By John-Henry Westen
LAVAL, QC, May 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Mac’s Convenience Stores, the most popular convenience stores in Canada, with a strong presence in the United States as well, have launched what many are seeing as a highly offensive advertising campaign for their frosted carbonated drink – froster.
Posters seen in Mac’s store windows feature a nun kneeling with her arms raised and a sheep at her side. Above the nun, to which she looks adoringly, is a shining froster with the initials WTF below.
WTF is part of a family of Internet acronyms which have grown in popularity with the use of email and instant messaging. Dictionaries of such abbreviations such as https://www.netlingo.com define WTF as “What the Fu**”. However, store owners when confronted about the acronym have told customers that it is supposed to stand for “What the Flavour”.
That interpretation however is dubious since the small sized froster referred to as a WTF is accompanied by the medium sized OMGWTF, and the large-size RUNTSOMGWTF. According to NetLingo, OMG stands for “Oh My God” and RUNTS for “Are You Nuts”.
Mac’s convenience stores are owned by parent company Couche-Tard which is headquartered in Laval Quebec. The Couche-Tard chain has over 2,000 stores in Canada as well as a considerable presence in the U.S., with more than 3,000 additional stores. The U.S. stores are located in 28 states. The stores are primarily operated under the Couche-Tard® and Mac’s® trademarks in Canada and the Circle K® trademark in the U.S.
The polite alternate slogans are not convincing net-savvy teens who are coming into Mac’s stores glibly saying “What the Fu**” according to concerned parents who contacted LifeSiteNews.com. Store-managers are themselves frustrated by the ad campaign but have told patrons that they have no authority to ban the vulgar campaign and those concerned must contact Couche-Tard directly.
To express concerns contact:
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.
1600, St-Martin Blvd East
Tower B, # 200
Laval (Quebec) H7G 4S7
Tel : (450) 662-6632 or (800) 361-2612
Fax : (450) 662-6633
Customer service : (888) 999-9301
Customer service : [email protected]
Central Canada Division
Mac’s Convenience Stores Inc.
305 Milner Avenue, Suite 400, 4th floor
Toronto (Ontario) M1B 3V4
Tel : (800) 268-5574
Fax : (416) 291-4441
Customer service : (800) 424-2403
[email protected]