A screen capture of Joe from an I am Canadian commercial, with the maple leaf of the Canadian flag projected on the background

I am Canadian was a popular series of Canadian television commercials aired in the 1990s and early 2000s advertising the Canadian brand of Molson beer in Canada; the commercials also aired in the United States. Image File history File links I_am_plus_flag. ... Image File history File links I_am_plus_flag. ... Maple leaves in fall The maple leaf is a leaf of the maple tree and is a national symbol of Canada. ... Flag Ratio: 1:2 (1965–Present) The National Flag of Canada, popularly known as the Maple Leaf Flag (French: lUnifolié the one-leaved), is a base red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a red stylized 11-pointed maple leaf. ... A television commercial (often called an advert in the United Kingdom) is a form of advertising in which goods, services, organizations, ideas, etc. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... 2000s - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Molson Inc. ... Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced through the fermentation of cereal sugars, and which is not distilled after fermentation. ...

The most famous commercial in the campaign first aired in April 2000. Using patriotism as a platform (or perhaps even jingoism depending on varying opinions [1]), the ad starred a man named Joe: an "average Canadian", standing in a theatre, with a cinema screen behind him showing different images relating to Canadian culture. Joe proceeded to give a speech about what is it to be a Canadian and what it is not to be a Canadian, making particular efforts to distinguish himself both from common Canadian stereotypes of Americans ("I believe in peacekeeping, not policing") and common American stereotypes of Canadians--or, at least, what many Canadians hold as common American stereotypes of Canadians ("I don't live in an igloo"). This article is about the year 2000. ... Defense of the homeland is a commonplace of military patriotism: commemorating the students at the École Polytechnique, Paris, 1814 // Introduction Patriotism denotes positive attitudes by individuals to their own civic or political community, and to actions towards other countries, or to non-civic groups, are not generally described as patriotic... Jingoism is a term describing chauvinistic patriotism, usually with a hawkish political stance. ... The culture of Canada, as a product of a North American developed nation, shares many similarities to its cultural counterpart in the United States. ...

The advertising campaign was a huge success for Molson, stirring the often reserved patriotism of the Canadian public. It was performed by actor Jeff Douglas and directed by an American, Kevin Donovan. The commercial won an advertising industry Gold Quill award in 2001. Ironically, Douglas moved to Los Angeles after his career took off in the wake of the commercial's success. Jeff Douglas (born June 8, 1971 in Truro, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian actor, likely most famous for his role as Joe Canadian in the Molsons ad I Am Canadian. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ...

Joe's speech goes like this:

Hey.

I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader, and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dog sled, and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.

I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American, and I pronounce it "about", not "aboot".

I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation; and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.

A tuque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced "zed"; not "zee" – "zed"!

Canada is the second largest land mass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America!

My name is Joe! And I am Canadian!

... Thank you.

During the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, a copycat ad was produced by Australian beer company Foster's Group to advertise Foster's Lager. It featured a similar speech playing upon various stereotypes about Australians. Lumberjack is the traditional name of a person, almost always a man, who makes his living cutting down trees. ... // Indian trade The fur trade (also called the Indian trade) was a huge part of the early history of contact in North America between European-Americans and American Indians (now often called Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada). ... Igloo An igloo (Inuktitut iglu / ᐃᒡᓗ, house), translated sometimes as snowhouse, is a shelter constructed from blocks of snow, generally in the form of a dome. ... Blubber is a thick layer of insulating fat found under the skin of cetaceans and various other animals living in extremely cold climates (seals, walruses). ... Dog sled A dog sled (or dogsled) is a sled pulled by one or more dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. ... Stephen Harper is the current Prime Minister of Canada. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Canadian English (CaE) is the national variety of English used in Canada. ... Canadian raising is a phonetic phenomenon that occurs in varieties of the English language, especially Canadian English, in which diphthongs are raised before voiceless consonants (e. ... Flag Ratio: 1:2 (1965–Present) The National Flag of Canada, popularly known as the Maple Leaf Flag (French: lUnifolié the one-leaved), is a base red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a red stylized 11-pointed maple leaf. ... Norwegian Blue Helmet during the Siege of Sarajevo, 1992 - 1993, photo by Mikhail Evstafiev. ... Cultural diversity is the variety of human cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. ... Cultural Assimilation, or assimilation for short (but that word also had other meanings), is an intense process of consistent integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural group, typically immigrants, or other minority groups, are absorbed into an established, generally larger community. ... Binomial name Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820 A taxidermied American Beaver The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. ... A bright green tuque A tuque (Canadian French: tuque, also spelled toque in English) is a knitted hat, originally usually of wool though now often of synthetic fibers, that is designed to provide warmth in winter. ... There are many different styles of hats A hat is an item of clothing which is worn on the head – a kind of headgear. ... Canadian English (CaE) is the national variety of English used in Canada. ... Sofas come in a variety of colors, patterns, and materials (two-seater model) Ancient Greek sofa A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, lounge or chesterfield is an item of furniture for the comfortable seating of more than one person. ... Z is the twenty-sixth and last letter of the English alphabet. ... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The 2000 Summer Olympics or the Millennium Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were the Summer Olympic Games held in 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ... The term copycat (also written as copy-cat or copy cat) refers to the tendency of humans to duplicate the behavior of others, as expressed in the saying, monkey see, monkey do. ... Fosters Group is a global beverages group with interests in brewing, wine-making and soft drinks. ... A stand selling Fosters beer at the 2005 United States Grand Prix Fosters Lager is an internationally-distributed, Australian brand of beer produced by Fosters Group. ...

In 2005, Molson announced that it was retiring the I am Canadian slogan; this happened shortly after its merger with U.S. brewer Coors. The company is now headquartered in Colorado and Montreal. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: E pluribus unum (1789 to present) (Latin: Out of Many, One) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York, New York Official language(s) None at federal level; English de facto Government • President  â€¢ Vice President Federal republic... Coors Brewing Company logo The Coors Brewing Company (NYSE: RKY) is one of the worlds largest brewers of beer. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 8th 269 837 km² 451 km 612 km 0. ... City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area  - % water 366. ...

Criticism

Though a huge success, the ad was criticized by some Canadians for different reasons. Most of Joe's speech concerns what he is not (a stereotypical American) rather than what he is. Rather than further pinning Canadian identity on comparisons to the United States, critics contended, Joe should have made an effort to establish his identity independently. Others suggested that since the primary purpose of the commercial is to sell a product to as much of the market as possible, Molson pandered to the basest Canadian attribute: anti-Americanism. Cover of Anti-Americanism by French author Jean-François Revel. ...

Parodies

The success of I am Canadian in Canada led to many parodies of the advertisement. The best known of these was Toronto radio station Edge 102's I Am Not Canadian, featuring a Quebec separatist. Several radio stations have produced provincial version in this vein. These include I am an Albertan, I am a British Columbian, and I am a Newfoundlander. Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Established: March 6, 1834 Area: East to West: 43 km North to South: 21 km629. ... I Am Not Canadian was a parody of the Canadian television commercial, I Am Canadian, devised by Toronto radio station Edge 102. ... The Quebec sovereignty movement is a political movement aimed at attaining sovereignty for Quebec, a province of the Canadian federation. ... Motto: Fortis et Liber (Latin: Strong and free) Official languages English Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong Premier Ralph Klein (PC) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 28 6 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 6th (provinces and territories) 661,848 km² 642,317 km² 19... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages none stated in law; English is de facto Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 36 6 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 5th 944,735... Newfoundland (French: Terre-Neuve; Irish: Talamh an Éisc; Latin: Terra Nova) is a large island off the northeast coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

William Shatner, who is Canadian, performed his own variation on the idea in a Just for Laughs appearance. He announced to the world: "I am not a Starfleet commander, ...or T.J. Hooker." The rant continues, making fun of Trekkies and his own typecasting as James T. Kirk. During the course of the piece, Shatner states that his beer of preference is Molson's competitor Labatt. William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is an actor, writer and musical performer who gained fame for his starring role as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ... Just for Laughs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Starfleet Command In the Star Trek fictional universe, Starfleet is the defense, research, diplomacy, and exploration force of the United Federation of Planets (UFP), with hundreds of advanced starships of various class and size at its disposal. ... T.J. Hooker was a weekly police drama that premiered in 1982 on ABC-TV and ran on ABC primetime through 1985. ... Trekkie (or Trekker) is a term that in recent decades has been used to describe a fan of the Star Trek science fiction franchise. ... Typecasting is the process by which an actor is strongly identified with a role or genre. ... James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner, was captain of two starships Enterprise (NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A) in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. ...

Weasel, the lead character of I Am Weasel, parodied the advertisement in a promotional ad for the series' home, Cartoon Network. The ad proved itself to be popular enough to air on a similar Canadian outlet, Teletoon. I Am Weasel is an animated series, created by David Feiss and broadcast on the Cartoon Network. ... Cartoon Network is a cable television channel created by Turner Broadcasting and dedicated to showing animated programming. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Trivia

This commercial premiered during the Academy Awards, which, in that year, included Robin Williams singing the song "Blame Canada," a satirical song from the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Academy Awards The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... Robin Williams performing in Iraq. ... Blame Canada is a song from the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut in which the fictional parents of South Park decide to blame Canada for the trouble their children have been getting into since watching the Canadian-made fictional movie Terrance and Phillip. ... South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 motion picture based on the cartoon television series of South Park. ...

See also

• Canadian beer
• Canadian identity
• List of Canadian companies

A frothy glass of beer — beer has played a significant role in Canadian history. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This is a list of companies from Canada. ...

External links

• Joe's Rant (QuickTime format)
• "I am Canadian" Molson Website
• A sequel to the original - I am Canadian song (QuickTime format)