U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat earlier this week prompted brands to highlight their Canadian-made products. While Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in the 11th hour that the federal government had struck a deal with its U.S. counterparts, a recent Pollara poll found 85% of Canadians wish it was easier to identify products produced north of the boarder.
On Thursday, Lactalis Canada launched “Cheestrings: Made with 0% American Cheese,” which was also partially influenced by a study the brand conducted last year that found “Made in Canada” was cited as the top criterion behind how Canadians selected their cheese.
Sabrina Zollo, VP of marketing for cheese and table spreads at Lactalis Canada, says with a “buy Canadian” wave spreading across the country, consumers are expressing confusion about what products are truly Canadian.
“There’s never been a more critical time to help Canadian consumers identify Canadian products and brands,” Zollo says. “Cheestrings is as Canadian as it gets so we thought it was important to highlight this in the irreverent, cheeky way that Cheestrings always communicates.”
As part of the campaign, Cheestrings is positioning itself as a cheese that is sourced, manufactured, packaged and sold completely and only in Canada. Billboards containing that messaging starting running in the GTA starting Feb. 6. Broken Heart Love Affair is the creative and PR agency, with Zenith Canada for media.
“We had some fun with this one, which is the beauty of working with the Cheestrings brand,” BHLA said in a release. “The ask was to help Canadians easily identify products that are made in Canada, but Cheestrings is a brand that has some edge and absurdity to it, so we felt we needed to do it in a more playful, provocative way. Plus, we think it’s funny, and it seems we Canadians could use a laugh these days.”
Cheestrings is manufactured in Victoriaville, Que., and carries the Dairy Farmers of Canada Blue Cow logo, indicating is made with 100% Canadian milk and milk ingredients.
