Doug Ford and Ronald Reagan's Excellant AD-venture

Premier Doug Ford uses the words and voice of Ronald Reagan to refute tariffs!

In the fall of 2025, Doug Ford, Premier of Canada's largest province, Ontario, commissioned a television ad that used former Republican President Ronald Reagan's own words and voice taken from a 1987 broadcast to refute the validity of tariffs. See TV Ad. It ran for a week on US national news shows and sports broadcasts, including two World Series games between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The fallout was immediate. Donald Trump, in a temper tantrum, halted all trade talks with Canada and also imposed further tariffs. My post below outlines the upside—the unexpected public relations and earned media coverage the ad generated. 

Mark and Donald's SHOWDOWN in the OVAL OFFICE

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office

Late yesterday afternoon, I received a call from Digital Producer Tammy Ibrahimpoor at CTV News Toronto, asking me to analyze the body language of President Trump and Prime Minister Carney during their media conference in the Oval Office.

Click to read the CTV interview http://bit.ly/4h16U40.

The Time Is Now! Strengthen Your Brand with Easy-to-Use Tips

 

Fragile economies require extra effort to protect your brand. 

Written by Robyn T. Braley

Are you feeling the pressure of doing business in an uncertain world? Do you feel like your brand is under attack from overwhelming forces? 

You're not alone. As a leader, you must monitor global events that you can't control while attempting to predict their impact on your organization. 

• Tariffs
• Political turbulence
• Natural disasters
• Wars in faraway places

It's the Real Thing

While the tone of this post is positive, the reality is that for some organizations, the challenge ahead will be to survive. For others, the future may be bleak because access to your customer base has been cut off by tariffs. It takes time to pivot and develop a new customer base.

To be blunt, there are only so many things you can do because what you face is beyond your control. That doesn't mean you surrender. There are steps you can take to fight back against the odds.

Please read my previous post How To Find Certainty In Uncertain Times

I have found that energy creates energy. Just doing something – anything - can provide the place to start. If you're just starting out, you can build momentum on your path to growth. In other words, you begin climbing the mountain by taking the first step.