MONTREAL—Montreal-based design company Réservoir launched new billboards for restaurant chain Cora. In its second year with the breakfast franchise, Réservoir’s recently designed ad campaign shows owner Cora Tsouflidou holding different fruits with the word “Colourful” along with the brand’s logo and slogan. Creative director Yves Perreault and artistic director Sandra Desjardins spearheaded the look of the ads.

Simon Boulanger, one of the partners at Réservoir, says the team wanted to shift the focus from eggs and omelettes yet capitalize on something that is still a staple to the Cora experience. “Fruit is very much a part of most of the breakfast at Cora and usually they’re displayed in an artistic manner.” Réservoir aimed to convey two messages in their design: fun and home.

The wide array of colours, according to Boulanger, matches the spring and summer seasons. “It also fitted the experience of what you see when have a Cora breakfast right in front of you. Most of the time, it’s very colourful.”

Meanwhile, Réservoir thought founder Tsouflidou was the perfect figure to represent the feeling of being at home. Boulanger says, “Bringing her face was kind of like your mom inviting you for breakfast whether you still live at home or you left and you want to come back.”

But Tsouflidou is more than just the face of the ads. Just as she designed the restaurant’s menu and interior décor, she was also involved with the Réservoir project. The font of the slogan “Colourful” was based on Cora’s handwriting, which Réservoir modernized. In fact, the design group created a typeface around it appropriately called Cora Standard. “You wouldn’t find it anywhere. It’s designed for her and we use it internally,” says Boulanger.

The new OOH ads will be seen nationwide, mostly near Cora locations. Boulanger estimates there will be 500 billboards up by the end of the campaign this summer. Contact: www.chezcora.com