Canada struts its stuff in million-dollar purchase of every ad in the New Yorker

As the G8 and G20 summits loom, now is apparently the time to remind Americans that we’re not backward hicks who while away the peak tourist season drinking mooseshine in our igloos. The medium, in this case, is the current issue of the New Yorker, which has had literally all of its ad space bought out by Canadians: the feds, provincial governments, tourism boards, businesses and the like. “It was a chance for us to stand up and shout into America, into New York,” Bob Dodd of Dodd Media Sales told the Star. But just what is being shouted?

Well, one pro-Toronto ad astutely points out that our city is just as good as any major city, with “world class shopping, sports and dining.” The two seemingly drunk pseudo-models seem pleasantly surprised. “Come see why everyone is talking about Toronto,” the ad continues, even though everyone is talking about Toronto because the entire downtown core is in lockdown. In fact, the U.S. government has expressly told its citizens not to come see why everyone is talking about Toronto.

True to G20 style, the cost of buying out the New Yorker was exorbitant (the Star speculates it cost more than $1.1 million). Part of that cost was incurred by the government, which used the space to boast of Canada’s relevance due to our strong banking system and penchant for windmills, among other things.

• New Yorker magazine goes Canadian [Toronto Star]