Loblaw calls for GTA songbirds
Originally published in Marketing Online Daily, February 23, 2007
By Matt Semansky

Loblaw Companies Ltd. has launched a new promotion giving young singers from the Greater Toronto Area the chance to belt out the national anthem at a Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors game.

The Real Canadian Anthem Search, which promotes Loblaw’s Real Canadian Superstore brand, invites choir groups from Grades 6 to 8 to audition in regional competitions on March 7 and 8. Eight choir groups will then be chosen to appear at the Air Canada Centre on March 26 to determine which group sings the national anthem at the Raptors’ April 13 home game.

The promotion also allows solo singers 13-19 to submit audition videos online or at select Ontario Loblaws Superstores until March 18, with eight entrants chosen for the March 26 finals at the ACC. The winner will sing the anthem at the Maple Leafs game on April 3.

Competitors will be judged by a panel that includes Canadian Idol winner Melissa O’Neil and former Rockstar: INXS contestant Tara Slone.

For Loblaw Companies, a corporate sponsor of the Maple Leafs and Raptors, the promotion—created by Toronto agency Trojan One—could be the beginning of an Idol-style series.

“We’re always looking for a way to break through the clutter and do things differently,” says Elizabeth Margles, vice president, public relations for Loblaw Companies Ltd. “TrojanOne brought us this idea and we looked at the popularity of Canadian Idol and our Canadian heritage and thought it was a great thing to do.

“We though we could pilot it in Ontario, and if it’s successful we could do it in other national markets.”