It’s a perfectly clear day. Hordes of people have assembled on Parliament Hill, some with tears in their eyes, others with a glint of satisfaction. They stand silently, shoulder-to-shoulder, as their national flag is slowly lowered and ‘O Canada’ is played for the very last time. Then as soon as the final ‘thee’ peters out, the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ erupts from the speakers and the recognizable Stars and Stripes is raised above their heads. They have officially become citizens of the 51st state.
In the 1980s, this scene wasn’t viewed as implausible. Many prophesized that Canada was doomed, especially after then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. Naysayers claimed we would lose our currency, culture (however that was defined at the time) and eventually our sovereignty.
Fast-forward to the present and a future like this is less likely than ever before. That’s because Canadians and their American cousins have never been more distinct, according to Michael Adams, author of the recently published Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada and The Myth of Convergence. And he opines that Canadian marketers should pay attention to his findings.
‘Marketers who don’t realize the distinct values of English-Canadians and who run ads from the United States here are as bad as those who run ads in Quebec without [adapting] them.’
‘Culturally specific icons’ in advertising are appreciated by Canadians, he adds, pointing out that some marketers have already taken this path, and it’s one that is likely to become more popular. ‘We’re about to see a real bursting of Canadian references.’
Adams isn’t firing off at the mouth à la Toronto mayor Mel Lastman; he knows of what he speaks. Fire and Ice represents a decade of research by Toronto-based Environics, where Adams is president, including more than 14,400 interviews with representative samples of Canadians and Americans aged 15-plus. His conclusion? That Canadians and Americans have increasingly divergent values, with the former marching away from religious, patriarchal and traditional political authority, while moving towards autonomy and individualism.
Americans on the other hand are more likely to toe the party line of their commander-in-chief, and attend church on a regular basis. At the same time, Yankees have also shown a greater acceptance of violence and sexism, and more of a penchant for risk and ostentatious consumption. [For more on Fire and Ice, see sidebar, p. 10.)
How this data translates to the ad world is this: Just as Canadians are more skeptical about authority, they are also much more skeptical about ad claims than their U.S. counterparts, particularly when products are heavily promoted.
Explains Adams: ‘In America, a widely advertised product is a good product, so go ahead and get yourself a spot on the Super Bowl. In Canada, a widely advertised product is more likely to [incite the reaction] ‘what’s wrong with it?’ [People start] with a suspicion that they are being lied to.’
In specific terms, Environics’ polling shows that, in 1992, when asked directly whether ‘a widely advertised product was probably a good product,’ only 17% of Canadians agreed. That percentage dropped to 14% in 1996, only to rebound back to its original 17% in 2000. By contrast, in the land of the brave, 44% of Americans thought the above statement was true in 2000, an increase of 10% in eight years.
Also, Canadians tend to be less agreeable to advertising in general. In 1999, 34% reported they ‘derived great pleasure from viewing advertising’, but that figure fell to 29% in 2000. Meanwhile, south of the border, the trend was reversed: 38% said they enjoyed advertising in 1992, compared to 41% in the millennial year. (Ed’s note: Although to be fair, American ads may simply be more entertaining.)
So the hard sell is less likely to go over in Canada, where advertisers would have more luck if they ‘use irony, use humour, and come clean,’ advises Adams. ‘It would be better to appeal to someone’s intelligence.’
That was the approach taken by the Canadian Magazine Publishers’ Association (CMPA). The organization’s use of Cancon was simply common sense, but it also strived to be intelligent and direct, as well as humorous.
Hence, its 30-second spot, which first aired in April, depicts a group of scientists who look at ways to direct readers to Canadian choices on the newsstand. They toy with putting antlers on mailings, using an in-store bear mascot and coating magazines in maple syrup. Naturally, none of these solutions is practical, so they settle on a logo instead.
According to Maureen Cavan, project director of the CMPA’s national-circulation-promotions program, three other creative ideas, by One Company of Toronto, were tested in focus groups, but this one resonated best. ‘Universally, this treatment of punch-line humour to Canadianisms worked and was chosen as the best message.’
Print and in-store creative also play up Canadianisms and, in particular, what makes us distinct from the Yankees. For instance, one ad reads: ‘Eh. Colour. Chinook. Hoser. Mickey. Pogey. Muskeg. Deke. Poutine. We have our own language. We have our own magazines.’
The message is that ‘Canadian magazines carry a specific benefit in that they reflect us as Canadians,’ explains Cavan. ‘Canadians are becoming more comfortable with their own differences, and more able to clearly understand and articulate what they are. We might not have been able to do this campaign 10 years ago.’
CMPA’s new effort follows a print and TV campaign from last year, with a similar vibe and the tagline ‘It’s not the same if it’s not Canadian.’ Print ads, for instance, featured poodles pulling a dog sled, or pink flamingos forming a ‘V’ like Canadian geese. A TV ad, meanwhile, had Foster Hewitt calling hockey hero Paul Henderson’s celebrated 1972 goal to the visuals of elephants playing soccer in Malaysia.
Results for the quirky campaign were positive: The 230 participating magazine outlet stores experienced a 6% increase in sales of domestic pubs over the previous year, while overall sales declined 4%. Cavan expects to, at the very least, duplicate those numbers in 2003, with a stronger retail drive and a more obvious link between the advertising and in-store efforts.
It obviously makes sense for domestic magazines to deliver Canadiana messaging, but what about underwear? Truro, N.S.-based undergarment manufacturer Stanfield’s believed it had a right to do so, when it launched a campaign with ‘a very lovely expression of quintessential Canadian things’ two years ago, says Bill McArthur, consumer brands consultant with Stanfield’s AOR, SGCI Communications in Halifax.
‘Stanfield’s had all sorts of product characteristics – durability and strength and all of that stuff – but it seems that a far more important message was an attitudinal one,’ he explains. ‘To the extent that you do have some attitudinal overlay in all of your choices, why wouldn’t it apply to your undergarments as well? [Canadiana] is an association the brand can carry with credibility.’
The outdoor advertising for the 146-year-old company combined scenes from nature, with quotes by famous Canucks. For instance, one execution included a canoe with a pair of underwear dangling over its side, and Pierre Berton’s statement, ‘A Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe.’
Timing is everything, and McArthur echoes the CMPA’s Cavan when he implies that this Canadian-specific content may not have worked five to 10 years ago. ‘There’s a part of being Canadian now which is no longer defined solely in terms of what is not American. We have our own way of doing things, our own way of thinking, and our own products we can be proud of. It goes beyond just beer.
‘There’s been a real renaissance in Canadian identity, and those in the marketplace who can carry a Canadian pedigree with any kind of integrity stand to benefit dramatically,’ he says.
A year ago, the program was expanded to incorporate two print ads with the goal of promoting Stanfield’s pro-hockey line. One starred polar bears in long underwear standing on ice floes designed to look like a hockey rink, complete with the blue and red lines. These additions ran in vertical hockey publications, in an attempt to pique the interest of younger males, aged 25-plus, says McArthur. In Canada, of course, these guys tend to live, breathe and eat Canada’s national game, hence the strategy.
Stanfield’s is currently conducting market research to assess the impact of its campaign, but anecdotally things look good. There have been ‘letters, e-mails and telephone calls from people who like the cheekiness of it,’ reports McArthur, who adds that several retailers have asked to stock the pro-hockey line because of demand.
But it’s not just Canadian-founded companies that can take advantage of the new nationalism. Case in point is the current advertising for The Ford Motor Co., whose Canadian subsidiary is headquartered in Oakville, Ont. The automaker has featured hockey legend Wayne Gretzky in its advertising for the past year, and this association has tested exceptionally across all demographic, geographic, age and socio-economic groupings, according to Dean Tesser, the company’s Canadian marketing communications director. A recent ad, for example, shows the Great One at a stoplight where nearby drivers are thrilled to see him. They honk their horns in salute and the cacophony of sounds combine to produce the theme music from ‘Hockey Night in Canada.’
But the Ford-hockey relationship also extends down to the grassroots level, through sponsorship of teams and, in particular, The Wayne Gretzky Foundation, which provides hockey equipment to children in need. ‘Our values are tied to Canadians,’ says Tesser. ‘It’s how we go to market.’
The incorporation of hockey is just one aspect of Ford’s ‘Built For Life in Canada’ campaign, which originally launched in the first quarter of 2002. According to Tesser, the point was to emphasize Ford’s 99-year heritage in this country, and to suggest that it therefore understands the Canadian way of life. The first 60-second ad included scenes of various cities along with inside jokes. For instance, at one point the voiceover says, ‘What’s spring like in Winnipeg?…15 inches of snow.’
The company also asked Catherine Rose, a young Canadian singer, to record the ‘Built for life’ song, which was then made into a three-minute CD and sent to dealers from coast to coast.
So far the campaign seems to have performed all right, as Ford saw a 2.8% increase in vehicles sold in 2002, a result that was in part boosted by Focus sales, according to the firm. And Tesser, who himself is from Winnipeg, says the brand positioning has tested ‘positively’ in research, although he won’t elaborate.
Nevertheless, he warns, marketers should exercise caution when tapping into Canadian pride. ‘You have to be careful, because Canadians are not chest-pounding patriotic. The typical Canadian is soft-spoken – but they are patriotic in a subtler manner.’
Just one other way we’re different from the Americans.
More on Fire and Ice
It turns out Canadians may want less ‘peace, order and good government’ and more of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ They have become less deferential to authority – and more open-minded – than their U.S. counterparts. After interviews with over 14,000 consumers on both sides of the border, researcher Michael Adams offers the following proof:
* In 2000, 18% of Canadians agreed with the statement, ‘Father must be master in his own house,’ down from 20% in 1996; meanwhile, in the U.S. that figure rose from 44% in 1996 to 49% in 2000.
* A 2002 Pew Church Center poll found that religion was important to 59% of Americans – almost twice the number of Canadians.
* Thirteen per cent of Canadians agreed with the statement, ‘Non-whites should not be allowed to emigrate to this country’ in 2000, an increase of 2% over 1992. In 2000, 25% of Americans agreed, compared to only 16% in 1992.
* Three years ago, 31% of U.S. respondents agreed that violence ‘is no big deal,’ more than twice the number that agreed in 1992. In Canada, 14% of respondents agreed in both years.
Potato chips to call our own
More than one spoiled NBA star has whined about playing hoops in the Great White North. But when former Toronto Raptor Doug Christie protested that, ‘the Doritos are different,’ he touched a nerve. After all, U.S. grocery stores are themselves lacking a Canuck fave – ketchup potato chips. And we haven’t heard a peep about it from Dallas Mavericks star – and London, Ont. native – Steve Nash.
Thanks to Toronto-based Frito Lay Canada, which unveiled the Tastes of Canada program last month, we now have more flavours to call our own.
Two varieties, Wild Stampede BBQ and P.E.I. Loaded Baked Potato, will be available until October, but consumers also get to select replacement flavours, by voting at www.lays.ca for the likes of Cape Breton Sea Salt & Pepper or Whistler Cool Dill.
‘I think there are two things coming together here – the aspect of people being more patriotic and the fact that they love to have the opportunity to participate in selecting what happens with their brands,’ explains Dale Hooper, director of marketing for Frito Lay Canada.
The marketing mix will consist of P-O-P by Strateco, local radio ads by BBDO, Internet advertising by Proximity and PR by Ketchum Communications. (All agencies are based in Toronto.) ‘Our goal is to find flavours that people fall in love with,’ says Hooper.
The brand, which has had Canuck hockey star Mark Messier as its spokesperson for some time now, is already Canada’s number-one brand, he adds.
