Lilly Singh Trains With Bret Hart in Return of Amazon's 'Giftmania'

Brand experience and innovation agency Akcelo, delivered a new campaign with Amazon Canada for Amazon Prime, bringing back fan-favourite promotion Giftmania and rewarding Prime members simply for shopping.

Starring two of Canada’s most recognisable names, actress and comedian Lilly Singh and wrestling icon Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Giftmania returned with a new twist. This year’s angle, Checkout Champions, focused on getting shopping-ready for Amazon Prime Day.

The campaign film brought the concept to life through a training montage inspired by classic action movie moments. Singh was put through a series of wrestling-themed drills under Hart’s watch, from sit-ups to scroll sprints and thumb-band reps, all to build the stamina to become the ultimate Checkout Champion.

Aden Hepburn, CEO of Akcelo, said, “This campaign is a testament to the strength of our global creative platform and the kind of culturally relevant, high-impact work we strive to deliver across markets. Giftmania has grown into a standout moment in Amazon Canada’s retail calendar, and we can’t wait to make the next one.”

Originally developed by Akcelo to promote Amazon Canada’s Gift List feature, Giftmania quickly became a successful local campaign. Building on that success, the latest chapter raised the stakes with a broader reach, expanded talent line-up, and a new promotional mechanic designed to drive sales.

By rewarding Prime members for shopping during the lead-up and through Prime Day, and linking everyday purchases to weekly prize draws, the refreshed Giftmania made the shopping experience bigger, better, and even “gift-ier” than the original.

Mike Cornwell, head of Amazon affiliate program at Amazon Canada, said, “Giftmania was back bigger, better, and more Canadian than ever. This campaign was a celebration of everything we love about this country–its humour, its heart, and the iconic personalities who represent it so well. We were thrilled to bring it to life again with Akcelo, who continue to be outstanding creative partners.”

Members who opted in earned one entry into weekly prize draws for every $20 spent during the promotional period (including Prime Video purchases), with in-app and select brand purchases earning double entries. Weekly draws took place every Monday for four weeks, with thousands of prizes up for grabs — including trips, sports tickets, cruises, and products from top brands like Google, Sony, Apple, Jamieson, Logitech, and Duracell.

Sarah Scott, managing partner at Akcelo North America, said, “We were thrilled to launch our third campaign with Amazon Canada and bring Giftmania back in such a uniquely Canadian way. Lilly and Bret are iconic in their own right and seeing them come together for this was as fun to create as it is to watch.”