The Canadian Tire Guy is gone. Canadian Tire has dropped him their campaigns. According to the Globe, the Canadian Tire Guy — Ted — and his wife — Gloria — will no longer show up in ads. Am I the only one who didn’t know these characters had names?

As regular readers know, I’ve written about the Canadian Tire Guy’s secret life, tendency to annoy me, and role as an irritating Canadian. In fact, “Canadian Tire Guy” is one of the top searches that lands people on my site. Well, woe is me, the Canadian Tire Guy is no more. Canadian Tire says the ads were wearing on viewers.

But what became of Canadian Tire Guy and Gloria? I suspect it was their Canadian Tire addiction that led to their demise. I mean, how could any couple survive with those kinds of credit card bills? Not to mention that they never discussed purchases. Ted was always surprising Gloria with his latest tent, Mastercraft flashlight or generator. In turn, Gloria always had some Motomaster gadget hiding in a closet. Those sorts of secrets and financial pressures likely led to a divorce. Or maybe they simply disappeared after declaring bankruptcy. One has to wonder. Although Scrooge and Santa seem to work well together, it’s far more difficult when you both spend like Santa.

(c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.