Brandit With Robyn: 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.

The Full Story

I love the ad. It's brilliant!

And, you know which one I mean. From this point forward, marketers will refer to 'The Ad' and industry people will know excatly which one they mean.

It's brilliant because it uses the words spoken by a revered usa President, RonaldReagan to refute the ideology of tariffs. Reagan called out, as no other American could, the veracity of Donald's big idea.

Trump called the ad fraudulent and wrong and claimed the former President loved tariffs. That Donald was lying was immediately evident. If Reagan loved tariffs, he wouldn't have played a key role in negotiating the North American Free Trade with Canada and Mexico in 1992.

Why the Ad Worked

An advertisement requires 4 things to be successful.

The right offer
The right creative
The right media
The right audience

In a retail setting, if you don't offer a product people want at a price they are willing to pay, your advertising campaign will not be successful. If you sell a lot of widgets, you have offered the right product at the right price. In a non-retail setting, measuring success is more complicated. In this case, Donald Trump got really mad, which told us he saw and understood the ad.

The creative was masterful. Using Ronald Reagan's voice to explain his personal view was genius. Using modern audio enhancement technology, it was processed to sound better than the original.

The visuals included clips of a cross-section of American people and industries suffering because of the tariffs. It showed clips of geography that viewers immediately recognized as their homeland. The judicious mix of the Stars and Stripes and the Maple Leaf stated the obvious. We're better together!

I've already noted the success of targeting Donald. All you needed to do was advertise on Fox News, NewsMax, and other conservative channels. That was followed by users sharing posts that tagged him on various social media platforms.

At the secondary level, advertising in Republican-held states reminds Republicans of Reagan's view, which was the opposite of Trump's stance. That was seen by millions of Trump supporters and planted seeds of doubt in their minds.

As for the audience, while the ad was seen by the target audience, many millions more saw it through earned media. Weirdly, the campaign also shone a light on Democrats who were called out by many Americans for not creating or running the ad themselves.

It's Great When it Works

DougFord spent $75 million of to message one person. Donald Trump!

And it worked. It worked so well, Donald ham-handedly cancelled all trade talks with Canada, then imposed higher tariffs.

Paid Advertising - The Beginning

The value of Doug's investment was tripled (perhaps more) when you multiply the value of earned media received.

Every news organization covered it. Then they replayed it hourly in each new show to provide context, helping their audiences understand the bluster of Trumpian experts trying to claim the ad was fake.

That drove millions of Americans to Google Reagan to find what he actually said. They discovered that the ad's content was 100% accurate. It was only edited for time.

The Story Had Legs

Then the conversation went viral across every social media platform. Late-night show hosts lampooned Trump's extreme reaction.

Undoubtedly, people talked about it at dinner parties, in coffee shops, or while watching the WorldSeries in local pubs.

That was a big problem for Trump. Calling the ad fake and accusing the Ontario Government of

Plagiarism only made Doug Ford look more credible by telling the truth about Reagan's free trade beliefs.

Now, you say, Doug Ford backed off under Trump's pressure and halted the campaign. Hello! Note: Ford pulled them on Monday (October 27th) after running them during the two ball games, which was watched by many millions worldwide.

Good move, Doug. A responsible move. Why spend all that taxpayer money when your audience is in ?

-RTBraley

P.S. One of the cool things about the was the friendship that developed between . Remember the duet of them singing '?' It seemed hokey at the time, but now not so much!

Wrapping it Up

Has this post helped you? Do you have any stories from your experience navigating difficult times? I'd love to hear from you. Please share in the comment section below.