From humble beginnings in Hamilton, Ontario, to making waves in television and advertising worldwide, Brian Hawkins’ career has been nothing short of groundbreaking. Brian’s work has taken him to over 17 countries, and he is the recipient of numerous international awards and recognitions.
Encouraged by his high school art teacher to pursue formal training, Brian enrolled in the Design program at the Ontario College of Art (OCA, now OCAD University) and graduated in 1954. Reflecting on those early years, Brian remembers OCA as “a unique creative milieu and social environment to nourish and hone my fledgling talents toward a television career, at the time the medium of the future.”
After graduating, Brian’s talent earned him a French government scholarship that took him to Paris. There, he stepped into one of France’s first television studios, experiencing the early days of broadcasting where a signal sent from the Eiffel Tower could reach far beyond the city, even being picked up by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Encouraged by his mentor, Brian then moved to England, where he worked on some of the earliest television commercials ever aired in the UK. From there, his career unfolded across continents — he helped establish commercial television in Australia, advocated for colour television advertising to Canadian audiences and created bold campaigns for major clients, including Imperial Oil and Molson.
One of the defining chapters of Brian’s career came with Expo 67, the world’s fair hosted in Montreal that drew more than 50 million visitors and remains one of Canada’s most celebrated cultural events. For Brian, the project was “a whirlwind creative global adventure working with film and TV people in different countries and cultures.” The experience opened the world to him and was topped off with a day spent in the Kremlin with Yuri Gagarin, the first person to journey into outer space.
Brian’s work left an indelible mark on everyday life. He was the mind behind the relaunch of TD Bank’s automatic teller machine as the now-iconic “Green Machine.” At the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), he volunteered his talents to produce advertising and was honoured with a lifetime membership.
Locally, Brian also supported the growth of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in its early years and contributed to Metro Caravan, a summer festival that invited visitors to “travel the world” by experiencing food, music and traditions at cultural pavilions across the city. Internationally, he served as a judge three times, including once as the jury foreman, at advertising film festivals in Cannes and Venice. Brian was the only Canadian to have done so at the time.
Alongside his commercial achievements, Brian has always nurtured his personal passion for the arts. A painter and writer, he continues to create with the same spirit that propelled his career. As he explains, “Painting and writing are the artistic pursuits that keep the creative DNA in me alive now that I am retired. This is the same DNA that gave me a rewarding career when I was young and spirited and still courses through the veins of this ninety-three-year-old man.”
Having witnessed vast shifts in media and technology, Brian encourages today’s OCAD U students and graduates to approach new tools with curiosity and a critical eye. He emphasizes that “new technology can spark entirely new forms of artistic expression,” offering opportunities to push boundaries while staying true to their creative passions.
