Courage was one of Canada’s standout performers at the Cannes Lions this year, leaving the festival with six Lions: one Gold, four Silver and one Bronze. The haul was led by “Kyle F*cking Connor” for KFC, which picked up four Lions across Brand Experience & Activation, Entertainment for Sport and PR, while “Kit Kat Security Detail” added a Silver and a Bronze.

As the festival was winding down, strategy sat down with Courage founder Dhaval Bhatt to discuss what made the KFC work resonate with juries, why Canada’s “underdog creativity” is becoming a competitive advantage and how the agency continues to turn cultural moments into award-winning campaigns.

Brand Experience & Activation jury president Rafael Pitanguy said no other brand could have done the work that won your Gold Lion for KFC – “Kyle F*cking Connor.” What does it mean to hear that kind of international recognition?

I think it’s truly amazing. I think it’s so great to see that a jury sees the power that we saw in the idea as well. I mean, it’s so clearly tied. It’s KFC. Kyle-fucking-Connor. It truly is.

But I think it’s actually even more than that. No other brand could do that because I think the tone of the brand that we’ve set up in Canada, going after this “unapologetic” way the brand shows up, that statement rings true in more ways than one.

Brands can be (understandably) protective of their IP. Were you surprised that the client let you go in that direction?

I think it’s not a one-time discussion, right? It’s something you set over time. And it all started with setting the brand platform and defining the rules of how we wanted to show up.

I think “unapologetic” is such a big part of that brand’s DNA. If you think about the food, how you eat that food. You don’t justify it. It’s fun food. It’s unapologetic. You have it when you want to have something that tastes great. You eat it with your hands. It’s the only way to eat it.

Everything about that brand, if you actually go to its DNA, is pretty unapologetic. And once you embrace that, it’s the next natural evolution.

But I think the other thing that’s important, too, is that “Kyle F*cking Connor”… to activate in the sports space, you have to go with what the culture is presenting you.

I think it’s our time. And I truly believe that because our kind of creativity – I call it underdog creativity – we’ve always had that.

You also turned the KitKat theft into a campaign almost overnight (“Kit Kat Security Detail”). How did that come together?

Again, another great function of a team that really, really works closely and well. That idea specifically, the truck, happened on Easter Monday and we shared that idea with clients on the Thursday.

And once again, kudos to the brand for saying, “Okay, let’s play.” Because they frankly didn’t need to do anything. There was enough chatter about it. But again, culture is giving you something. How do you ride the wave?

What I love about the “Security Detail” work is that it actually created another wave. If you look at all the press coverage that came after that, the brand got a lot of credit for actually playing with it. It’s funny how many people thought it was real.

One of the themes this week has been that Canada is back. What will it take to keep that going?

I think it’s our time. And I truly believe that because our kind of creativity – I call it underdog creativity – we’ve always had that. More and more clients want that because fundamentally it’s about driving a bigger ROI.

We’ve always worked with smaller budgets that have to drive more. What client wouldn’t want that? We see that more and more because there’s more and more pressure on the dollars. Clients can’t just go and buy big sports properties and put their logos on buildings and splash massive buys everywhere. They need to find a way to break through and make their dollars work harder.

I think that’s where our type of creativity – the kind that always has had to hustle and find a way – is just set up to succeed.