Tim Hortons employees in Rimouski had a day they will never forget standing shoulder to shoulder with NHL stars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon during filming of a top secret commercial on Monday.
Tim Hortons co-owner Simon-Pierre Bouchard, who was present on location, explained that everything had been done in secret for the past few weeks.
A limited number of people had been informed of their presence. “We, we had to prepare our employees […] Our employees took on most of the roles as extras,” he says proudly.
In fact, the secret had been well-kept, with few curious people viewing the filming equipment from afar before the journal Le Soir published an article on the web.
A large security perimeter was set up around the restaurant to prevent fans of the former Rimouski Océanic star and Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup winner from entering the filming location. In addition, the dealership was closed all day.
Tasty anecdote
According to the information gathered, the advertisement, which is scheduled to air in the fall, will highlight an event that marked the passage of “Sid the Kid” in Rimouski.
The tasty anecdote dates back to 2005. While the team was playing in the QMJHL playoffs, fans lined up in front of the Colosseum and waited patiently in the rain to buy the precious tickets.
The adoptive son of the Rimouski people noticed the situation upon his arrival at the amphitheater and did neither one nor two. He returned to get coffee and donuts from Tim Hortons, which he himself served to his fans.
“That’s it, Sidney Crosby. The world sees the phenomenon on the ice. I had the chance to meet the extraordinary man who is not on the ice,” said Yannick Dumais, the assistant hockey operations manager responsible for the activities of the famous number 87 at the Oceanic.
A search warrant was also issued to find supporters who were present that day.
regulars
Over the years, several restaurant chain concepts have featured Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in advertisements to promote the release of hockey card collections.
In 2015, the two athletes surprised customers at a Tim Hortons in their native Nova Scotia as rookie drive-thru employees.
This time, it is the owners of the Rimouski dealership who will benefit from this national visibility.
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