What Québec Wants

Double entendre

I once heard a client say he loved a slogan because of its double ‘nintendo’. His boss corrected him but I thought the mistake had a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that struck me as ‘déjà vu’. Those French expressions can be tricky.

This brings me to other ways slogans can take on new meaning. Here’s a poster I’ve seen in the offices of a few ad agencies in Toronto.

According to Rob Walker, in his always-fascinating column in the New York Times Magazine, the ‘Keep calm and carry on’ slogan was used on a propaganda poster that was meant to be distributed in the event of a German invasion during World War II. It remained unnoticed for decades until Stuart and Mary Manley, owners of a shop called Barter Books in north England, found one of the original posters folded up in the bottom of a box of old books and framed it. Customers liked it, and eventually they decided to sell reproductions. The design is in the public domain so it can be altered and sold by anybody.

Walker’s column is about how the slogan has since been marketed through merchandise around the world and how it’s been ‘remixed’ or transformed – e.g. ‘Keep calm and have a cupcake’.

Yet it’s how this slogan about a possible German invasion can be posted on the walls of recession-challenged advertising agencies and financial firms that I find intriguing - the repurposing of a slogan, particularly government slogans.

There’s of course the classic ‘I want you’ slogan of the U.S. Army that’s been ‘remixed’ in countless ways.

 Double meaning in Québec.

I’ve often thought that many slogans for the Québec government’s programs in the late 70s had rather obvious double meanings. I once mentioned this to an ad agency colleague who told me I saw a conspiracy where none existed.

When the Québec ministry of transportation was resurfacing a road, it put up signs that said ‘On fait du chemin ensemble.’ (We’re moving forward together.).

When the same ministry reminded Quebeckers to buckle up, it put up posters that said ‘On s’attache au Québec.’ (We’re getting attached to Québec.)

Maybe those were nothing more than coincidences. So I did a bit of research. It seems I’m not the only one who saw double entendres…

In an article published in the Canadian Journal of Communication in 1993, Jonathan Rose of Queen’s University examined the use of persuasive advertising during the 1980 referendum. Here’s an excerpt:

Ingenious advertising campaigns rich in connotative meaning complemented the publicity of the Québec government. Advertisements which ostensibly had little to do with the referendum and did not communicate any explicit arguments for or against the referendum may have played an important role in reinforcing the Québec government's position. For example, the Ministry of Transport ran a series of advertisements which exclaimed "On s'attache au Québec" ostensibly designed to persuade Quebeckers to use their seat belts. Translated as "everyone buckles up in Québec," it could also be read on another level as "everyone is attached to Québec." The slogan of the ministry of industry and commerce was as equally oblique: "Envoyons de l'avant nos gens" (Let's put our people ahead), exclaimed the billboards of Operation Solidarité Economique. Read in a different way, this slogan could be an incomplete argument for voting oui in the referendum. Throughout the referendum, the government of Québec sponsored advertisements which were billed as "une page dans l'histoire des québécois." One such advertisement celebrated the fortieth anniversary of women's enfranchisement. The text discussed many of the advances made by women over the last 40 years. In large print on the bottom of the ad was the "punch line": "On veut l'égalité" (see La Presse, April 25, 1980, p. A7). While supposedly referring to the status of women, it does not require a large leap to apply this argument to all of Québec society.

Professor Rose’s point that ‘ingenious advertising campaigns rich in connotative meaning complemented the publicity of the Québec government’ could likely be made about other governments’ advertising.

I was briefly involved in the development of an advertising campaign for Ontario’s new health insurance photo ID card during the Rae government. After a not so subtle brief from the client, we hit it right on the nail. The slogan? ‘You’ve got reasons to smile Ontario’.

Stamp collection

Canada Post has just issued four stamps celebrating Canadian music icons Bryan Adams, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Robert Charlebois and Édith Butler.

Robert Charlebois is described by Canada Post in its release as “one of the most influential figures in the history of Québec music and la Francophonie.”

My guess is Céline Dion will be in the next installment. And that would perhaps turn Quebeckers into more avid stamp collectors.

According to data from PMB 2008, Quebeckers are significantly less likely to collect stamps than Canadians in the ROC. They’re also less likely to collect coins.

Locally grown, organic, fair trade, free range, and sustainably farmed. Are Canadians buying it?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has just unveiled a national set of standards that products must now meet in order to be designated "organic."

The new rules require that products with multiple ingredients must have 95 per cent organic content in order to be labelled with the new Biologique Canada Organic Logo.

Many in the blogosphere are welcoming the new standards – ‘Wow, that only took ten years’ – while others find it doesn’t go far enough – ‘95%. Partially organic isn’t organic. Sorry’.

The standards apply to food and drink intended for consumption, livestock, livestock feed and the cultivation of plants.

Are Canadians buying organics?

In a January 2007 survey, Ipsos Reid asked Canadians if they had bought the following versions of food when purchasing groceries in the past six months: organic, locally grown, fair trade, free range, and sustainably farmed.

Here are the top two scores (usually and sometimes) for each version nationally. Canadians appear to see more benefits from locally grown food judging by what they buy.

• Organic 12%
• Locally grown 42%
• Fair trade 9%
• Free range 13%
• Sustainably farmed 13%

And while there are no significant regional differences among Canadians who say they always/usually buy locally grown food, there are significantly more residents of Quebec and the Prairies who say they rarely/never do.

A look at what Canadians view as the benefits of buying locally grown fruits and vegetables might offer part of the reason why some Quebeckers are relatively less supportive of locally grown produce; they are significantly less likely than Canadians in the ROC to say that it supports family farmers.

This may explain why the MangezQuebec campaign seems to be more about healthy eating with Quebec-grown fruits and vegetables than about supporting local producers. And, in case you’re wondering, that’s Quebec star nutritionist Dr. Isabelle Huot.

Time for breakfast

Quebeckers make time for breakfast - significantly more so than Canadians in the ROC.

An Ipsos Reid survey conducted in 2005 on behalf of the Florida Department of Citrus found that Quebeckers ate breakfast on an average of 4.4 days Monday to Friday compared to an average of 4.0 days nationally and as low as 3.6 days in Alberta and 3.8 days in Ontario.

The same survey suggested that Quebeckers are more likely to say that the breakfast they eat is balanced and nutritious. Asked whether they agree or disagree with the statement ‘I eat a balanced and nutritious breakfast on a regular basis during the workweek from Monday to Friday’, 82% of Quebec residents agreed (top 2 box) compared to 72% nationally and as low as 66% in Ontario.

Now a new survey from Ipsos Reid for Nutella adds an interesting perspective on children and breakfast time. It asked Canadians if their child wants to eat breakfast each day – ‘want’ being the operative word. 

79% of respondents in Quebec said “yes, there is usually no problem getting them to eat breakfast”. That number dropped to 68% nationally and 61% in Ontario. The same survey suggests that the key reason for a child not to eat breakfast is being too rushed. This is especially the case in Ontario.

So it’s not for lack of wanting. It’s a lack of time. That should be a wake-up call.

The meaning of Québécois

It’s still called “La St-Jean” by most in Québec but the official name of today’s national holiday celebration is “La Fête nationale du Québec”.

And its two spokespeople, media personalities Marie-Chantal Perron and Boucar Diouf, suggest that when they talk about les “gens d’ici” (the people from here), they mean everyone who calls Québec their home independent of ethnicity.

But make no mistake; this is a celebration of the French language, culture and identity. For the past 25 years, the celebrations have been organized by the Mouvement national des Québécoises and Québécois. Its website claims that sovereignty, national pride, promotion and defense of the French language are at the heart of its actions.

The official website of la Fête - in French only of course – offers great content on the history of the celebrations including patriotic texts published over the years. And the theme this year is “une voix qui porte” – loosely translated as “a voice that carries, that resonates”.

So what is the definition of the word “Québécois”?

EKOS asked 1,022 Canadians in December 2006 shortly after the House of Commons passed a resolution affirming that the Québécois are a nation.

As EKOS wrote in its report, “the result, quite literally, is that the House of Commons resolution means one thing in one part of the country, and something else elsewhere”.

In Québec, the term Québécois is defined by residence and territory so it’s more civic than linguistic or racial in nature. In the rest of Canada, the term Québécois has retained the traditional English Dictionary definition as meaning a French-speaking Quebecker.

The EKOS report goes on to say: “In English, then, it seems, many Canadians make a distinction between “Quebeckers” who irrespective of linguistic background are residents of the province, and “Québécois” who are seen as Francophones.”

I’m not a research methodologist but it seems to me that asking someone in Edmonton about the meaning of the word “Québécois” instead of “Quebecker” is more likely to lead to answers about language than geography.

EKOS adds: “So, are these alternative understandings just a point of anthropological curiosity? We think not. The probing on whether or not recognition of a ‘Quebecois nation’ means more powers or is just a symbolic gesture becomes more charged when we consider that Canadians do not share a semantically consistent understanding of the term. The term is neither conceptually nor phenomenally equivalent across the Québec / ROC divide.”

Canadians do not share a semantically consistent understanding of the term?

How about just sharing a drink on this day? One look at the sponsors of the Fête nationale suggests that it’s what we should be doing instead of debating semantics.

Not so random acts of generosity

In this week’s CONSUMED column in the NYT magazine, Rob Walker writes about Hyatt Hotel’s new program of ‘random acts of generosity’ aimed at making its customers not just pleased but grateful. The result of months of consumer research, the initiative will mean that staff will randomly delight customers by unexpectedly picking up the tab your hotel-bar drinks or hotel-spa massage.

Walker quotes Robert Palmatier, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Washington and author of a paper on the role of gratitude in human relationships and in marketing.

Here’s a link to Walker’s column.

The Hyatt program is interesting but, as Walker points out, has one potentially major flaw; the hotel chain went public with it. “Hyatt is walking a fine line in generating buzz about a program that it doesn’t want customers to actually expect. What if a Hyatt guest reads this column and wonders why he didn’t get any free drink?

Quebeckers want respectful service.

I have no doubt that gratitude can be a powerful emotion in marketing but recent data from Ipsos Reid suggest that feeling respected could be the real key to customer loyalty in Quebec.

The survey conducted in April 2007 on behalf of TD Canada Trust asked Canadians to rank the following six features of service in order of importance: respectful, friendly, knowledgeable, accurate, quick and provides peace of mind.

‘Knowledgeable’ was the feature most likely to be ranked first among all Canadians. Quebeckers however stood out from the rest of the country ranking ‘respect’ significantly above other service features.

This reminds me of the Ritz Carlton’s service credo: ‘Ladies & gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen’.

That’s respect without random free drinks.

Quebeckers eat their veggies

Compared to Canadians in the ROC, Quebeckers are most likely to spend less than 60 minutes a week being physical (i.e. exercise, sports, running/jogging, walking, etc.)

Thinking about the amount of physical activity they engage in during the course of one week, Quebecers (35%) are the most likely to say they spend less than one hour doing so, while those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (26%), Alberta (23%), Ontario (22%), Atlantic Canada (20%) and British Columbia (14%) are less likely to say they’re active for less than one hour a week. – Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of the Canadian Chiropractic Association in April 2009.

This is consistent with 2004 data from Stats Can showing that Quebec is the province with the lowest percentage of individuals with an “active” physical activity index.

Yet Quebec is also the province with the highest percentage of adults with a normal Body Mass Index.

There are of course many factors at play here. One of them is obvious from this other map from Stats Can; Quebeckers are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables.

Funemployment

A recent article published in the Los Angeles Times  discussed a trend among young adults: funemployment.

According to the Urban Dictionary, funemployment is about taking advantage of being out of a job in order to have the time of their life. Instead of sending resumes and actively seeking a job, the “funemployed”, mostly singles in their 20’s and 30’s, are living for today by traveling, going back to school, volunteering, partying or hitting the beach. Many use social media like Facebook and Twitter to find “funemployed” partners and make plans.

The L.A. Times quotes Jean Twenge, co-author of " The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement" and an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State who is an expert in generational surveys. "For many younger people, work is less central to their lives. These days, more people than in the 1970s are saying they want jobs with a lot of vacation time. Younger employees today also are less willing to work overtime.”

Here’s a short video of Mike Van Gorkom, funemployed, formely Director of User Experience Design at Yahoo! – He shares his epiphany: how he now enjoys life and realizes how his stressful job affected his life.  He now says he will eventually seek  “a job that won’t take over my life like this last one did”.

What seems like an epiphany to Mike might not be so for many Quebeckers – unemployed or employed.

They are generally less likely to let their work or career take over their lives insisting instead that pleasure be central to their lives.

Yankelovich asked Canadians ten years ago if they agreed with the statement “there is too much emphasis on accomplishment and not enough on pleasure for its own sake”. French Quebeckers were significantly more likely to agree than Canadians in the ROC.

More recently (2006), Leger Marketing surveyed Canadians about the relative importance they attach to their work, social and family life. Again, they are more likely to adopt a balanced approach.

Looking more closely at young Quebeckers working in the marcomm industry, a recent survey from the Bénévolat d’entraide aux communicateurs (National Advertising Benevolent Society) shows that 51% of Gen Y Canadians (18-29) living outside Quebec consider their professional life to be as important or more important than their personal life while it’s significantly lower among young Quebeckers (38%).

It looks like “funemployment” in Quebec is as much about fun and employment than fun while unemployed.

- Posted by Manon Varin, Project Manager at Headspace Marketing Inc.

Sex in advertising

New Yorkers, who are not easily offended, find that Calvin Klein has crossed the line with this poster of a girl and her three male friends.

I guess it all depends where you are.

Would this poster get the same reactions in Montreal or Toronto?

Quebeckers appear generally more tolerant of sex in ads and in movies than Canadians in the ROC.

Leger Marketing surveyed Canadians’ opinions on advertising in 2001 and specifically asked about whether there is too much violence, sex, humour or information.

Quebec was the province least likely to say that there is too much sex in advertising.

And, more recently, PMB 2008 asked about agreement with the statement “it horrifies me to see many sexual images in articles and films”. Quebeckers were significantly less likely than Canadians in the ROC to agree with the statement.

By the way, also according to PMB 2008, Quebeckers are significantly less likely to agree with the statement “an unmarried girl of 18 should not have sexual relations”.

No data available about doing so simultaneously with three guys.

In search of relevance

Four in ten web users in Quebec say they aren’t aware of sponsored links on search engine sites like Google, Yahoo and Toile du Quebec.

According to a recently released report by SEO SEM experts Skooiz and email-marketing firm Toutacoup.ca, this % has not changed significantly in the past three years. The report suggests that while web users likely see the sponsored links, they do not see them as different from other links.

The real wake up call in this report is the finding that the six in ten web users who say they notice the sponsored links generally do not find them relevant.

Our firm sponsors links on Google. I guess we’re covered since searching “brands quebec” leads to both our site’s link in the top position and a sponsored link.

But is it relevant?