Written by Sophie Babic

CEO exit puts communication front and centre  

Air Canada announced this week that its Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rousseau, will retire later this year after heavy criticism over an English‑only condolence video. 

The video was released after a crash that killed two pilots and quickly drew attention because it didn’t include French. This was a big issue for the airline, which is based in Montreal and operates in a bilingual country. 

Air Canada confirmed Michael Rousseau will leave by the end of the third quarter and said the next CEO will need to speak French. 

Language expectations in Quebec are well known, so this wasn’t a surprise issue. Around the office, the conversation wasn’t just about the video itself, but about how this risk wasn’t picked up earlier. The response and the reaction show how cultural context and audience awareness aren’t ‘nice to haves’ in leadership communication, they’re essential. 

Brands having fun  

April Fool’s Day can be a risky moment for brands as jokes can easily miss the mark, so it only works when the audience, tone and intent are spot on. That being said, our feeds were still flooded with pranks, so here are IMPACT’s top picks from this year. 

Grill’d leaned into wellbeing with Tender Time, a massage service paired with a limited‑edition range of oils based on its signature sauces. From Moist Heirloom to Herb Your Enthusiasm, the names did most of the work.  

Australia Post caught attention with a job listing for Passenger Princess roles. Riding shotgun with delivery drivers and taking care of playlists, snacks, directions and vibes. Plenty of people checked the careers page before realising it was an April Fool’s joke, (including me). 

Vegemite was everywhere too. IMPACT favourite Yochi announced a Veg Chi Mite flavour, while Bunnings revealed plans for a 10litre bucket of Vegemite, an interesting choice from a brand that doesn’t even sell food. 

My personal favourite came from Dyson Beauty, which introduced a spoof pet grooming range for cats, dogs and even horses. The visuals were extremely well done, I’m sure many people wished it was real. 

Bringing colour (or not) to sport 

Coca‑Cola’s latest campaign, You Must Love Coke, stood out to us this week. 

In some stadiums, the colour red is banned because of team rivalries. Instead of pushing through anyway, the soft drink brand swapped its famous red for blue. 

The campaign ran across out‑of‑home and social, appearing along supporter walkways, outside stadiums and in fan zones. Clever design tricks hide Coca‑Cola red inside blue‑only visuals, so the brand feels like part of matchday rather than an interruption. 

The logo was still instantly recognisable but adapted to suit the environment. We loved the idea, though we thought should they have gone even further? Blue cans, blue cola, the lot? 

What we’re listening to this week 

This week, the IMPACT team has been loving The Imperfects podcast. 

Hosted by Hugh van Cuylenburg, Ryan Shelton and Josh van Cuylenburg, the podcast focuses on mental wellbeing and the idea that no one has it all figured out. The conversations are open, honest and very relatable. 

A recent topic that sparked discussion was climate anxiety, and how it’s influencing major life decisions including whether people want to have children. It’s a heavy topic, but one the hosts handle with care, offering different perspectives rather than clear‑cut answers.