If you are anything like me, Tim Hortons’ commercials (like the one above) make you well up. This is understandable especially because this one is based on a true story. However, after reading The Globe And Mail article “Tim Hortons ad not quite ‘based on a true story” I found out the true facts: the commercial was staged with paid actors and actresses. The commercial was not actually based on a true story but rather fabricated from a story of getting Tim Horton’s coffee before going to the airport.

Is this not false advertising? Where is the line that separates fraudulent marketing and strategic marketing? Knowing this fact agitates me because I think of those people who speculated about the family, wondering where they came from and where they currently are. Furthermore, every subsequent Tim Hortons’ commercial I see, I will be thinking of how the commercial is actually distorted from the truth. Consequently I will be less likely to get as emotional attached to the story, similar to many people who know the truth.

Overall, misleading the audience by displaying “Based on a True Story” may, in return, actually of hurt Tim Hortons through the bad media surrounding the issue.