Canada’s Advertisers of the Month for May, 2025: Tim Hortons, Heineken, and Bell
May’s Canadian Advertisers of the Month are Tim Hortons, Heineken, and Bell. These brands saw some of the biggest jumps in Ad Awareness, according to YouGov BrandIndex. Ad Awareness tracks the percentage of consumers who say they’ve seen an ad for a brand in the past two weeks.
Tim Hortons tops the list with an increase from 39.5% to 45.8%—a 6.3-point boost. This jump may be related to a couple of high-profile campaigns. One is “The Canadian Dream,” a feel-good ad featuring actor Kiefer Sutherland and singer Bahamas that ran during the NHL playoffs. Another is a buzzy collaboration with Ryan Reynolds that introduced new breakfast items. Both campaigns celebrated Canadian identity and brought attention to the brand in a big way.
Heineken follows close behind with an Ad Awareness increase of 6.1 percentage points, going from 17.0% to 23.2%. The brand may have benefited from its “Social Off Socials” campaign, which encouraged people to put down their phones and connect in person. Featuring Joe Jonas and a group of digital creators, the message was all about living in the moment—with a Heineken in hand, of course.
Bell rounds out the top three with a 5.2-point rise in Ad Awareness, climbing from 28.6% to 33.8%. The increase may be linked to its “Just Talk”” campaign, launched in early May. The ads focused on the small but meaningful impact of casual chats—like talking to your neighbor or catching up with a coworker—and how those moments can support mental well-being.
Read about April's Advertisers of the Month.
Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Ad Awareness is based on the question: “Which of the following consumer brands have you seen an advertisement for in the past two weeks?” Data is from surveys of Canadian adults aged 18 and over, collected between April 26 and May 25, 2025. Scores reflect a four-week moving average. Change is calculated as the difference between the lowest and highest scores within that time frame. Learn more about BrandIndex.