Molson Canadian will be taking on a new creative sheen in a spate of television spots slated to air in early April, according to at least one ad industry source familiar with the secretive marketing manoeuvres behind one of the top beer brands in the country.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, one of the new spots features a group of people gathering on an outdoor patio on the first day of spring, celebrating the fact that the sun is shining and the snow is beginning to melt. The idea is positioned as being distinctly Canadian: Despite the cold, Canadians are still willing to venture outside, sit on the patio, have a great time…and a cold one.
Each spot will apparently be anchored by the tagline ‘Here’s where we get Canadian,’ preceded by a brief description of the scene depicted. In this case, it would be something like ‘On the patio…Here’s where we get Canadian.’ The source says the new tagline will soon replace the ‘I am’ slogan, which Molson has used for its flagship Canadian brand since 1994.
However, Michelle Robichaud, a spokesperson for Molson Breweries, says she ‘cannot confirm’ the new tagline, but adds ‘it is not correct in that form.’ Further, Robichaud declined to confirm whether the ‘I am’ theme will soon be retired.
The new TV spots are being developed by Toronto-based Encore Encore Strategic Marketing, which was recently awarded the spring and summer creative campaign for Canadian over longtime incumbent MacLaren McCann, creators of the ‘I am’ theme and holders of the account for the past 40 years.
The purported new tagline invites viewers to make a direct connection between the environment featured and the beer itself, a creative strategy which would lead to natural promotional tie-ins at events or licensed establishments across the country. Adding fuel to the speculation that Molson intends to drop its existing positioning for Canadian is the belief that Encore Encore, a promotional marketing specialist, had a difficult time spinning off promotions that effectively leveraged the ‘I am’ slogan.
Encore Encore directed all questions about the Canadian campaign to Molson.
Still, many observers believe that if it does eliminate ‘I am,’ Molson will be sacrificing long-term brand equity in the interest of a short-term payoff.
‘Molson has to get back to the basics, focus more on building their core brands, like Canadian, and become less promotionally focused,’ says one industry observer, again seeking anonymity.
The new positioning for Canadian may raise more questions than it answers. MacLaren is currently without a creative director, following the recent departure of Rick Davis. And winning back the Canadian assignment is likely to be the top priority for Davis’s replacement – or replacements.
However, if Davis’ successor is able to help MacLaren regain the Canadian assignment, it’s unlikely that the agency would be willing to inherit the theme created by Encore Encore – a scenario that could lead to a further muddying of Canadian’s brand identity.
At Molson, meanwhile, Canadian remains without a brand director, a job currently being undertaken by Dave Minnett, Molson’s vice-president of marketing. Robichaud would not confirm whether the brewer was in talks with a successor for the post previously held by Bill Coleman.
Molson Companies has also appointed Dan O’Neill executive vice-president and chief operating officer, a move that will take effect Apr. 1. It remains unclear what impact O’Neill, a packaged goods veteran and former president of Toronto-based Campbell Soup Company, will have on the marketing strategy for Canadian.
The pressure is mounting at Molson, however, especially given the recent success of Labatt Blue, Canadian’s chief rival.
