Desjardins Group has just launched its new original advertising campaign called “Turbocharging a Generation” aimed at young people aged 18 to 24.

The campaign will run in Quebec and Ontario from September 26 to October 22 and will continue in 2006.

The campaign is part of the Desjardins Youth Focus program launched in 2004 to promote the social, professional and financial integration of young people. With that perspective, Desjardins opted to give youth a voice in designing the campaign. The financial Group partnered with the 15th edition of the Publicité Club de Montréal contest for youth in advertising, inviting university students from across Quebec to submit their proposals for ads aimed at their peers. The team from HEC Montréal was the winner, and their proposal became the basis on which advertising agency LG2 and media strategists Carat designed the new campaign.

The poster-based ad campaign shows a young man or woman being propelled through the air, followed by a trail of white and green particles simulating the effect of a turbocharger. The particles are hexagonal, similar to the Desjardins logo, and also symbolize strength in numbers.

In Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and many other towns and cities, the walls of bus stops and side panels of busses will be decked out in the campaign colours. In Montreal, which has a high concentration of students, there will also be neon-lighted signs in metro stations with the highest student traffic.

During Co-operation Week, which is from October 17 to 22, stickers will be added to the posters highlighting Desjardins’ co-operative nature.

“Desjardins has been part of the world of young people for many years already. This campaign aims to present the image of a financial institution that has been able to adapt to new realities of life, and to their needs in particular; a modern and efficient cooperative that remains close to them and that trusts them. In other words, we are an institution that accompanies and assists them in getting ahead in life!” said Alban D’Amours Desjardins group president and CEO, in a news release.

Desjardins Group is the largest integrated co-operative financial group in Canada, with overall assets of more than $106 billion.