So, this is the Canadian Special Report issue. And I’ve been invited to give you the Canadian perspective on the world of advertising. The thing is, the only time I feel like a Canadian is when I’m out of the country or on the other end of a phone line that just happens to cross the Canadian border. Only then do I become aware that, all of a sudden, I’m Mr. Canada. The rest of the time, probably like many of you, I’m watching blockbusters like The Matrix (starring former Canuck Keanu Reeves), catching up on the markets on CNN on the Sony TV set in my living room, or driving around town in my German car.
Granted, there are differences between the States and Canada—the French thing, for one. And—but not to rub it in—up here we do tend to find out a little faster who will lead our country. Also, let’s not forget that the Stanley Cup has its year-round home here, even though your American hockey teams now win it most of the time. … But don’t let me go there.
At first, I was set to go on a major rant about the fact that we’re now living in an age of global proximity via sophisticated, borderless systems of communication, and that being a Canadian working for a Canadian company is no big deal, and that we Canucks shouldn’t be treated as a colorful group of foreigners, and that we should all think of ourselves as North Americans and go on about our continental business. Yadda, yadda. Except when I tried to put faces and names on the "them" I was going to bark at, I realized that in the last few years, our industry has seen the solid map lines symbolizing our physical borders between the U.S. and Canada melt away. Kind of like the polar cap, but a lot more beneficial.
Right off the top, I can think of dozens of projects we’ve been involved with that featured an international cast—from the clients to the creative teams, to the production and post-production people, and so on. And, quite simply, it works. No rant. No big deal.
Then I had an epiphany. As I was marveling at the wonders of the technology that are knitting the world and the advertising community within it closer together, it dawned on me. For this American publication to choose a Canadian theme was not just the result of an editorial dry spell (or was it?), or a quaint attempt to create a tourism prospectus. It was an act of recognition. It’s a quintessential, gregarious Yankee way of saying, "Hello," and asking, "How are you doing these days, and what’s new in your backyard?"
Well, our snow-carpeted backyard is doing fine, thank you, and we’re collectively generating heat by creating, shooting, designing, animating, compositing and writing music for films, TV shows, commercials and music videos for the world’s markets.
So, sorry to be such a peace-lovin’ Canuck. Because, while there’s nothing more stimulating than a hot little rant on a cold January day, north of the 44th parallel, it’s business as usual. Today and every day, professionals worldwide collaborate to bring their drive and creativity to global projects, creating breakthrough results. And that, my friends, is a big deal.
Now, let’s all have a round of "Kumbaya."
