Canadian Spotlight – My Favourite Commercial of All-Time
I realize it’s a couple years old but this Canadian Tire commercial absolutely wrecks me every single time. I wish more brands would consider portraying fatherhood in this way because these guys have earned my business based solely on how powerful this commercial is.
Do you know why it’s so powerful? Because it’s real!! And real isn’t boring! I think of this commercial every time I take my kid to the outdoor rink. I think of my Dad, who spent many winters building a rink in our backyard so that we could have fun anytime we wanted. That is what real fathers do. We don’t play with our kids because they bribe us with chips (looking at you, Doritos). We do it because we love them and want them to be happy.
I want to say thank you to Canadian Tire for getting it right and I hope we will see more of this in the future. It’s easy to go for the cheap laugh but it’s far more beneficial to tell it like it is. I hope you like this one as much as I did.
Chris, Thanks for bringing back a ton of great memories from my childhood as well as being a father who has done this with his son creating real life positive memories.
Skating, Hockey can and should be about having fun.
Its the memories we create that will be our legacy. Make sure its a positive one.
Cheers
PS You made my Sunday with this post especially with all the snow we have had.
Thanks John, I’m sure it struck me a little harder because of the bond I had with my Dad but it’s still a great commercial regardless. Thanks for the cool comment, you’ve now made my Sunday ;D
Such a great commercial. <3
I read this book recently (that I picked up at SCCTO) called the Power of Why and it talked a lot about how CT explored their target market of men and what they were really about, in order to recreate their brand in a way that actually related to what men REALLY want and are. It was actually quite amazing and I think bang-on. I wish more companies took time to think of the people they were targeting and not just how to gimmick up their commercials for a quick laugh.
🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Awesome commercial! Never saw this before and it’s certainly ahead of the curve. Thanks for sharing.
how did I ever miss this great commercial? probably because I never watch live tv (lurve the pvr)
anyways, you got me, totally made me tear up. I kinda even loved that the kid could skate better than his dad. makes me think that maybe his dad didn’t give him those moments together but he wants to make sure his little boy has them.
CT is doing it right!
Made me cry first thing Sunday morning… 🙂
What a nice story! It’s funny how a commercial that only had a single picture of a Canadian Tire bag can gain your loyalty. It only gives more credibility to what Seth Godin and Simon Senek have to say about how marketing is changing. Thanks for sharing.
Sniff sniff. That was a great commercial. Really tugged on the heart strings.
That was a touching slice of life. I was fine until that moment at the 2:02 mark. The shot pulling away from the dad, crap, and now I’m tearing up just thinking about it.
I love seeing fathers portrayed positively by the media. There is such pervasive use of the fool father in many commercials and TV shows that when a company does it right it stands out.
Had to come see which commercial you referred to in current post. Yeah, they nailed it.
Totally!