Just heard a new TH ad on the radio here...maybe you won't get it where you are.

It goes

...Canadians apologise for so much, we say sorry for playing the best hockey in the world, sorry for having the most fantastic musicians in the world (then, blah, blah, blah about the rest of their collective goodies) then...but we don't say sorry for having the best coffee in the world, here at TH.

If are Canadian...you will get this, but if you aren't Canadian, and don't understand...then Sorry!

Ads normally go through one sleepy ear and out through the other, but this one really aggravated me....my son shouted from the top of the stairs "mum, did you just hear that ad"? So it evidently struck a chord with him. It says something for the power of advertising too.

I hope you get a chance to hear it and let me know what you think....I have just made a pact with myself that not one more of their products will ever again pass my lips...this wasn't a terribly difficult decision to make, but then I'm not Canadian!

So what you're trying to say is that they're being nearly as arrogant as the English are?

The add is right tho

Not many, if anyone, out side of Canada, have heard of Tim Horton or know about his coffee franchise. I know we did not know until our first visit. It's not a world wide as say Starbucks or Mc Donald's coffee.

And how many times have you been away from Canada and when you get back go straight to Tim's for a coffee. We did on the way back from Dallas, as coffee in Texas is Yuck!!!!!

I can understand Canadians who haven't been around much adoring TH coffee - they don't know any better, but 'outsiders' who have seen the real world and drunk real coffee surely must know better !

So we can agree that Timmies is a Canadian staple too many.
So in comparison what is the UK equivalent to a Timmies?
Is there such a thing?

Nothing, other than road side cafe food and the pub.

Tim's suits me as I can't drink strong coffee.

Do any Canadians actually work in Tim Hortons?

I think so, but I don't go there so can't be sure. In a documentary I watched this morning on pollution a fisherman on the east coast said if you were late getting away in the morning and wanted to find the fishing fleet all you had to do was follow the trail of Tim Hortons cups over the horizon.

Shortly after moving here I heard someone speak of having a chat over a 'timmies' and I thought they were talking about meeting for a beer.

And I had heard of Tim Hortons while in Quebec previously. It just seemed to be one of a number of coffee sources there.

Over the last 40 or so years many thousands of Canadian kids, including mine, helped to pay their way through college or "uni" by working there.
Probably an equal number of under privileged children have been given the opportunity to attend one of the several Tim's summer camps from coast to coast. A vacation in another Province that they would not otherwise have been able to have.
Many organizations such as cubs, scouts and the like have been able to have the free use of a Tim's bus to attend events. These are not your average school buses but very nice motor coaches.
Do other coffee chains do as much to benefit their local neighborhoods ? I suspect not.
Ron Joyce, for all his success, has never forgotten where he came from which is Tatamagouche, NS. I have known him personally for some 40 years and, what ever one might think of the chain which he founded, he is a great bloke who, though he no longer owns the chain, never ceases to amaze me with his generosity.
Having said all that I am not a coffee drinker or big fan of their products.

Never. Normal people do not do this.

If you consider British expats and Canadians normal then yes they do.

+1 haven't been to Tim Hortons for 18 months maybe more

The Ad is all about marketing. They're not trying to sell coffee in Mexico, or France, or England. They're selling coffee in Canada. And I think they've done a good job reaching out to their target market - Canadians. They've "made it" such that its unpatriotic to NOT drink their coffee or eat their food. They're reaching out to a fairly patriotic crowd and probably don't care what a handfull of expats think.

I wonder what the marketing looks like in the American cities that have Timmy stores.

I think it’s an odd marketing concept. It’s like celebrating getting a D in school.