Go Canada Go! The World Cup of Hockey is well underway and Canada is undefeated! Tonight marks the first game of the Finals between Team Canada and Team Europe.
While Team Canada and Team Europe are getting ready to battle it out on the ice, major brands are in a fierce competition of their own. This year, Scotiabank and Visa are two of the top sponsors at the Cup. Below are some of our favourite commercials made especially for the Cup:
Scotiabank
#The5thSeason is Scotiabank’s hockey-centric hashtag and tagline. It suggests that in addition to winter, spring, summer and fall, Canada has a fifth season: hockey. This commercial features a young boy searching for the perfect jersey number:
This commercial is endearing, relatable and brings us back to the days when picking the perfect jersey number was our top priority.
Visa
Visa launched a commercial series in which Canadian hockey players “sabotage” their opponents off the ice. In the first, hockey superstar Joe Thornton can be seen purchasing miniature Canadian flags from his phone with the Visa app, and then puts one on each cubby in team USA’s dressing room:
In the second, Team Canada’s Claude Giroux can be seen cheekily replacing Team Russia’s hockey sticks with plastic mini hockey sticks:
These two commercials are not only entertaining and contributory to Canadian nationalism, but they also do a great job of highlight Visa as a brand in a way that is not overly sales-y. The quick transaction facilitated by the app was pivotal to the story. For a company based out of California, Visa’s has demonstrated an excellent grasp of Canadian culture, values and humour.
All of these commercials did a fantastic job at getting us all pumped up to cheer on Team Canada as they face their notorious rivals, Team Europe, in the Finals.
GO CANADA GO!