To bring to life the brand’s simple design tools with diva flair, a new mockumentary-style campaign from Canva sees Gemma Collins appointed as UK Creative Director.

The joyful new campaign sees Gemma Collins bring her signature ‘GC’ sparkle to Canva, being officially announced as the brand’s newest recruit. The campaign follows Canva’s mission to empower people to create work they are proud of. The GC brings to life the idea that anyone can be made into a creative diva with the help of Canva’s simple-to-use design tools. 

At the heart of the campaign, a long-form, lo-fi mockumentary style film shows Gemma taking on her new role at Canva HQ. Bringing her full self to the role, Gemma takes on a variety of relatable business scenarios, from taking chaotic video calls with her mic on mute to taking out frustrations on the three-letter-acronyms, mistaking MAU (monthly active users) for make-up artist. 

At the centre of the film is Canva’s new AI feature, part of Canva’s Magic Write AI tool. As part of the launch, users can transform user-written text into Gemma Collins’ iconic tone of voice. Named ‘ChatGC’, Canva users in the UK can try it themselves on the platform.

The film is shot in full mockumentary style, complete with awkward looks to camera, confused reactions and silences. Gemma lays out her business goals with an emotional speech about the team ‘rewriting history’ before becoming worn out with her new role and taking to the sofa for a nap. 

The film was shot in Canva’s real UK office with genuine Canva employees, including Canva’s internal marketing team and engineers. An approach which successfully blurs the lines between fiction and reality to spark speculation and fuel cultural conversations. 

Ahead of launch, the campaign planted seeds of intrigue as Gemma Collins joined LinkedIn with an #OpenToWork profile, teasing her next big move. Canva’s own LinkedIn account joined in on the comment section to add to the discussion.

“We wanted to create a moment that felt native to culture, not like a campaign reveal. Social isn’t always about explaining – it’s about sparking curiosity. By letting Gemma’s LinkedIn moment live without context, we gave people something to talk about, speculate on and share. The buzz came from not saying too much – and trusting the audience to lean in,” says Lachlan Stewart, Head of Social, Canva.

Alongside the campaign film, a suite of campaign-themed content is available directly in Canva. UK  users can access new templates inspired by the campaign’s visual identity and experiment with the Gemma Collins AI tone-of-voice feature.

By inviting users to get involved and use the GC’s unmistakable voice in their own designs, the campaign asks the audience to use Canva’s tools to get involved in the campaign creatively. 

Speaking on the campaign, Canva UK Creative Director, Gemma Collins added:  “I’ve always been a designer of my own destiny, and now I’m here to help everyone else do the same. Canva is all about empowering people to design, and I’m all about empowering people to be ICONIC. People have good ideas – they just need tools that are easy to use and help them feel confident bringing those ideas to life. That’s what Canva does so brilliantly.”

Empowering audiences and bringing Canva’s tools to life with sparkle, the campaign is a masterclass in how to capitalise on culture and create playful brand conversations.