For years, we have been monitoring the effectiveness of ads transferring from the US to Canada and have repeatedly seen that about one-third of highly effective US ads have a reduced impact in our market.
The allure for global advertisers to use the same creative in multiple markets is easy to understand, as they can save on production costs and manage their message consistently. But is it worth spending significant media dollars on suboptimal creative?
Generally, Kantar has found that the variance in ad performance from one market to the next can be explained by six factors:
- Brand status. Brands have different levels of equity and development across markets.
- Category experience. The size or life stage of a category can vary between countries. To put it simply, tastes vary.
- Clutter. The sheer volume of ads running in-market can bring down the performance of any given creative.
- The kinds of advertising consumers are used to. For example, rational/emotional, explicit/implicit, use of humor.
- Cultural differences. Levels of individualism can differentiate cultures, as well as issues like societal gender roles.
- Consumer identification. Ethnicity and socioeconomic factors can play a role. And what some consider a want, others consider a need.
The characteristics of effective ads in the US are quite different from those in Canada. For instance, the use of—or reliance on—celebrities (think Super Bowl) in effective US ads is not among the top characteristics in our market. Meanwhile, nostalgia and vignettes are more present in top Canadian ads. Needless to say, this isn’t a formula, but it does highlight differences between the markets.
Sorry, not sorry
In the spring of 2025, Kantar conducted a Consumer Barometer study across 20 global markets to measure attitudes and behaviors in response to tariffs. Although many countries were more likely to favor a wait-and-see approach, Canadians were among the most likely in the world to want to respond with retaliation. We were in the top five countries for planning to buy more local products and services, and the most likely to want to boycott those from the United States.
Although emotions are running high, we have also seen in our social and search monitoring that it is possible for multinationals to hold or improve upon consumer sentiment despite being seen as “less Canadian.” This is an important time for both domestic and multinational brands to be in the market with relevant messaging for Canadian consumers.
What’s working?
Kantar tested four Canadian ads in May 2025, using our externally validated LINK methodology with gen pop samples. We chose a mix of ads that were either early responses to the tariff wars or had distinctly Canadian messaging. All four did extremely well, suggesting that well-crafted creative (as opposed to mere “maple washing”) is impactful in these times.
Aylmer’s “The Canadian Soup” was a bold ad, not without controversy, featuring a man watching news of tariffs and spitting his soup out when he realized it was made in the US. The ad tested in the 82nd percentile of our database for predicted Short Term Sales Likelihood, the 79th for its ability to build long-term equity (Demand Power Contribution), and the 100th percentile for Active Involvement (driven by positive reaction, not negative).
Molson Coors’ “We Are Canadian” was not even an ad; it was an unbranded viral video updating the sentiments of the legendary “I Am Canadian” ad for Molson Canadian. We tested it anyway, and again it proved to be highly effective with Short Term Sales Likelihood in our 82nd percentile, Demand Power Contribution in the 81st, and joined Aylmer in the 100th percentile for Active Involvement. You could say these two pieces of creative have raised the bar for attention in Canada.
Tim Hortons was one of the brands we saw facing a small hit to its Canadian identity in our social and search data, but its Super Bowl response with “The Good Ol’ Football Game”—a take on the Stompin’ Tom Connors hockey classic—was a strong marketing response. The ad scored in our 83rd percentile for Short Term Sales Likelihood, 78th for Demand Power Contribution, and 93rd for Active Involvement. Way to go, as we here like to say.
Three takeaways for Canadian advertisers
- Although 65% of US ads transfer effectively to the Canadian market, 35% don’t. Instead of making assumptions, confirm relevance before investing large media budgets.
- Canadians are (obviously) very upset about the tariff wars and lead other countries in wanting to boycott US products and buy local. This is a great opportunity for Canadian brands, but we are also seeing that multinationals can maintain or grow positive sentiment despite being seen as non or less Canadian.
- These circumstances have created a unique opportunity for Canadian brands to build strong emotional connections with consumers, and multinational brands to adapt their messaging to what’s relevant in this market.
It’s time to start testing your ads, with speed and at scale. Don’t leave it to chance—realize the creative that your target market warrants with LINK+ testing. Learn more.
View our full 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Canadian Brands report here