On this episode of In The Business of Something, we talk with the Best in Show award winners from the 45th Annual ACE Awards. This work was recognized by the esteemed judging panel as a stand-out project, worthy of the global stage.

Justin Archer and Dennis Lenarduzzi, from Berlin Communications, join ACE President Carla McNeil, to take us behind the scenes of how Confetti Fridays came to life and eventually ended up winning the most prestigious award of the night.

Confetti Fridays was a free summer concert series hosted by Michael Phair, Alberta’s first openly gay city councillor, in the downtown park named after him. Launched in June for Pride Month, the series brought the community together weekly for live music, DJ sets and drag shows. Michael Phair Park is surrounded by a mural titled “Confetti,“ which floods all surrounding walls and sidewalks with a shower of rainbow dots. The look and feel of the lunchtime summer series creative was inspired by this mural along with cues pulled from the Memphis movement and 80’s pop art halftones – which is about the time that Michael Phair was making history here in Edmonton.

The creative applied the vibrant colours of the pride flag in circle motifs that mimic the confetti mural, creating a joyful and energetic “more is more” aesthetic that celebrates Edmonton’s diversity, the parade of colourful queens who performed at Confetti Fridays, and Michael Phair’s iconic personal style.