AB for Abortion

Element Award — Environmental/Experiential

EMDASH AGENCY

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

On the left, AB for Abortion OOH billboard. On the right, AB for Abortion poster

AB for Abortion is an example of design as activism: a grassroots campaign that turned public space into a platform for truth, care and resistance. Alberta’s Queen Elizabeth II Highway has long been dominated by anti-choice billboard messaging delivering shame, disinformation and stigma to tens of thousands of commuters each day. In early 2025, community organizer Erica Posteraro approached Emdash with a radical idea: what would it take to put up Alberta’s first pro-choice highway billboard?

There was no formal client. No brand guidelines. No marketing budget. This was a campaign sparked by necessity—volunteer-led, community-powered and crowdfunded. What it needed was creative strategy, design direction and fast execution to turn momentum into visibility. The team didn’t just put up a billboard. They changed the experience of driving on that highway. Dozens of people wrote in to say that, for the first time in their lives, they felt seen. That they cried. That it reminded them they weren’t alone.

Every project objective was met: visibility, fundraising, awareness and education. But the real measure of success is this: the billboard is still up. The donations are still coming in. The petals haven’t fallen. And Alberta is blooming in a new direction.