What Québec Wants™

Tim might be changing but Quebeckers remain faithful.

Canadians are apparently mad as hell at Tim Hortons. The brand is taking a beating according to recent reputation studies by Léger-National and Ipsos Canada. Commentators are claiming the brand is in trouble and has lost its connection with the Canadian public. Professor Sylvain Charlebois, in a recent Globe and Mail article, argues that Canadians have been keeping tab on how "RBI's ultimate commitment has been to its shareholders and not necessarily to the Canadian public". He adds that the dramatic drop in brand reputation confirms that the "transformation into a foreign company is now complete".

Corporate reputation, as measured by Léger, is a function of perceived financial success, CSR, honesty and transparency, quality of products and services and innovation. As one would expect, the key driver of reputation in the foodservice sector is the quality of products and services. A survey released this week by the Angus Reid Institute offers a closer look at what is going on with this driver and other key components of Tim Hortons' brand equity. It reveals that the iconic Canadian brand is, so far, healthiest in Québec.

Despite its reputational hit, Tim Hortons remains a cult brand with a strong following across Canada. Six-in-ten (62%) Canadians still regularly patronize its restaurants. Almost the same number of Quebeckers do so (57%).

The chain is viewed as an important part of Canadian culture. Seven-in-ten (70%) Canadians say that Tim Hortons plays a part when they think of Canadian culture. In Quebec, 68% says so, with a higher percentage saying it plays an "important" part.

Slightly more than one-in-two (54%) Canadians hold a favourable opinion of Tim Hortons compared to 59% in Québec where only 17% hold an unfavourable view compared to 25% nationally.

On all key measures of brand equity related to quality and service, the brand appears stronger in Québec. Compared to Canadians in the rest-of-Canada, Quebeckers are more likely to say the quality of the food and the coffee has improved or stayed the same. The same is true of their perception of the service and prices.

I don't have access to trended data on these brand metrics. There might also be troubling signs in Québec as well but having roughly 85% of the population believing the quality of your food and coffee has either improved or stayed the same should feel pretty good. There is, of course, always room for improvement. One-in-ten in Québec believe the quality of the food at Tim Hortons has worsened but the same percentage of Quebeckers believe the food quality at rival Starbucks has declined.

These regional differences can be attributed in part to the more limited media coverage of the protests we saw in English Canada over the treatment of workers after the minium wage was increased in Ontario and the very public dispute with franchisees. It could well be that it's only a matter of time before Quebeckers join the rest of Canada in believing that Tim Hortons is not the same as it was. But there are lessons to be learned from this regional difference. Lessons that could help RBI devise strategies to insulate the Tim Hortons brand in Québec.

When it entered the Quebec market, Tim Hortons was a "foreign company" from Ontario.

Back then, Dunkin Donut felt more local than Tim Hortons. The coffee and donut chain suffered greatly in Québec after Tim Hortons' arrival. It took a 13-year battle for former franchisees in Québec to win their case. The franchisees had sued the company for failing to live up to its obligation to promote the U.S. donut chain's brand in Québec as it faced growing competition from Tim Hortons. The ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in March 2016 forced Dunkin' Brands Canada Ltd. to pay the 21 former operators of 32 locations in the province nearly $18 million, including interest and legal costs. Today, there are only three locations in Québec.

Tim Hortons did many things right to endear itself to Quebeckers. One of the earliest and most visible was its name change.

Tim Horton's became Tim Hortons. The company removed the apostrophe after signs using the apostrophe were interpreted by some to be breaking the language sign laws of the Province of Québec in 1993. The change demonstrated good corporate citizenship and was a smart business decision ensuring efficiencies by using a standard name across the chain.

Tim Hortons made significant efforts to localize its brand story for Québec.

Here's an example. Back in December 2010, Tim Hortons released its festive holiday mugs. There were two versions. The Québec mugs had the maple leaf replaced by a snowflake and the CN Tower was removed. Some will say this was unnecessary and even ridiculous. It nevertheless demonstrated Tim Hortons' concern for regional differences and its willingness to adapt its messaging accordingly.

Over the years, Tim Hortons invested in localized advertising, often going beyond the French adaptation of its English campaigns. Perhaps the most memorable example of homegrown Tim Hortons advertising in Québec was the "Minou et Pitou" campaign which focused on two characters, Minou and Pitou, using two well-known Québec actors, Patrick Labbé and Elyse Marquis, in the title roles. It's fair to say that they made the brand a household name.

 

A local brand experience where one feels at home.

Ten years ago, I spent two days working at a Tim Hortons restaurant in Mascouche, Québec as part of a project for the coffee chain. I got to experience first hand what it's like to work behind the counter and, more importantly, I got to observe and interview customers.

As I changed the coffee pot every twenty minutes for a fresh one, I saw proof of the chain's "Always Fresh" promise. I also witnessed how the chain was "Always Inviting". If there ever were moments of truth that made Tim Hortons a unique destination for these patrons, they were the result of the convivial atmosphere and the sense of community and place. Going to Tim Hortons, a place where people knew your name, brought these people closer to their community. What the homegrown advertising in Quebec captured was not made-up. It was experienced every day in small towns across the province. Breakfast with toasts and "cretons" (a forcemeat-style pork spread containing onions and spices) and the clever naming of products like the Timatin breakfast sandwich made Quebeckers feel even more at home.

The Tim Hortons brand might be losing share of heart in English Canada but, if it learns from its past in Québec and recommits to that market, Quebeckers will continue to reward it with their true patriot love.

Making a real impact, for good, in Québec.

Sometimes advertising can make a real difference in society. Public service advertising can change attitudes and behaviours over time. And sometimes a marketing and advocacy campaign can add a strong voice to a cause and the volunteers supporting it to influence a government to change its policy to improve lives in tangible ways.

Until an announcement by Québec Health Minister Gaétan Barrette in June 2017, Québec was the only province without a newborn screening program for cystic fibrosis. Early diagnosis for cystic fibrosis through newborn screening allows for immediate intervention and treatment ultimately leading to longer, healthier lives. Cystic Fibrosis Canada had been in ongoing communication with the Government of Québec since 2012 about this issue but there had been no commitment from the Government to act.

It took an integrated program combining mass media advertising, efforts to mobilize Québec's population via social media and public advocacy to finally make newborn screening of cystic fibrosis in Québec a reality. Importantly, it took a message about how Québec families were suffering in order to really engage the community and mobilize Quebeckers to demand change.

A rare disease few people know.

While there are 1,400 CF families in Québec, the disease is not well known and generally gets little attention in the media. The first step was to increase awareness of CF among the general public and, in the process, start seeding the message about the need for a newborn screening program. The very personal and moving stories of three CF families from Québec were captured via testimonial videos which were published on the organization's Facebook page.

The videos generated over 90,000 views and record levels of engagement. These videos were also edited down to :30 versions which were aired on Corus media channels such as Série+ and Historia as well as Radio-Canada - media that was graciously donated by these broadcasters. Outdoor and transit advertising featuring the beautiful faces of two young CF patients was also produced for the Montréal métro and public transit systems across the province with media donated by Bell Media and Imagi.

Over a three month period from December 2016 to February 2017, a relatively unknown disease was getting much attention. And a community of engaged CF families was increasingly determined to build on this momentum to ensure its voice was heard in Québec City by government decision-makers.

An injustice that should be corrected.

Following this general awareness phase, the focus of the communications campaign shifted to the issue of newborn screening and did so with a narrative arguing that the absence of a newborn screening program was an injustice for Québec families that caused undue harm. A fourth testimonial video was created to tell the heartbreaking story of the Jolin family, which has four children, two of whom are suffering from CF. The eldest, Coralie, was diagnosed at the age of four months. Weighing no more than a one-month-old, she was literally fighting for her life. She had to be tube-fed day and night to make up for all the damage caused by her failure to thrive. Her mother Maude put it bluntly: "If we had known from the time she was born, we could have avoided this two-year nightmare."

"Had we known, we could have avoided so much pain." This was the main message conveyed online via videos on social media, on television via Corus media channels and on mall posters across the province.

This second phase of the campaign was amplified through a carefully orchestrated media outreach program that generated significant coverage in Québec's leading publications and major newscasts. Our partners at Matom Communications secured editorial in some of the province's leading publications.

Quebec pressured to implement newborn screening for cystic fibrosis.

A microsite was created to provide all the necessary information for the media and those wishing to join the movement.

CF voices were heard in Québec City.

As the campaign evolved and the noise level continued to increase, there were signs that representatives from the Ministry of Health were paying attention.

This campaign demonstrates that real change can take place when the right stories are told through the right channels to mobilize a community. And while there is still much to do to control and eventually find a cure for this disease, this decision will make a big difference in the lives of many in Québec.

Québec will offer newborn screening for cystic fibrosis.

This was a collective effort and a victory for all of CF Canada and its volunteers. It was a privilege for Headspace Marketing to be involved in this important initiative. We wish to thank Norma Beauchamp, Jennifer Nesbesky and Yannick Brouillette for their leadership as well as their respective teams for their support and collaboration.

Hollywood PQ

The powerful influence of Québec celebrities on consumers has long been recognized. But how does it stack up against Hollywood's glamorous stars?

When L'Oréal Paris launched a Canada-exclusive skincare line called Hydra-Total 5 earlier this year, one would have expected the global brand to have signed a Canadian celebrity to be its face.

“Traditionally, L’Oréal Paris product advertising is developed for an international audience and implemented regionally, but, because Hydra-Total 5 is not a worldwide launch, we had the unique opportunity to choose the formulas and develop an exclusively Canadian marketing campaign tailor-made to our consumers" said Amélie Fortier-Cyr, brand director for skin and cosmetics at L’Oréal Paris.

The campaign may have been designed for Canadian women but L'Oréal chose to feature Indian actress Freida Pinto in its advertising.

The actress, who L'Oréal described in a release as having a particularly strong fan base with Canadian women who often struggle with uneven skin tone, is not Canadian. But she made sure to point out that she has a Canadian connection in this launch video: the movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes in which she stared was shot in Vancouver: "This Canada connection, I can't get rid of it. It's always going to be in my life."

Contrast this with Canadian cosmetics brand Lise Watier's approach to celebrity endorsement. Distributed nationally, the brand is deeply entrenched in Québec where its eponymous founder is a celebrity herself and an inspiration to women. The brand's recent advertising features Québec actress Caroline Dhavernas.

Marcelle, another Québec-based cosmetics marketer, has featured Québec actress Karine Vanasse in its advertising since 2013.

She is joined by Québec actor Thomas Beaudoin in advertising for another Marcelle brand; its recently launched CW Beggs and Sons line for men. Coincidentally, Beaudoin also appeared in an English language television spot for Old Spice this year.

Could these brands have signed Hollywood faces instead?

It's possible. Montréal-based Reitmans injected some American star power in its brand when it signed Meghan Markle from the hit television series Suits, to promote the retailer in both languages.

The use of celebrities in advertising has been a common practice for more than 60 years. Marketers aim to associate their brands with people who are recognized and often admired, sometimes idolized, by their target audience, such as actors, athletes and entertainers. It is estimated that between 14 and 20% of all television commercials in the US feature celebrities. Celebrities deliver stopping power; the ability to draw attention and interest in a cluttered advertising environment. They help ensure higher levels of correct brand attribution; people who claim they saw an ad and correctly identify which brand it was for. Ads using well-liked celebrities are also usually more effective at favourably influencing the target's evaluations, feelings, attitudes towards the advertising and, consequently, the brand. Studies have also shown that celebrity endorsers' trustworthiness and attractiveness can have significant positive impact on purchase intentions.

Hollywood CA or Hollywood PQ?

Flip through the pages of most women's publications and you'll find the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Andie MacDowell and Jennifer Lopez staring at you to promote makeup, shampoo and perfume. French-speaking women living in Québec have been exposed to the French versions of the same ads appearing in magazines such as Châtelaine and Coup de pouce.

Québec is well-known for its deep home-grown talent pool. Québec’s star system is a force fuelled by television talk shows and celebrity gossip magazines. And while Quebeckers are interested in the lives of Hollywood celebrities, they're equally if not more interested in their own stars.

Given Québec's strong celebrity culture, we sought to understand how using well-known Québec celebrities instead of American celebrities in advertising would affect its effectiveness. Our firm commissioned an online survey of 400 French-speaking women between the ages of 25 and 54 living in Québec.

We took two magazine ads appearing in French women magazines and created another version featuring a Québec celebrity. One for Aveeno skincare products featuring American actress Jennifer Aniston and one for CITIZEN watches featuring American singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson. Both were signed as global brand ambassadors in early 2013 and have been prominently featured in global, multi-language, and multimedia campaigns.

Julie Le Breton, an award-winning actress born in 1975 in Québec who has played major roles in films and on television, was selected for Aveeno. Julie Perreault who is also a Québec-born award-winning movie and television actress and photographer was selected for CITIZEN. All other elements in the original French version of the ads were maintained.

We sought to measure the relative effectiveness of the two versions based on three criteria:

• which version, if any, is better recalled by the target?
• among those who recall seeing the ad, which version is more correctly associated with the brand?
• which version do more respondents agree is credible, relevant, arresting and original.

Four groups of one hundred respondents were each shown a version of the ads inserted in editorial content from the December issue of Coup de pouce magazine. They were asked to flip through the pages without reading the articles and told they'd be asked questions on what they had just seen.

After exposure to the magazine pages, respondents were asked if they recalled seeing the advertising. Those who said yes were then asked to identify the brand the ad was for from a list of brand names. All four hundred respondents were then shown the two versions of each ad and asked to rate each ad in terms of being credible, relevant, arresting and original.

The ads featuring Québec celebrities were as effective as those featuring American celebrities in terms of being noticed. Eight out of ten respondents exposed to the Aveeno ad claim to have noticed it. 84% did when it featured Jennifer Aniston and 82% did when it featured Julie Le Breton.

Seven out of ten respondents exposed to the Citizen ad claim to have noticed it. 72% did when it featured  Kelly Clarkson and 74% did when it featured Julie Perreault.

Correct attribution to Aveeno was high whether respondents saw the version of the ad featuring Jennifer Aniston or the one featuring Julie Le Breton at 92% and 95% respectively.

Correct attribution to CITIZEN was much lower with only 52.4% of those who saw the version of the ad featuring Kelly Clarkson correctly recalling CITIZEN. Importantly, one in three respondents who claim to have noticed the ad said they could not recall what brand it was for from a list that included Bulova, Omega, and TAG Heuer. Among those who saw the version featuring Julie Perreault, correct attribution to CITIZEN increased to 70.1%.

The version of the ad for CITIZEN featuring Julie Perreault was rated significantly higher as being credible, relevant, arresting and original than the version featuring Kelly Clarkson.

The two US celebrities featured in the magazine ads tested in this study have been associated with the brands for two years. Their role as ambassadors has been heavily promoted via media advertising and other communication channels including social media, the brands’ websites, in-store advertising, consumer promotions, etc. One would assume that their association with their respective endorsed brand is therefore already quite strong.

Despite this uneven playing field, the Québec celebrities performed very well. In the case of the Aveeno ad, the Québec celebrity was equally effective at grabbing attention and ensuring the brand is correctly recalled. And it was judged to be as credible, relevant and original as the version featuring a US celebrity. In the case of the Citizen ad, the version featuring a Québec celebrity was more effective in terms of branded recall and being seen as credible, relevant, arresting and original.

Each brand and category is different and each potential ambassador should be thoroughly assessed prior to making media investments in Québec. More than anything, this study indicates that there are no silver bullets for an effective celebrity endorser campaign in Québec. Hollywood is always an option for global brands but so is Hollywood, PQ.

Québec's proposed French signage regulations give retailers much leeway.

New regulations would require businesses with non-French trademarks to display prominent French signage, whether it is a slogan, a description or a message about what’s on sale.

This is the government response to a 2014 ruling on a court action brought by Best Buy, Costco, Gap, Old Navy, Guess, Wal-Mart, Toys “R” Us and Curves that under existing language regulations, companies with an English brand name were not obliged to add a French phrase to their signs. The new rules will require that the French addition be in the same field of vision as the principal sign and that it be illuminated at night if the main sign is.

Many retailers in Québec already comply by adding a touch of French to their names either by adding an article or a French descriptor. Les cafés Starbucks. Le Body Shop. Crate & Barrel Maison. Winners Mode. Moore vêtements pour hommes.

The new rules would allow a retailer to comply by simply adding a French slogan. 

As such, the sign of the Roots store on Ste-Catherine Street in Montréal with "Depuis 1973" (Since 1973) would likely comply. And so does Tim Hortons Toujours Frais signage.

The rules will apply immediately after the regulations’ adoption to new signs, but there will be a three-year delay to bring existing signs into conformity.

For more on this, read our previous post, The upside of politeness in Québec

Advertising about advertising.

Boston Pizza’s latest advertising in Québec.

Boston Pizza continues its apparently successful ad campaign in Québec featuring well-known comic Louis Morissette. Set in a restaurant, the spokesperson is asked by a family enjoying a meal if they’re going to be part of a commercial. They chat about what a Boston Pizza spot would likely communicate - effectively delivering the key messages. It ends with the teenage son telling Morissette that all that’s missing to make this a really good ad would be a well-known stand-up comic. (“Tout ce qui manque pour que ce soit une bonne annonce, ce serait un humoriste populaire.”)

When an ad shows consumers advising on ad strategy, it’s perhaps proof that the strategy of using celebrity comics to pitch brands has become rather expected in Québec.

 

Target to Hispanics: "There will always be a part of you that simply doesn't translate."

That’s the theme for Target’s latest campaign in the U.S. aimed at Hispanic “guests”.

Target’s new Hispanic campaign features words with no English equivalent. According to Target’s website, this is “a first-of-its-kind for Target. #SinTraducción is a sweeping celebration of moments, traditions and emotions that are treasured by many in the Hispanic culture. Using a number of these untranslatable terms as inspiration, the campaign invites Target’s guests to experience the brand in a more personal way.”

For example, the first of two launch spots is named "Arrullo," which means "lullaby," and is often used to describe the right ambience and setting to put a baby to sleep. The second, called "Sobremesa," is about the period of time right after dinner in which family and friends linger at the dinner table to catch up or spend quality time together.

 

Rick Gomez, senior VP, brand and category marketing at Target is quoted in this Ad Age article: ”The Hispanic guest loves Target but were always looking to connect on a deeper level, ’Sin Traducción' does exactly that. It's a way for Target to make a connection with our Hispanic guest on a deeper, more emotional level.”

Target is right. There are also words in québécois French that are untranslatable. Here are a few from the Dictionnaire de la langue québécoise de Léandre Bergeron, VLB Éditeur

Tigidou interj. C’est tigidou - Tout est bien correct. Everything is fine. Ex. Tout est tigidou en ce moment chez Target Canada (Everything is fine at this time at Target Canada)

À l’épouvante loc. adv. - Très vite. In a hurry. Ex. Target est parti à l’épouvante. (Target left in a hurry).

Women and the word balance

There’s an interesting piece in the French version of Châtelaine online by Marianne Prairie about the notion of living in balance. The provocative headline asks if it’s actually dangerous for women.

It quotes Elizabeth Gilbert:

“With no offence to the word balance, I feel that this is a word that we have to be careful of lately. Because it’s become another tool in the arsenal that women especially are using against themselves as one more things they’re not doing right. And I really do think it’s become a weapon. Maybe let go of that little word. For me peace comes when I kind of embrace the beautiful mess that I am. Just let it be that. And then start again the next day."

 

Gilbert says it’s a word women need to be careful of “lately”. This struck me.

I interviewed Mary Lou Quinlan in New York twelve years ago for a project that required an insight into women and their approach to healthy living. Mary Lou had recently published her book Just Ask A Woman and I was hoping to pick her brain. She delivered. Here’s what she had to say about the word “balance” a decade before Elizabeth Gilbert said something similar Oprah.

 

Balance and équilibre are loaded and complicated words that brands have used to speak to women. You might consider asking women about how they really feel about these words before using them to promote your brand.

Déja vu

Ad agencies opening offices in Montréal is nothing new. It’s just smart business.

By Eric Blais, Headspace Marketing Inc.

Québec sure is getting a lot of attention these days. From Toronto-based ad agencies that is.

Four ‘national’ agencies have recently opened offices in Montréal. Some of the news reports about these announcements make it sound like the decision to expand into Québec came from a sudden realization that a market that represents a quarter of the country’s population is worth paying attention to.

One would think that Québec is on every marketer's radar. It's not.

As someone who has been advising clients on Québec for the past 30 years, I’ve seen the full range. From clients who actively factor Québec in all marketing decisions to those who barely do the minimum required to maintain a presence in the market. The latter group isn’t ill-intentioned. As one CMO once explained to me, they simply do not consider Québec as their ‘primary cultural market’. Another once told me that they would eventually focus on Québec when their plans call for an investment in ethnic marketing. These are Canadian clients. U.S.-based clients can be even more challenging. Viewed from the boardrooms of these multinationals, Québec often looks like Puerto Rico. A small regional market requiring that business be conducted in a different language.

ad for the AAPQ on montreal.ad

Québec wasn’t always an afterthought. Global agency Young and Rubicam opened its first office outside the United States in Montréal in 1934 before opening in Toronto two years later. Expanding operations by opening offices in other geographies was a necessity as U.S.-based clients expanded globally. McCann Erickson followed Coca-Cola around the globe. Others followed Procter and Gamble.

While the recent announcements focus on agencies choosing to build their Québec capabilities from scratch with shiny new offices and local talent, there are other ways to ensure clients get the right expertise to build their brands in the Québec market. Some agency networks acquired established agencies - wholly or partly - (e.g. FCB and Auger Babeux in 1995, TBWA and Tam Tam in 1997). Others created strategic alliances (e.g. Lowe Roche and Cartier, DDB and Bleublancrouge) for all or some of their clients’ needs in Québec. Some of these marriages lasted while others failed. In other cases, clients chose a separate agency for Québec that was independent from the agency they used for English Canada (e.g. Home Depot hired Cossette in Québec while working with Publicis in English Canada, Kruger Products hired PALM in Québec while retaining John St.). Others, like Rethink, had French creative resources ‘embedded’ in their Vancouver office before opening an office in Montréal.

Providing clients with effective solutions for the Québec market depends less on the structure and the nature of the agency’s capabilities than on its ability to make the relationship work with Toronto decision-makers and base its recommendations on facts within the broader business context.

Many years ago - before email -, I had stickers applied to every phone in the agency with this simple reminder: “Did you call Montréal?” No matter how collaborative everyone intends to be, it’s easy to forget the Québec team when the pressure is on. Ensuring that Québec is at the table at every step of the advertising development process is critical. And this includes having a perspective on strategy early on before ideas are generated. Proximity helps. Our firm operates primarily out of our Toronto office making it easier to be directly involved as early and as often as needed.

Providing the Québec perspective shouldn’t always be about highlighting differences between French-speaking consumers and those living in the ROC. There are of course plenty of differences but the starting point should be the similarities. You can’t pre-determine that a separate approach will be required for Québec unless you also understand the similarities.

Marketers should also beware of the myths about marketing in Québec. A senior market research executive once declared to a room full of marketers in Toronto that blondes shouldn’t be used in advertising in Québec. The evidence actually suggests the opposite. Asked in a survey what hair colour they’d like to have for a day, proportionally more women in Québec chose to be blondes than in the ROC.

Some believe that there is a formula that guarantees success in Québec; the use of humour usually by signing a local celebrity to promote your brand. Why would there be a single winning recipe for effective advertising in Québec when there clearly isn't one for success in English Canada? Some marketers have learned this at their own very high expense.

Successful brand building in Québec requires knowledge of the market and the brand. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. One needs to know when to adopt, adapt or create. Those who believe that only original creative made for Québec can be effective in that market are badly mistaken. Just as those who think that simple translation will do the trick. There’s a whole range of options including transcreation where a campaign is localized for a market instead of being translated. It’s also rarely an all-or-nothing situation. A global campaign can be adopted with local activations designed for the Québec market to address specific issues and opportunities.

The head of one of the agencies that recently opened an office in Montréal says clients are asking more fundamental questions about Québec. That’s a healthy sign for the industry. Let’s hope the answers to those questions help build stronger brands and businesses.

Crazy Friday

Everybody loves a deal no matter what it’s called.

Black Friday, the retailer-created shopping event following Thanksgiving in the U.S., is increasingly popular in Canada.

A survey by New York-based IPG Mediabrands found a staggering one million Canadian workers plan on phoning in sick on Nov. 28 (Black Friday) and/or Dec. 1 (Cyber Monday), the dates of this year’s retail blitz.

According to findings from a survey conducted last year for BMO, 47% of Quebeckers were planning to make purchases on Black Friday in 2013, up from 41% in 2012.

Wikipedia offers this explanation for the name’s origins:

The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation was made: that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss ("in the red") from January through November, and "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or "in the black”.

Whatever the origins, the name is meaningless, if not depressing, in French Québec.

Retailers have been using different French names to give meaning to their sales events. Some call it Vendredi Noir. Others like Banana Republic call it Super vendredi. Some simply call it Méga Vente Black Friday (it should be “solde”, not “vente”). To be safe, Centre HiFi calls it Vendredi noir and Black Friday.

L’office québécois de la langue française has tackled the problem and is recommending Vendredi fou (Crazy Friday).

Campaign by the YWCA Canada to bring awareness to the issue of violence against women: #NOTokay #PAScorrect

Our friends at Juniper Park created a simple yet powerful tool that allows people to add their voice to the growing effort to end violence against women. And we were glad to create the French version.

Leading up to the 25th anniversary of the massacre at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, where 15 women were killed, the YWCA Canada is providing a social media tool that will allow people to take action, however small, on the issue of violence against women.

#NOTokay #PAScorrect

We all know that physical and sexual violence is wrong. But there’s an onslaught of images, videos, tweets, news clips, music lyrics, and posts that we see on a daily basis, where women are belittled, objectified, and attacked.

We want to make it easy for people to stand up and say it’s NOT OKAY.

So we created a tool in the form of a hashtag - #NOTokay #PAScorrect– that can be used to point out anything from a misogynistic tweet to a video game where women are gratuitously beaten, raped, and killed.

People are invited to visit the website, notokay.ca (pascorrect.ca) where survivors ask them in their own words to share and spread the word. The site will also aggregate all posts and tweets with the hashtag #NOTokay, and provide tools to share and continue to spread the word.

On November 25th, the date of the campaign launch, we will invite Canadians to change their profile pictures to our #NOTOkay logo, magnifying our efforts to bring this issue to light, and encouraging people to continue to act on it everyday.

We’ve also created these radio spots that will no doubt trigger conversations.

PAScorrect radio 1

 

PAS corect radio 2

 

PAScorrect radio 3

 

PAScorrect radio 4