Tim Hortons celebrates 50 years of exploiting national identity for profit

[Joe Shlabotnik]

HAMILTON, ON - International restaurant chain Tim Hortons is celebrating 50 years of instilling and manipulating contrived patriotic sentiment in Canadian consumers towards their brand coffee and donuts for the benefit of their global shareholders.

“We could not be more proud that we have made it to 50 years of servicing the Canadian market with the vague notions of hockey and ‘Canadianness’ that have allowed us to generate over $3 billion in revenues annually,” said Vice President of Marketing Darryl Hanson.

“Tim Hortons was the first to realize that Canada’s inherent lack of a shared definition of national identity allowed room for a business that is wholly uninterested in anything other than making money, to insert itself as a patriotic placeholder through a well thought-out media strategy,” Hanson continued. “Our research shows it was effective to the point where people know more about Roll Up the Rim to Win than they do about Canada’s confederation back in eighteen-sixty-whatever-it-was.”

More at: http://www.thebeaverton.com/national/item/1356-tim-hortons-celebrates-50-years-of-exploiting-national-identity-for-profit

So true. So True.

[arikara]

1. LOL

I hate Tim's. I only go there as a second to last resort, the last resort being Starbucks.

[laundry_queen]

2. HAHA too funny.

“The ordinary sales pitch of ‘we’re Canadian, so buy us’ doesn’t seem to work there. Right now our strategy is to just put bacon on everything and see what that does.”

LOL, no wonder American expansion has failed. I think bacon might work, though. Maybe a deep fried bacon doughnut.

[thecytron]

3. Couldn't have said it better myself!

I especially love the part about:

“Tim Hortons was the first to realize that Canada’s inherent lack of a shared definition of national identity allowed room for a business that is wholly uninterested in anything other than making money"

It sort of reminded me of the "Royal Family"s Visit" to this country. I think it speaks for itself, when Tax Payer Money is spent on promoting the "Royal Circus" in our towns and cities in order to safe our so-called National Identity.

What National Identity?

Really?

The last time I check, I didn't like what I found!

Personally, I don't like Timmy's coffee!

As a matter of fact, I am totally dumbfounded by the long line-ups seen in the drive-through lanes,

Perhaps, the rumours about Timmy's Very Very Hot Chicken Soup are true?

Regardless, I think what made Tim Hortons, such a successful enterprise may have something more to do with the fact that its workforce is made up of dead-end minimum wage jobs.


But, that's just me!!!

Thanks for posting!

I can now celebrate 50 years of disillusion and a serious Caffeine addiction.

[arikara]

4. Actually, worse than dead end jobs

many of the Tims at least in BC use temporary foreign workers.

[jambo101]

5. I dont care that much.

They 're open 24/7, they sell food and coffee, whats not to like at 3am.

[CanSocDem]

6. The advertising makes me cringe...

...but, I like them for their "sausage biscuit", their HOS, their proximity and association with Co-op service stations, their IcedCap was the first and still the best on the market, and their chili is easy to digest. They have a large enough choice of doughnuts for me if that was all I was interested in like some kind of coffee break thingy.

As somebody else mentioned, they do rely on unskilled entry level workers, foreign or domestic and my area that means a lot of first nations kids who, to my chagrin don't conform to the high standards I expect of the service industry. They don't seem to realize the hurry I'm in....

I'm thinking that their advertising agency should forget about trying to hide the actual Tim Horton. If they want to succeed in the U.S. market they should present Tim as he really was....a hard drinking thug. What could be more American?


.

[mndemsocialist]

7. Ouch!

CanSocDem says:

If they want to succeed in the U.S. market they should present Tim as he really was....a hard drinking thug. What could be more American?

Can we please knock off the America-bashing? There are lots of progressive and decent people down here trying to make this a better place. It's a hard enough task for us without our erstwhile allies and comrades in Canada being snarky.

[jambo101]

8. For those unfamiliar

Heres Tims website and Menu
[link:http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/index.php|