Manly Man: I'll Start With You

[bcholmes]

The latest issue of Macleans has the following title: "The Age of the Wuss: The sad slump of North American manhood". They present, as exhibit A, "The limp life of Canadian Tire Guy".

I like Canadian Tire Guy and his family (the article calls him "The Ned Flanders of home improvement"). And there seems to be something about him that's reaching out into popular culture, 'cause last Toronto Trek convention, there was a panel about the Canadian Tire family. (How many kids does that family have, anyway?)

Here's a sample of the type of insightful commentary the article offers:

He's definitely threatened. His wife has changed her hairstyle a couple of times, but the most noticeable transformation is her new bold attitude. For a long time, her domestic role was clearly defined. Occasionally, she'd head out of the house on her own -- no farther than the curb -- to help a dumb-founded neighbour with a dead car battery. Usually, she stayed in, drooling over products like the motion-sensor kitchen faucet or the "perfect for guests" inflatable mattress. But she's recently stepped it up. Especially the time she stole the family's all-terrain vehicle, leaving her husband and his buddy looking even dorkier than usual...

What the hell?

Y'know, I was a bit worried when Kenneth Whyte, former editor of the National Post, was made editor-in-chief of Macleans, but, fuck. I'm probably not going to renew my subscription.

Oh, these Canadian Tire enigmas: I still can't figure out what year Angus McTyre was Prime Minister (since, y'know, he's on the money, and all).

Rosetta Stone for Non-Canadians

• Macleans is a major Canadian news magazine, something like the Canadian equivalent of Time.
• Canadian Tire is a retail chain specializing in auto parts, hardware and home gizmos. They don't tend to be of the "warehouse" variety like Home Despot.
• The Canadian Tire family have appeared, for the last couple of years, on Canadian Tire commercials. The jist goes like this: husband or wife notices neighbour trying to build or repair something and they pull out the handy, new gadget from Canadian Tire that will make their lives ever so much easier. The commercial generally ends with "Now, that's different.".
• The National Post is the most recent of the national Canadian newspapers: it was deliberately created to espouse right-wing ideas. It was a Conrad Black paper. Ah, Conrad, where is he now... oh yeah.
• Angus McTyre is the cartoon scotsman who appears on "Canadian Tire money", money-like coupons that you get when you buy things at Canadian Tire.

Comments

[djehutydjesi.livejournal.com]

I remember when Bea Arthur used to shill for them. Perhaps she was a bit too butch for them ;>

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Angus McTyre? That's a great name for him.

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

I kinda thought that was his official name, but Googling has turned up nothing. Maybe I'm wrong.

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

Sandy McTire.

[futabachan.livejournal.com]

I pity the poor soul in Moncton whose ATM withdrawal was dispensed in Canadian Tire money.

[northbard.livejournal.com]

I always find the ads ominous...they all end with that weird jingle "I'll start with you..."

particularly disturbing when there are power tools involved in the ad.

[boywhocantsayno.livejournal.com]

The panel at TT came about because someone - I think it was ozreison - made an offhand comment about the Canadian Tire couple during a Programming Department meeting. Someone carried on the conversation, and it somehow got into the question of whether slash fic exists involving the husband and his neighbour. Someone jokingly suggested that it would make a fun panel at the con, and I duly entered into the database that night and had it uploaded to the website. The next thing we knew, we had a full slate of panelists. Which we did not have for the planned panel on the show "The Collector," so that panel didn't take place.

Ironic that a panel on a series of TV commercials with no real fannish or genre angles should run while one on a legitimate genre show had to be canned due to lack of interest.

How many kids do they have anyway?

[(Anonymous)]

It seems that their only daughter as shown in the pic spread in Macleans was relegated to the Great Big Canadian Tire Garage Sale at the lake. Hide nor hair of her has been seen since.