Opinions are sure to differ, likely along political lines, but if one barometer of success for an advertising campaign is that it gets talked about, you could argue that the Ontario government has just won one with the Gipper.
The campaign arguing against the punishing U.S. tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, which used a radio address by late U.S. president and conservative icon Ronald Reagan, got a huge awareness boost on Thursday night, when Trump himself lambasted it on his Truth Social platform.
“TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A," he ranted in one of his signature all-caps late-night posts. Even though the campaign originated from Doug Ford’s Ontario government, Trump went on to say that he was terminating all trade negotiations with Canada because of the country’s “egregious behaviour.”
The story was front-page news in Canada and the U.S. Friday morning, and had lots of people around Canadian advertising talking.
If Ford was hoping the campaign might lead to a fair trade deal with the U.S., it was a misstep. “Seems like Ford is playing checkers and Carney is playing chess,” said one assessment. “I too want to take a swing at the vapid, malicious administration south of the border. But I think this is the wrong strategy,” said another.
But if he just wanted more people talking about tariffs, and, for whatever reason, to provoke Trump, it couldn’t have been game-planned any better. The ad proved to be red meat for Trump, whose reaction ensured that the campaign—and most importantly its anti-tariff message—received widespread attention.
It was an approach espoused by Campaign columnist Éric Blais, who argued earlier this year that “the government of Canada should channel [Reagan] in an advertising blitz across the U.S.” using his own anti-tariff rhetoric from a 1988 radio address (the government of Ontario opted for a 1987 address instead).
Even before Trump created an earned media windfall for the ad, Ontario had committed a huge sum to ensure that it was seen by Americans. The $75 million campaign was booked to run across just about every U.S. media outlet of note, including Fox News, Fox Sports, Newsmax, Bloomberg, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
Cairns Oneil president Devon MacDonald said that using the standard 10:1 rule, a $75 million investment in the U.S. would equate to about $7.5 million in Canada. An investment of that magnitude, he said, could easily support a “very robust, high GRP, longstanding campaign.”
There are many Canadian marketers, he added, who would spend that amount of money in a year. “To do it as a single ad buy, for for a single video, is an incredibly bold move,” he added. “This is like buying 25 Super Bowl ads."
The fact it produced the reaction it did made it a worthwhile investment, he added.
“If my client developed a provocative campaign that got a reaction from the most publicly viewed public figure in the world, I'd be thrilled,” he said. “[Ontario] said ‘We’re gonna kick the bees’ nest,’ and the queen bee came out. He took the bait completely.”
The ad also had people around the industry wondering what, if any, agency was responsible. Campaign reached out to several agency leaders and political comms insiders, but none were able to say where the ad originated.
One executive whose agency is part of the official Ontario roster said they never saw any RFP for the project, and suggested it could have been done in-house (ie. without an agency formally approved for government contracts). “It’s murky and not easy to connect the dots. Not the way it used to be,” they said.
As for the creative approach itself? Well, opinions are mixed. Jake Bogoch, executive creative director of AndSo, called it a “stock salad,” and said that even the big reveal that the words were being spoken by a revered conservative icon like Reagan didn’t hit that hard.
Former WPP Canada head Arthur Fleischmann, though, called it political advertising at its best. “Using Reagan’s own words against tariffs reframes free trade as the true conservative position,” he said. (Read the reviews below.)
But the ad has also come under fire because, while it accurately used Reagan’s comments from an April 25, 1987 radio address—“It faithfully reproduces Reagan’s words” said a New York Times headline—the order in which he spoke them was changed to deliver the desired message.
That prompted the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute to issue a statement in which it accused the Ontario government of misrepresenting the late president’s words, and announce that it is “reviewing its legal options.”
Trump, as is his nature, was not quite as circumspect in his assessment. “CANADA CHEATED AND GOT CAUGHT!!!" he said. “Canada has long cheated on Tariffs, charging our farmers as much as 400 [per cent]. Now they, and other countries, can’t take advantage of the U.S. any longer."
His remarks stood in stark contrast to when he first saw the ad earlier in the week, when he said, “I’d take that same ad also.”
Ford, meanwhile, has apparently backed off from his claim that his government would continue running the ad during the World Series. Instead, the interests of both Ontarians and Canadians in the Fall Classic will be solely represented by the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Reviews Are In...
Craig Redmond, creative and writer at large
The juxtaposition of a powerfully convincing narrative against classic, all American imagery of family, heartland and industry will resonate with the U.S. viewer at home. The Dodge Ram commercial featuring the poetry of Paul Harvey, comes to mind.
But when that narrator turns out to be one of the most revered Republican leaders in history, and his words are drawn from an actual speech he made on the very real economic dangers of economic protectionism, it is sure to not only resonate but drill deep into the hearts and minds of every American watching, regardless of their political persuasion.
I thought this is the best political ad I've seen come out of the USA in a decade. It just happens to come out of Ontario.
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Philippe Garneau, GWP Brand Engineering
"Is it a good ad? I’ll get to that. It’s a tightrope walk. It has to appear courteous and respectful (we’re Canadians after all) but disrupt. Check. It cleverly uses secular scripture, the economic gospel of Saint Reagan. Nice touch. It has compelling imagery, two spans of a bridge that are apart yet so close, heartland Americans struggling. Will the vast audience that $75 million buys you even know what, who or where Ontario is? Does it matter? No.This ad is for an audience of one. And he's not amused. So yes, it’s a good ad.
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Arthur Fleischmann, Sense.Maker
This is political advertising at its best. It doesn’t argue politics; it hijacks nostalgia. Using Reagan’s own words against tariffs reframes free trade as the true conservative position. That’s the most effective form of persuasion: make people feel they’re returning to principle, not changing their mind.
Visually and tonally, it even echoes "It's Morning Again in America:" the halcyon light, the lump-in-the-throat pride, the familiar cadence of optimism. Ontario isn’t selling policy; it’s merely prompting memory. In a world of partisan noise, borrowing the voice and style of a Republican saint to defend a Canadian interest is a creative masterstroke.
In this case, the messenger is the message.
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Jake Bogoch, AndSo
It’s a stock salad. And the reveal that the voice is Ronnie, revered by many conservatives, doesn’t hit that hard.
The Ontario logo appears as though in a tourism ad. A strange juxtaposition that felt random. From there, I was hoping it would finish strong with the last bar of “Everyone loves Marineland!”
To me, the strategy is flawed because the audience probably isn’t the American people. (The Big Beautiful Bill proved that Trump doesn’t listen to his base unless it’s clapping for him.) This is a case where ad people stay in our lane and let the backroom dealing do the work.
Other than that, I loved it.
—With files from David Brown
