A Toronto-based advertising agency has made a very Canadian campaign to make our friends South of the Border feel better about the sorry state of their country.
Of course, we’ve watched, joked and commentated from the shadows and sidelines as the U.S. election cycle has come to resemble an episode of a really bad reality show, with all civility long gone out the window.
Image: National Review
While some of it is difficult to even stomach, the U.S. election has been something Canadians have mocked, citing it as yet another reason to be thankful to reside in our home and native land. Earlier this year, Cape Breton even launched a campaign to welcome Americans with open arms if Trump is to win.
But the new ad – created by a creative agency in Toronto – offers a more sympathetic outlook for our U.S. neighbours.
Playing off of Donald Trump’s famous slogan to “Make America Great Again,” the campaign – aptly called “Let’s Tell America It’s Great – encouraged Canadians to send videos of themselves telling America all the reasons why the country is already great.
“As their closest friends and neighbors, we thought it was important for us to do something to cut through the negativity and help remind them that no matter how bad things might seem, there are a lot of reasons to believe that America is still pretty great,” the Garden wrote in a Medium post titled, “A Friend in Need.”
The campaign launched on Thursday and has attracted the attention (and appreciation) of publications like The Washington Post and TIME Magazine.
While many Canadians took to their smartphone video cameras, some also joined the dialogue on Twitter, citing things they loved about the U.S. accompanied by the hashtag #tellamericaitsgreat.
Gatsby, Huck Fin, Moby Dick, Scarlet Letter, Grapes of Wrath, Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye… got literature down #tellamericaitsgreat — Michel Vaillancourt (@MichelV69) October 18, 2016
We can think of a few ourselves. For example, the plentiful destination bachelor and bachelorette trip options (hello, Miami, Vegas and New York). The NFL is a pretty sweet deal too (no offence, Canadian football players).
Canada started a hashtag called #tellamericaitsgreat. You guys, we almost don’t deserve our neighbors to the north. ?? — Katie Poole (@katiepoole912) October 15, 2016
“With all the bad stuff being thrown around out there, we feel like we could all use a little positivity right about now,” said the Garden in a blog post.
We wholeheartedly agree.
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