This is another simple one: newpapers employ very few actual journalists anymore. Many, many of them are nothing more than glorified copy editors with the news sense of my Golden Retriever. It made the Star because some hack picked up the press release, wrote a bit of advertorial and the section editor had a hole to fill.

The Pig does it all the time, too.

I think the Tim Horton's phenomenon is more deliberate than that. Kudos to the marketing folk who have arguably been able to wrap the Tim Horton's experience into the genre of "what it means to be Canadian". By merging their corporate entity with kids hockey and now service to the troops, Tims has blurred the line between corporation and public institution.

Shame on the media and us for lapping it all up faster than an Iced Cap in July.

Personally I prefer the java at Country Style if a real cup of coffee cannot be had.

Yes, the Tim Horton's branding phenomenon is quite incredible. We all seem to have forgotten that we did not treat Tim's as a national institution even ten years ago. I recently talked with a friend who has returned to the country after living abroad for eight years and he was shocked at the presence of, and attitude toward, Tim Horton's as some kind of national icon. It was quite amazing actually to talk with someone who had not experienced the gradual re-education Tim's has worked on the country but instead has been thrust right into it.

It is very ironic that the "institutionalization" of Tim's coincides with their foreign ownership creep.

The "national icon" branding phenomena works if you don't happen to know any of the personalities at TDL Group head office in Oakville. One of my pals worked there for a few years and was lucky enough to live all of 10 minutes from the office. One of the senior brass was such a slave-driver that she would show up at his house to go over company business, even after he had called in sick and cancelled the day's appointments. How many people would enjoy a boss like that?

The same bright light also got into a car accident because she was focusing too intently on her BlackBerry and not on driving. She later attempted to veto expansion of their BB network on the grounds that the devices were inherently unsafe. They aren't, of course -- unless you are busy messaging when you ought to be focusing on driving.

The branding is one thing, the brains behind it are another matter entirely.

Egad! Using the TDL acronym instead of "timmies" - implying unwholesome management in the fritter mix!

The new Canadian heresy.