What it had to solve
Boost visitor interest for 'Sharks: Dive Deeper' at Canada's largest museum with a campaign bold enough to counter sharks' fearsome pop-culture image
How it works
ROM curatorial expertise shaped the creative; Cairns Oneil guided the campaign, Broken Heart Love Affair developed the concept and Pattison Advertising produced the first-of-its-kind angled 3D at the subway platform level.
What it did
A technical first in Canadian digital OOH at two of Toronto's busiest stations; no attendance figures were reported at launch.
Background
The Royal Ontario Museum promoted its featured exhibition 'Sharks: Dive Deeper', which launched October 11, 2025, with a Toronto subway first: a full-motion angled 3D hammerhead that appeared to swim out of the digital canvas walls at Queen and TMU (formerly Dundas) stations — the first such execution on the TTC platform level.
The creative was based on ROM curatorial expertise, guided by media agency Cairns Oneil with concept development from Broken Heart Love Affair and production support from Pattison Advertising. ROM CMO Sally Tindal said the exhibition challenges perceptions of a complex species and needed a campaign that signals that in a bold and original way.
The exhibition was already supported by digital, search, social and OOH; this element added awareness and curiosity at high-traffic downtown locations going into the holidays. It also carried the show's argument: sharks predate dinosaurs, their diversity is extraordinary, and the fearsome portrayal of popular culture hides the conservation threats they face.
Why it lands
Queen and TMU are among Toronto's highest-traffic stations, so a spectacle there reaches the downtown audience at scale
A claimed technical first in Canadian digital OOH generates the earned attention a museum media budget cannot buy
The 3D breach dramatises the exhibition's promise — going deeper into the sharks' world — rather than just naming it
Curatorial facts (sharks predate dinosaurs) gave the spectacle substance beyond gimmickry
What you can take
A technical first only earns its keep when the format mirrors the message: a shark breaching the screen says 'dive deeper' better than any headline.
Since then
The campaign was live as of December 2025, complementing the exhibition's wider digital, search, social and OOH push through the holiday season.
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