toronto condo

People in Toronto are cringing over this condo's ad campaign

The marketing staff for one condo company in Toronto seem to be trying a little too hard to be hip with the youth.

A billboard for JAC condos, a complex slated for the Carlton and Jarvis area courtesy of Graywood and Phantom Developments, is making the rounds on social media this week for its absolutely cringeworthy attempts to be "Toronto."

The trying-to-be-in-touch-to-the-point-that-it's-severely-out-of-touch ad for the $400,000+ units is littered with random buzzwords and cheesy phrases like "anything but basic" and "living my best life," alongside weird and out-of-context allusions to the city such as "trash pandas" and "hugging a stranger's dog at Allan Gardens."

As one Redditor noted, the over-the-top attempt to relate to residents feels like the company is basically saying "How do you do, fellow 6ixers?" a la Steve Buschemi in that one meme.

Is this the most cringy Condo advertising campaign? from r/toronto

Things get even more awkward on the development's website, which may or may not have been designed by a bunch of people over the age of 45.

"The cashier lady gave me a free taco... I think I'm in love," reads more of the ad copy. Also "check out my OVO tattoo," because, you know, OVO and tattoos — especially OVO tattoos — are cool with the kids these days.

There is also a video of a young person dabbing while riding a skateboard past a wall of graffiti. Yes, you read that right.

The ads for the 35-storey condo seem almost satirical, especially because they seem to be aimed at students from nearby Ryerson University in a time when millennials face the very likely reality of never being able to afford homes given the city's real estate market and cost of living in general.

"Really targeting the exact demographic that can't afford to live in the condos," one commentor aptly pointed out in a Reddit thread of people laughing at the campaign.

Lead photo by

Fareen Karim


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