Häagen-Dazs drives its comeback line straight through Toronto

Häagen-Dazs kicked off its “Let’s Grab a Pint” campaign in March 2026, timed around St. Patrick’s Day with its O’Häagen’s pop-up pub. The idea played on the word ‘pint,’ poking fun at how ice cream pints and beer pints share the same size, with billboards featuring a pint of Häagen-Dazs styled like a frosty mug of beer. 

The campaign took an unexpected turn last week when one of its OOH sites ended up next to a Stella Artois billboard in Toronto. Stella noticed the resemblance and responded on its own board with a cheeky line, ‘Are you asking us out?’ turning a simple side-by-side placement into a public exchange between the two brands. 

Häagen-Dazs and its agency Courage did not let the moment pass. They quickly replied with a new mobile billboard, mounted on a truck, that read ‘Depends. You into spooning?’ alongside a shot of a spoon scooping into a tub of Peanut Butter Pretzel ice cream. The truck was driven around Toronto, keeping the conversation visible across the city in real time. 

Sharing his views on the campaign, Joel Holtby, Founder & Global Co-CCO of Courage, said, “The best OOH ideas don’t just live on a billboard; they make passersby feel like they’re part of a conversation. Stella’s response to the ‘Let’s Grab a Pint’ platform shows just how much mileage there is in a simple, culturally relevant idea. We couldn’t resist responding and keeping the conversation going.” 

“We wanted to continue having fun with our pun on pints and bring consumers into the ‘aha’ moment behind the ‘Let’s Grab a Pint’ creative platform. When beer pints entered the ice cream conversation, we saw an opportunity to have a playful and relevant in-culture moment reminding people of our sweet pint,” added Tracey Cooke, CMO, Häagen-Dazs at Nestlé Canada.