[I don't even go to Timmy's on a regular basis]

I'm teaching on (junk) food tomorrow and, since we're talking about McDonanld's and the spread of Westernization/Americanization (things I am afraid to find out tomorrow: whether my students know when the Cold War ended), I thought I would see if there was anything in the Tim Hortons commercials that I could use to illustrate food branding and national identity or something. I have come out of my YouTubeing experiences with two realizations.

One: it's probably great anecdotal evidence, but I should not play in class anything that makes me actually tear up (not just the above video, but also this one and this one made me sniffly - I blame the fact that I'm coming down with a cold).

Two: there is totally an article in tracing the conception of Canadian culture over the years through Tim's commercials. I am particularly intrigued by the gender balance in the most recent ones, the positioning of immigrants, and the metatextual building of identity through referencing of existing stereotypes. This must have been done already, right?

Or do I just have fuzzy-brain from being sick? So tired, ugh.

(Ironically, the last time I was actually in a Tim Hortons was in America, while the last Tim's donut I ate was from London.)