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Sizing Up Tim Hortons Tim Hortons are
scattered across the entire country. In Canada, there is no other
restaurant with a bigger influence on Canadian culture today. Many
people perceive that it is a proud Canadian institution but it is
really owned primarily by Americans. Who was Tim Horton? He was a Canadian hockey player who primarily played with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tim Horton played over a thousand games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was just two games shy of George Armstrong the Leafs all-time leader in games played. Although he never won the Norris trophy he was a first-time all-star three times and is known as one the most physical defenseman in NHL history. What about the store? The first Tim Hortons store was opened in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario. Today it has surpassed 1500 stores and employs over 25 000 people. The stores originally sold donuts and coffee exclusively. But it eventually became more creative with the introduction of fritters, the Timbit, and the Roll up the rim contest. Ron Joyce, Tim Horton’s partner became the sole owner of the franchise when he purchased Tim Horton’s share for a measly $1 million from his widow. A controversial moment in the store’s history occurred in 1983 when the store opened up its first non-smoking store. Several smokers had to be forcibly removed from the store by the police. But the darkest day for this Canadian institution occurred in 1995 when Tim Hortons merged with Wendy’s. Although Tim Hortons acquired 13.5% of Wendy’s Canada’s national donut shop would now be predominantly American owned. Tim Hortons Culture Tim Hortons has now established itself into a Canadian institution. It is now equivalent to hockey, the beaver, and the cold in Canada. This has allowed Tim Hortons to receive free marketing as it has ingrained itself into Canadian culture. References to Tim Hortons range from Rick Mercer talking to Americans about Prime Minister Tim Horton receiving a double-double from both houses in the Canadian congress, to John Stackhouse's new book Timbit nation. To politics where Sheila Copps kicked off her campaign at a Tim Hortons and John Manley’s jab at the opposition jokingly stating he plans on working at Tim Hortons on top of his job as minister of everything. With publicity like this Tim Hortons didn’t need the creativity to develop commercials like Molson Canada's Joe Rant. The Commercials In there latest two ads they featured a backpacker and an old man shovelling snow. The first one showed a backpacker encountering other Canadians because of his Tim Mug on his sack. Why do Canadians have to attach other Canadian symbols to our backpacks in the first place? If Americans had the courage to fly their own flags on their backpacks would their be a sappy commercial in the first place. Now here’s another thought. If we joined the US invasion what flag would they wear when travelling? It would be difficult for them to pull off German accents and they should thank us for allowing them to pretend to be Canadians. The second ad shows a young boy buying a single coffee for the old man shovelling his walks since its Christmas. Yeah, this puts an end to the myth that we send senior citizens on icebergs to perish. Speaking of frozen there are also unconfirmed reports that Tim Hortons doesn’t bake their donuts fresh instead they de-thaw them. How disgusting is that. Hopefully, they do not lack the business sense to hide this and don’t make a slogan like “Tim Hortons donuts de-thawed daily for our unique fresh taste.” Related Rants: Use the Paddle to Unite Canada NFN Manifesto True North Propaganda canadianwild.ca Feedback Comments: i was readin u're article on Tim Hortons and anythang bad you say about Tim Hortons is so rong. Posted by Anonymous on Jan-22-2006 09:21:13 Comments: Well its just a matter of time before everything will become American owned. As with the Future Shop purchase by the owners of Best Buy. What ever happened with the buy Canadian logo? Remember Its not Molson Canadian. Posted by Tony on Jan-22-2006 06:46:18 canadianwild.ca Interactive: Your Chance To Rant |
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