Canva is leaning into absurdity to make a point about creativity, rolling out a new brand campaign titled “The thing that makes anything a thing”, and kicking it off with a giant squirrel statue that appeared, unbranded, in Brooklyn Bridge Park in the U.S.
The stunt, which quickly drew attention across New York, was surrounded by a fictional “Squirrelites” movement. Knitting circles made acorn hats, performers held squirrel choir sessions, and balloon vendors sold squirrel-shaped creations.
Billboards, street posters, social content and influencer posts added fuel to the mystery, all asking the same question: what is going on with the squirrels?
Canva has now revealed it was behind the activation, using the unfolding narrative as a lead-in to its hero film launch.
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The film follows a woman whose fleeting encounter with a squirrel escalates into an overnight cultural movement. What starts as a small spark of inspiration snowballs into a full-blown community, complete with merch, posters, social content and public gatherings.
The tone blurs the line between surreal and believable, reinforcing Canva’s core positioning that ideas do not need scale or polish at the outset to gain traction— only execution to bring them into reality.
Across the campaign, Canva positions itself as the bridge between idea and execution, particularly for users who feel held back by tools or self-doubt. The company said many people still feel “not creative enough” to bring ideas to life, leaving concepts stuck in the gap between imagination and execution.
With Canva AI 2.0, it is pushing a more conversational design experience, where users can describe an idea, rough concept or goal and have it translated into designs across formats in one place.
The campaign extends beyond film and stunt work into experiential, social, influencer, out-of-home, digital and audio channels in the US. Canva is also launching a themed template collection tied to “The Squirrelites”, allowing users to recreate elements of the fictional movement inside the platform.
At its core, the campaign reinforces Canva’s long-standing positioning that, with the right tools, even a fleeting or unconventional idea can be turned into something tangible, at times evolving into unexpected cultural moments, as seen in the squirrel-led narrative.
“‘The thing that makes anything a thing’ is more than a campaign; it’s an invitation for anyone, anywhere to take their ideas, no matter how big or bold, and turn them into something the world can see, share, and engage in,” said Kristine Segrist, global head of consumer marketing at Canva.
“Because every breakthrough, whether it’s a movement, a business, or something in between, starts as an imagined possibility,” she added.
Canva’s latest campaign builds on a broader push to position itself as a workplace creativity enabler. This follows an earlier brand campaign launched last year, “Put imagination to work”, which highlighted how the platform helps professionals overcome day-to-day creative blocks.
The campaign rolled out three fantasy-inspired brand films, including a sales-themed story where a realtor channels a medieval warrior to attract buyers, a vampire-themed ice cream truck owner revamping his social content, and an HR professional transforming presentations into witch-inspired interactive experiences.
It also spotlighted Canva’s Visual Suite 2.0, alongside AI-powered tools such as Bulk Create, designed to help teams and freelancers produce content faster across formats.
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