Barking Space

I Was Canadian

Can someone tell me what happened to the Molson’s commercials? They went from being very Canadian to very…well….not Canadian.

Now, I know that there are many who will argue that Canadians pride themselves on not being American, and that we have no real defining characteristics that make us really distinct (with the exception of the coolest flag ever, and the fact that our National Capital is as secure as a 20 year-old training bra).

Why do I bring this subject up in the first place? Beer. Or rather, beer commercials.

Our beer commercials were much different before the Coors takeover. They were more laid back. More fun. There was far less ego, really. Just a couple of friends having a good time, but not working too hard to do so.

Now, however, it’s as if our beer commercials received an injection of “hypercoolness”. Canadians are portayed as being ultra-cool womanizers (even the women) with unlimited active sex appeal. They dress up in the latest trendy clothes, and they’re smug and over-confident in their top position in the world. Um, I don’t think so.

Canadians, for the most part, should be portrayed as more leisurely (bordering on lazy) in their partying. Oh yes, don’t get me wrong, we don’t sit at home and do nothing (unless the hockey game is on…oh….wait…). We do go to parties. We do have fun. But we don’t have to try to be cool. Our sex appeal is passive. That is, we are magnets, and the fun comes to us. We don’t have to go around pretending to be what we’re not.

We could be proud of our old commercials. Yes, we were definitely portrayed as having confidence. But it’s an ambivalent brand of confidence that made it less abrasive.

Now we just look like pricks.

On the flip side, the Keith’s commercials also need work. Those are just too homey.

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