The Montreal Impact announced on Thursday its official collaboration with Paul Labonté and Justin Kingsley. Paul and Justin join as creative codirectors for the Club.
The duo have been collaborating for over 10 years on a variety of projects (visit www.paulandjustin.ca for details). Justin worked on the brand identity and vision for the North American group (Canada, Mexico, USA) bidding to host the FIFA 2026 World Cup. He is behind the slogan and vision for the 2015 Women’s World Cup of Soccer, To a Greater Goal/Vers le grand but. The strategy and campaign idea he developed for adidas at the 2012 London Olympics, titled Take the Stage, won international acclaim and was named best global campaign of the Games. Paul, on his end, is an award-winning author and photographer who consults with major global brands on design, product and strategy. He most recently held the position of Head of Creative at Vice Media’s Montréal office from 2016 until 2019, where he simultaneously served as the Creative Director for Vice’s in-house advertising agency, Virtue, and was a member of Viceland’s internal development team.
“Paul and Justin are internationally renowned creative strategists. I’m happy to have them be a part of the large family that is our Club, where their presence will continue to have an impact throughout our organization, well beyond marketing,” underlined Kevin Gilmore, Club president and CEO.
“The chance to work in the Great Game with this organization is the culmination of a longtime dream for both of us. Good luck getting us off that pitch now,” said Justin Kingsley.
“It’s a logical next step for the Club. Paul and Justin were involved in our projects as of my arrival, in 2019. They have already contributed to our campaigns, our communications, and our global business strategy. They know the Club, the different teams, the partners, and their track record speaks for itself,” said Jimmy James-Bergeron, Club marketing director.
In 2020, the Club was forced to be creative and quickly transform to ensure engagement on its social platforms and deepen its relationships with fans notwithstanding the pandemic. Paul and Justin played an important role, also having contributed to the Impact Montréalais campaign as creative directors, entirely developing it internally with the marketing team, and will continue to do so in an official manner in 2021.
