Destination Toronto, in partnership with DIVE Billboards has become the first Canadian brand to utilize TikTok’s groundbreaking Out of Phone offering, announced in October, bringing the vibrancy and diversity of Toronto to one of the world’s most iconic locations – Times Square, New York City. The first Canadian Out of Phone featured  TikTok videos from Destination Toronto’s You Gotta See What We See (YGS) campaign, and played 2.5K times in the famous intersection.

TikTok’s Out of Phone offering signifies a groundbreaking shift in digital out-of-home advertising, as the platform continues its expansion into the entertainment space, supporting brands like Destination Toronto, alongside partners like DIVE Billboards, to bring their campaigns and social moments to life on digital billboards globally.

Destination Toronto’s YGS campaign engages passionate Toronto creators in sharing their takes on the city, through their unique creative lens. The YGS ‘Out of Phone’ in Times Square featured Blackpowerbarbie, a multi-faceted still and motion artist specializing in 2D animation from Toronto, who – along with two Toronto-based other artists – added colourful, graffiti-like animation to a live action perspective of the city.

The YGS campaign includes several “waves” of creative collaborations. The first carried over from 2022 included Simu Liu, and the second included Toronto-born Julien Christian Lutz, renowned as Director X, and Mustafa, who collaborated on a split-screen point-of-view video, providing an exclusive look at the city. Blackpowerbarbie is part of the third wave of the campaign with more perspectives expected to be added before the end of the year.

To date, the campaign has driven over 4M website visits and more than 90M video views.

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