Abstract

In 2017, Canada will celebrate 150 years of Confederation. Like the 1967 Centennial celebration, the upcoming commemoration can be viewed as a nation-building exercise and an opportunity to redefine or refine Canadian identity. At the centre of the commemoration will be the way the celebration is branded, and at the centre of the branding will be the logo. Within the last 50 years, nation branding has emerged as a prominent marketing phenomenon for both the private and public sectors in many countries across the world. Nation branding, as defined by Melissa Aronczyk in Branding the Nation, refers to the use of traditional advertisement techniques and strategies in making national culture into a marketable and monetizable entity. Using the Centennial and Sesquicentennial celebrations as case studies, I deconstruct the notion of “Canadian identity” as a brand, noting the cultural context, political mandate and constructed narratives surrounding the celebrations. A chapter on the Centennial celebration will consist of a Barthesian examination of 1967’s logo, speeches and celebratory events. The Sesquicentennial celebration chapter will focus on the themes and speeches of Canada 150, exploring the rhetorical and visual strategies used in service of governmental nation branding projects.