1. Kusic 1
Silvia Kusic
Professor Michael Daubs
MIT 2000
7 April 2011
I Am Canadian: A Look at Canadian Identity, Culture and Society Through
Molson’s Television Commercial
In April 2000, Molson released The Ranti
, a sixty second television commercial
where a man named Joe describes what it means to be Canadian. The commercial had
such a profound impact that after its debut the issues of Canadian identity, culture and
nationalism were widely discussed and debated (MacGregor 276). This commercial is not
only a Canadian text because the writer, actor and the product are all Canadian, but also
because many believe it successfully reflects Canadian identity, culture and society. As a
television commercial, the ad represents Canada through the script, the symbolism and
the product that is being advertised: Molson. While most of the ad expresses what it
means to be Canadian, the two aspects within the commercial that limit Canadian identity
include defining Canada in relation to America and ignoring the diversity within the
Canadian population.
Molson’s commercial attempts to evoke a sense of nationalism from the audience
by having them identify with the Canadian characteristics that Joe describes. For the
purposes of this essay, Canadian identity “manifests itself or finds expression in our ‘way
of life’: our food, our music, our festivals, our forms of recreation and so on…unique
things we enjoy that others do not have” (Wagman 80). Joe expresses a unique, Canadian
‘way of life’ through his dialogue. For instance, when Joe says “I believe in
peacekeeping” he is referencing Canada’s global role as a peacekeeper. This image was
established in 1956 when Lester B. Pearson created the United Nations Emergency Task

2. Kusic 2
Force to preserve peace in the Middle East (Seiler 54). Canada has fostered and
maintained this approach to world affairs, thereby differentiating itself from militaristic
nations. Joe also mentions the social policy of diversity, which many cite as an important
characteristic of Canada (Jackson 296). Canada is described as a ‘cultural mosaic’ since
its population is composed of various races, ethnicities and religions. The Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifically supports multiculturalism by declaring the
right to sustained collective individuality (Manning 4). While The Rant highlights
specific markers of Canadian identity, it also dispels common stereotypes. For instance,
Joe explicitly says that not all Canadians live in igloos. Thus, the script highlights which
features of Canadian identity are important and which are not.
As a television commercial, The Rant is restricted to time constraints and
therefore has sixty seconds to elicit a feeling of nationalism from the audience. It
achieves this by relying on easily identifiable symbols of Canada. Since the ad is on
television, both visual and auditory elements can be used to emphasize these Canadian
symbols. As Joe is speaking, a slideshow behind him illustrates his words. The slideshow
brings to mind a lecture, allowing the rant to be interpreted as a lesson on being Canadian
(Manning 7). Television has long been a socializing force, teaching people what
behaviours are acceptable. David Hogarth writes that when television first appeared in
Canada “policy-makers tended to view television as a pedagogic service…television
should inform Canadians about various aspects of their lives” (228). The Rant continues
this tradition by teaching its viewers what it means to be Canadian in order to unite
Canadian citizens under one common understanding. This is particularly imperative in a
country whose people are so geographically dispersed and culturally varied. As the Aird

3. Kusic 3
report once stated for radio, “in a country of the vast geographical dimension of Canada,
broadcasting will undoubtedly become a great force in imparting a national spirit and
interpreting national citizenship” (Charland 57). This commercial exemplifies
television’s ability to define Canadian identity. It also demonstrates “technological
nationalism,” the belief that Canada’s existence, and therefore identity, relies on
communication technology, in this case television (Charland 58).
Both the beaver and hockey are signifiers of Canada and are examples of Roland
Barthes assertion that there is a supposedly natural relationship created between the
signifier and signified (Robinson 165). Joe mentions the beaver and hockey, which are
simultaneously depicted on the slide show behind him. The seemingly natural
relationship created between the beaver and Canada is due to its significant role in early
Canadian history. One of the major reasons Europeans settled in Canada was to develop
the fur trade, primarily around beaver pelts, which were used to create popular hats
(Seiler 56). The beaver was used on the first Canadian stamp, is the national animal of
Canada and can now be found on the nickel. Although the beaver is merely mentioned,
Canadians are meant to understand the deeper historical and economic significance
behind the animal. The beaver becomes mythological when it is fixed with these deeper
connotations. Viewers then feel a connection to others in the country through this shared
history and these symbolic associations. Television allows for the cultivation of an
imagined community, where people who have never met but share certain commonalities
feel connected to each other (Jackson 291). The mention of hockey aids in the
development of an imagined community since it is deeply enmeshed in Canada’s
mythology. Hockey is Canada’s official winter sport and the media presents it as a

4. Kusic 4
uniquely Canadian pastime. Hockey is highlighted so that the same fervor that fans feel
during the game is mimicked during Molson’s ad. Watching hockey while drinking beer
is a popular pastime and is inextricably linked to the beer being advertised. While some
see these symbols as oversimplifying Canadian identity, most Canadians ought to realize
the connotations and understand the deeper historical and social representations.
Through this commercial, Molson beer acquires the same symbolic status as
hockey and the beaver. The message of the ad is that a Canadian ‘way of life’ is achieved
through the consumption of beer. Both in Canada and abroad, people feel that The Rant is
an important artifact in establishing a Canadian identity (Wagman 87). Today, television
and its advertisements “serve as a key space for the construction of Canadian identity and
sense of difference and distinctiveness” (Bodroghkozy 111). Advertising has succeeded
in giving Molson symbolic meaning and beer has now become a part of the country’s
heritage. The commercial elicits a nationalist sentiment from its viewers, which in turn
makes drinking Molson’s beer a patriotic act. Molson gains an edge over its competitors
by fully exploiting its Canadian history. Their first brewery opened in 1786, making it
Canada’s second oldest company. Apart from producing beer, Molson brought the first
steamship service to Canada and helped develop the city of Montreal (Wagman 81).
When the commercial first aired, Molson was one hundred percent Canadian owned, and
buying Molson beer was considered an expression of citizenship. In 2005 Molson merged
with the US company Coors, giving the commercial a different meaning today than when
it first appeared on television. Although what Joe says still expresses an essential
Canadian identity, Molson beer does not hold the same privileged status it once did in
Canadian culture. While the television commercial itself remains static, it has a different

5. Kusic 5
meaning in this new context. This is normal since “culture may be thought of as a
collection of symbols whose meanings are constantly being reinterpreted” (Jackson 290).
Some parts of The Rant accurately reflect Canadians, such as diversity and
hockey. However, the parts that reference America limit the definition of a Canadian
identity because the commercial is now as much about Americans as it is about
Canadians. During this commercial, Canadians are repeatedly defined through their
relationship to Americans. This is clearly evident when Joe says “I have a prime minister,
not a president” and “I believe in peace keeping, not policing.” As Charland writes,
“technological nationalism only defines Canadian ideals and opinion by virtue of their
not being from foreign sources…this is significant because of its inability to articulate a
positive content to the Canadian identity”(57). The implication is that Canadians are not
confident enough in their own identity and therefore rely on comparisons with Americans
to feel a sense of superiority (Wagman 85). Through these comparisons, the rant becomes
simultaneously pro-Canadian and anti-American. Jackson writes that “scholars have
noted the existence of Anti-Americanism in English Canada’s identity and nationalism…
[due to] its uncomfortable location next to a popular culture hegemon”(293). Throughout
its history, Canada has taken a defensive position against infiltrating and overbearing
American values. The ad serves as an outlet for those Canadians who feel overshadowed
and frustrated with America and their ignorance of Canada. However the focus on
America detracts from expressing a truly Canadian society. A more substantially
Canadian ad would have focused on the complex and abundant cultures within Canada.
All viewers, no matter their gender, race or location, are meant to identify with
Joe, the embodiment of all Canadians. Attempting to include everyone under one

6. Kusic 6
representation reinforces the myth that there is a seamless connection between identity
and territory in Canada. Television supports this myth since it is “a functional apparatus
with which representations of Canada could be systematically produced and consensually
understood within more or less orderly networks of signification” (Hogarth 229). Joe, as
a young, attractive, Anglophone, middle-class male, represents the most affluent yet
smallest portion of the population. Television is said to produce a certain image of the
world, in this case it promotes and gives power to the dominant, white and Anglophone
ideologies. The ad successfully reflects Molson’s target market; males between the ages
of eighteen and twenty-four who have a strong sense of national pride. However, this
representation excludes most of the population. By choosing Joe as a representative,
Canada’s eclectic cultural and geographical makeup is ignored, reduced and
homogenized into a generic image of a Canadian. The connotation is that a person can
only be Canadian if they agree that a Canadian is exemplified by a white, beer-drinking,
hockey loving average Joe. While the script discusses the concept of diversity, this
concept is never visually represented. The ad would have a completely different meaning
if it had been spoken by an older person, a woman, a person with a disability, an Asian,
etc. For Molson to sell its product, it had to identify with the target market, but other
mediums, such as the Internet, allowed for these diverse groups to have a voice.
While the ad itself addresses only one demographic, the possibility exists for the
average Canadian to shape the development of the text. After the initial success of the
commercial was realized, Molson created a site where people could post their own “ I
Am…” parodies. Some of these include “I am a columnist, I am an Albertan, I am a
Newfie, I am Chinese, I am Pakistani, I am Torontonian, I am not Canadian and I am

7. Kusic 7
American”(MacGregor 279). Therefore, those who feel misrepresented or ignored in the
ad have a way to express their own identities. Additionally, the commercial was
deconstructed and disseminated on radio and television talk shows where viewers shared
their thoughts and opinions (Wagman 89). This public participation highlights how
“culture is not static. People change culture by interpreting and reinterpreting it” (Jackson
290). The ad even found its way into politics. Mr. John Solomon, an NDP, created a
parody of the ad and presented it in the House of Commons in Ottawa (MacGregor 282).
Richard Marceau, a member of the nationalist/separatist party, expressed concern that the
ad does not reflect Quebecers who do not fear the US, but instead fear being assimilated
into the rest of Canada (283). Furthermore, Quebecers cannot relate to this sense of being
Canadian when the beer being advertised is not even sold in Quebec (MacGregor 283).
All these instances of discussion reveal the immense popularity of the ad, and the great
relevance and broad definitions of what it means to be a Canadian.
Today The Rant is considered an important Canadian cultural artifact. Popular
culture today is very influential and this ad has become an integral part of shaping
Canadian identity, both domestically and abroad. The ad, broadcast on television, was
able to reach a wide audience who was reminded that they had many reasons to be proud
to be Canadian. Others, who felt excluded, were able to participate by creating parodies
that they thought better expressed the diverse identities within Canada. Although in some
cases the ad focused on Americans, thereby limiting the definition of a Canadian, overall
the ad was still able to express a Canadian essence and to elicit nationalism among most
viewers. The ending phrase is nationally recognized, is particularly filled with patriotism
and is an apt concluding remark, “I AM CANADIAN. Thank you.”

8. Kusic 8
Works Cited
Bodroghkozy, Aniko. “‘I…Am…Canadian!’ Examining Popular Culture in Canada:
Recent Books.” Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies (2006): 109-118. Web. 22
Mar 2011.
Charland, Maurice. "Technological Nationalism." Communication History in Canada.
Ed. Daniel J. Robinson. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Hogarth, David. "Public-Service Broadcasting as a Modern Project: A Case Study of
Early Public-Affairs Television in Canada." Communication History in Canada.
Ed. Daniel J. Robinson. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Jackson, David. "Peace, Order, and Good Songs: Popular Music and English-Canadian
Culture." Communication History in Canada. Ed. Daniel J. Robinson. Don Mills:
Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
MacGregor, Robert. “I Am Canadian: National Identity in Beer Commercials.” Journal
of Popular Culture 37.2 (2003): 276-285. Web 25 Mar 2011.
Manning, Erin. “I AM CANADIAN: Identity, Territory and the Canadian National
Landscape.” Theory & Event 4.4 (2000): 2-22. Web. 20 Mar 2011.
Robinson, Daniel. "Marketing Gum, Making Meanings: Wrigley in North America."
Communication History in Canada. Ed. Daniel J. Robinson. Don Mills: Oxford
University Press, 2009. Print.

9. Kusic 9
Seiler, Robert. “Selling Patriotism/Selling Beer: The Case of the ‘I AM CANADIAN!’
Commercial.” American Review of Canadian Studies 32.1 (2002): 45-66. Web. 26
Mar 2011
Wagman, Ira. “Wheat, Barley, Hops, Citizenship: Molson’s ‘I Am [Canadian]’ Campaign
and the Defense of Canadian National Identity through Advertising.” Velvet Light
Trap: A Critical Journal of Film & Television 50 (2002): 77-88. Web. 26 Mar
2011.

10. Kusic 10
i
Hey.
I'm not a lumber jack, or a fur trader.
I dont live in an igloo, eat blubber, or own a dog sled.
And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie from Canada.
Although I'm certain they’re very nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President.
I speak English and French, NOT American,
and I pronounce it ‘ABOUT’, NOT "A BOOT"
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peace
keeping, NOT policing,
DIVERSITY, NOT assimilation
and that the beaver is a proud and noble animal.
A TOQUE IS A HAT,
A CHERSTERFIELD IS A COUCH,
AND IT IS PRONOUNCED ‘ZED,’ NOT ‘ZEE,’ ‘ZED.’
CANADA IS THE SECOND LARGEST LANDMASS,
THE FIRST NATION OF HOCKEY
AND THE BEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA.
MY NAME IS JOE
AND I AM CANADIAN
Thank you.