City is Our Classroom Campaign Celebrates GBC Students and Our Downtown Toronto Location

The best way to learn is to do. At George Brown you'll gain real-world experience through our deep connections to industry, innovation, and the city.

At George Brown College you'll gain real-world experience through our deep connections to industry, innovation, and the city.

We're a leading, publicly accredited college located in the heart of Canada’s economic hub — Toronto. Vibrant, diverse, and growing; the city is our classroom. Toronto is core to the George Brown College experience, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

With over 200 plus full and part-time programs developed in consultation with industry, we’ve got something for everyone. Check out our program options to get started.

"Toronto is embedded in George Brown College's DNA. Our students learn inside and beyond our doors in countless experiential learning opportunities each year. The City is our Classroom campaign boldly celebrates that relationship," said GBC President Dr. Gervan Fearon.

The downtown advantage

Studying downtown offers proximity to top employers for experiential learning and networking opportunities, easy access to public transit, and immersion in an exciting and multicultural city. With the new campaign, GBC highlights our spot on the map and why it makes us stand out.

The diversity of GBC students featured in the City is our Classroom campaign adds a new level of excitement and authenticity to the TV ad and photography. The people you see on screen represent the GBC student experience. The campaign features GBC community members of different ages, ethnicities and gender identities and people who identify as Deaf and as having physical and learning disabilities.

The television shoot also reflected GBC’s commitment to real-world learning. Aspiring director Oluwafeyikimi (Fey) Olusoga, a student at the School of Media and Performing Arts, got to shadow director Emma Higgins during the filming of the TV ad (pictured). Higgins also shot GBC's 2022 Find a Class of Your Own ad.

Prospective students’ feedback also contributed to the campaign development process through focus groups. "When planning the new ad and photography, we wanted to bring our students, employees and spaces to the forefront," said Sumi Shanmuganathan, GBC's Associate Vice-President of Marketing and Communications. "We were thrilled to work with over 50 students, faculty, and staff from all the academic centres."

The television spot showcases program areas from across the college, including interpretation (American Sign Language — English), culinary, engineering and architectural studies, media, and business, with nods to other areas including nursing, hospitality and construction.

Collaboration with top creators

We developed the City is our Classroom campaign with respected creators who captured the essence of the college and our students' achievements and helped us spotlight what makes GBC great. On the televised ad, we collaborated with our agency, No Fixed Address, production company Fela, and director Emma Higgins.

For the static ads, GBC's creative services team worked closely with award-winning Toronto photographer Dan Lim on images representing three academic centres, with more photography representing all eight centres happening throughout the fall. Lim carefully scouted our campuses for the perfect locations to showcase GBC students and the city of Toronto.

"It's been an absolute pleasure to work with George Brown College, which has such an impact on Toronto," Lim said. "Working with GBC students was a great experience. I'm proud to have captured their enormous potential by photographing them in both classroom and real-world settings."

Soon, you'll see the City is our Classroom campaign on TV, your social feeds, and at the bus stop.