— Feature, Musings —10.28.2025 09:46 AM
Why Doug Ford’s anti-Trump ad worked, big time
Doug Ford clearly subscribes to Adlai Stevenson’s maxim: “If they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them.”
It’s unlikely Ontario’s Premier and one-time U.S. Presidential nominee ever met: Stevenson slipped the mortal coil when Ford was still in nappies, somewhere in deepest Etobicoke. But has Ford ever had a late-night encounter with the waifish ghost of Stevenson in the stately halls of Queen’s Park? Likely. Almost certain.
Ford’s ad featuring Ronald Reagan tilting against tariffs, in his modulated, resonate baritone, is straight out of the Adlai Stevenson ad playbook: it tells the truth, and nothing but the truth, and it works.
Ford scrummed about it the other day, and he told my colleague Brian Lilley his 60-second spot was “the most successful ad in the history of North America.” That may be a bit of an overstatement, but not by much. The resulting Lilley-Ford exchange is one for the ages, like Ali-Holmes, but with less bloodshed.
“If this is the most successful ad in North American history, what does failure look like?” a bemused Lilley hollered at Ford after Question Period.
“I’ll tell you, Brian, that we had over a billion impressions around the world, and what we did, we generated a conversation that wasn’t happening in the U.S.,” Ford said, without breaking stride.
“Now, every single local media, every large media, medium-sized media, in the U.S. is talking about it. So is every governor, senator and congressman and woman, not only nationally, but statewide. And the message was very clear, protectionism does not work.”
Not everyone agreed. Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser, now in contention for the Stupidest Political Critique of 2025, said Ford concocted the now-legendary ad to “make him look good,” and that it was “doing damage.”
But that’s the point of political advertising, Johnny: to do damage. Trust me on this – I’ve actually written a book about political advertising (The War Room, now in its third printing and helpfully available at all fine booksellers near you, etc. Remember Christmas/Hanukkah is coming, folks.).
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Warren,
Now, Ford needs to go nuclear and cut off electricity exports to the neighbouring American states. That’s the next step in a winner’s playbook. Legault should do the same. Unfortunately, the Trump boot licker will not do the same with oil and gas.
Ronald,
Trump absorbed a sharp jab to the snout, and he didn’t like it.
If only others, around the world, would do the same.
Put him on his heels, and he doesn’t respond well.
If only folks would take heed.
That would require a spine; few have it
That’s true but it has to be coordinated – and it isn’t
Very few people have ever deliberately got their boss fired through a hard nosed PR campaign. I am one of those people.
In my experience, they key was to carefully force my boss into untenable positions that she had to defend in public…. and she couldn’t.
Doug Ford is using similar tactics with Trump and I love every moment of it.
“If your enemy is of choleric temper…. irritate him”. – Sun Tzu
Sean,
Bingo! Freeland got under POS’s skin like no one else in the Canadian delegation. That’s precisely why she should have been the lead. It would have moved one hell of a lot faster with her managing the negotiations. WordSaladTM is such a rank amateur and it really shows…
Ronald,
Carney reportedly has apologized to Trump for the ad.
Can our PM look any weaker?
Someone should tell Ford.
Martin,
Ford makes us proud to be Canadian. The other guy, not at all. Enough said.
Douglas,
What is he going to do next? Resign as PM so he can take a more important job: wiping Trump’s ass every time that POS takes a shit? This is disgraceful. This guy hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing. It’s improvisation that never works all the way. We need to get rid of these bozos. Even Pierre would make a better leader than this goof. Carney just keeps humiliating us and never brings home a god-damned thing…
Ronald,
Massive LOL when I read: Even Pierre would make a better leader than this goof. Carney just keeps humiliating us and never brings home a god-damned thing…
Your last two sentences are ones for the ages.
Bravo
Douglas,
Thanks. Carney should already be scared of what historians will say: how about that Canada’s economy was given away on Carney’s watch?
The problem, unfortunately, is the passage of time and the general historical and policy ignorance of people. Those of us who were alive when Reagan was President and politically aware/active know that Reagan was in general a very committed free-trader and of course oversaw the implementation of the original Canada-US Free Trade Agreement.
The problem is that that stuff occurred over 35 years ago. A lot of people today weren’t even alive or politically sentient then. So it’s easy for dishonest scum like Trump and his enablers to lie to their gullible, pliable supporters and claim that Reagan wasn’t a free-trade advocate. All made worse by the ideological information silos that people inhabit these days.
Doc,
And how did POS get to the Reagan Foundation and Institute?
Well, that’s also indicative of another pathology that has happened under Trump and Trumpism — i.e., the utter debasement of previously respectable American conservative organizations. It’s a long list and gets longer every day.
Wasn’t Adlai Stevenson a two-time U.S. Presidential nominee (1952 & 1956)?
He didn’t fare well against Ike
No, and I remember my parents telling me that a big political liability of Stevenson’s at the time was that he was divorced. Different times.
Doc,
What is it? Forty-eight percent of Canadian marriages end in divorce and easily another third don’t, but wish in their heart of hearts that they could? So much for so-called family values. Live as a couple only for the mighty $$$$$$ and be prepared to be thoroughly miserable for the rest of your days.
I’m not sure that Canadians who are struggling are convinced the ad worked. I want to know why it cost 75 million. Where did the money go?
The US networks. They charge by the second and are free to charge whatever they like.
Very expensive ad space – not the Super Bowl, but maybe the next best thing.
At some point in the not too far future Trump and his family will all leave Washington in handcuffs. Everyone knows that.
Doug Ford may have played a small role in moving that inevitable reality along. Therefore worth every dollar.
Lets see more of this.
Sean,
If Vance wins, we can forget about that. I will believe that when I see it. ShowboaterWith HighestStateTaxesTM has no chance of winning if he becomes the Democratic nominee. Better look somewhere else than TaxandSpendTM Newsom. Dems will get obliterated if he is the nominee. It won’t be pretty.
Ezra Klein interviewed this woman who has authored a book, full of new research, on the decimation of the Democratic party in rural areas of the US. It is depressing to listen to.
I makes my blood boil, just how politically incompetent the US Democratic Party has become. Unable to read a room. Unable to drop policies that are clearly unpopular. Unable to come up with leaders with true national appeal. And so on
Doc,
Yup, agree with you regarding Senate and House races, not to mention state legislatures but I give them a bit more of the benefit of the doubt at the presidential level. After all, if accurate, Harris allegedly lost the popular vote by only two percent. Hope that’s accurate.
They have become the party of the rich who have been educated at a bunch of out of touch institutions(kind of like Carney). And ust like the Liberals up here. From your favourite writer:
“I almost died laughing when I read that Graham Platner, the “progressive warrior poet” running for Senate in Maine, went to school at Hotchkiss, one of a handful of prep schools in the Northeast more precious and exclusive than my own Concord Academy. The original comic appeal of the Platner story was in watching the legacy press mouthpieces who denounced Pete Hegseth’s “Crusader Cross” pec-tattoo rally to the defense of Platner’s Nazi Death’s Head tat, which he got in Split, Croatia, while he was so wasted. That’s been hilarious, but the Free Beacon story about the “warrior poet” with accidental Nazi ink who went to a $75,000 high school describes a political scam of chef’s kiss perfection.
He fooled even me, and I basically am Graham Platner: a northeasterner of means who went to high school with sons and daughters of rock stars and CIA chiefs, but also has a few Oyster-shucking scars. It would never have occurred to me to market myself as “working class,” but Platner obviously doesn’t suffer pangs of conscience on that score, describing himself in a launch video as a “working-class Mainer” who can stand a post and chop his own goddamned firewood”
It may have worked but if Trump keeps the Dems out we maybe in for a wee bit of a bum reaming.
Most important thing about this ad…. It reminds Republicans how far offside Trumpism is with their own base… and tickles a permission structure to start thinking post Trump.