From the mouth of someone older, the words may have sounded too authoritative. From a middle-aged person, too political.
Instead, those behind The Globe and Mail's newest ad campaign felt the message of what makes Canada "Canada" should come from a young person. And that person is 14-year-old Christa Brown from Richmond, B.C.
In the two television and cinema ads, part of The Globe's "Our Time To Lead" campaign for the redesign of the newspaper, Ms. Brown rides her bike in a park and takes a night stroll. She explains to the camera that Canada isn't about hockey, universal health care or some other obvious touchstone. It's about the promise of the future, about reaching for things not yet within our grasp, but "beyond it." Developed by the advertising firm Naked Creative in Toronto, the tone of ads is considered and inspirational, rather than ranting like Molson's famous Joe Canadian beer ad a decade ago.
Ms. Brown was perfect for the Toronto-shot spots, says Roger Dunbar, The Globe's vice president of marketing and business development.
"She did such an awesome job. She blew us all away," he said. "We felt getting a younger woman to say the words would project a certain amount of innocence, or at least not be politicized. It would be taken and accepted a little more readily, and I think it worked."
Being 14, Ms. Brown is not sure she even remembers those old Molson ads. This is also her first professional acting job.
"I remember getting the script for the first time, and I've never seen a commercial that has that feel to it. And I just thought it had a really great message. It's something I can definitely relate to. I could imagine myself saying that to someone else," she said.