This campaign serves as a valuable case study for the OOH industry, demonstrating how humour and relatability can be used to create a memorable and impactful campaign. By transforming common pain points into moments of shared laughter, Canva has created a campaign that is not only funny but also incredibly effective. It’s a reminder that sometimes the best way to sell a solution is to first acknowledge the problem in a way that makes people smile.
