A new ad from Best Buy has touched a nerve among proud Canadians on social media.
The retailer altered its nationally distributed “Canada Day Sale” flyer for the Quebec market by changing “Canada Day” to “Moving Day.” While other brands, including IKEA, have earned positive reviews for playing up the province’s annual moving day (many apartment leases finish at the end of June), Best Buy is being criticized for focusing on the unofficial regional event rather than the national holiday.
The Quebec flyer is identical to the national version except for the Canada Day/Moving Day copy swap and a new featured photo – the picture of a woman holding a Canadian flag was exchanged for one of a couple unpacking moving boxes.
One angry Facebook commenter wrote “How dare Best Buy dishonour our country and our flag by calling Canada Day ‘Moving Day.'” Another wrote “I certainly hope you apologize for disrespecting Canada’s birthday.” Another simply said “YOU SUCK.”
As CBC reports, Danielle Jang, communications manager at Best Buy, said in a statement that “Like every year, we feel it is important to recognize the Moving Day holiday in Quebec because it is a significant day in this market and it’s the only place in Canada where this happens…We want to celebrate and recognize this as an important day.”
