The Loon Dollar Monument in Echo Bay recently served as the backdrop for new promotional videos plugging fast-food chain A&W’s organic fair trade coffee.
Close to 80 people from Echo Bay and surrounding area came out for a free cup of java and to participate in the video shoot on Sept. 25, according to Township of MacDonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional Clerk Administrator Lynne Duguay.
“We didn’t put anything out there on our Facebook page or on our website until just a few days before, just because we wanted to make sure everything was confirmed and ready to roll and everything - and we didn’t want a whole line-up of traffic on [Highway] 17B,” said Duguay with a laugh. “When we did advertise it, it was advertised to come out and to get a free coffee and be part of the commercial.”
“They really wanted just everyday people.”
Independent creative agency Rethink Canada contacted the township about filming promotional videos at the Loon Dollar Monument as a tie-in to the fast-food chain's $1 organic fair trade coffee promotion that’s in effect for the month of November.
After a day of filming in Echo Bay, Rethink Canada went through the footage to decide who they would contact in order to be part of the commercial.
“We didn’t know who was going to be part of the commercial, basically, until it was posted,” Duguay said.
Locals also got to meet Allen Lulu, the actor who is prominently featured in A&W commercials.
“I didn’t have a conversation with Al, but everybody that did really enjoyed it,” said Duguay. “He was a very jolly, easygoing fella. Good sense of humour, easy to get along with.
“It sounded like it was a good experience for everybody.”
The promotional videos can be seen on the A&W YouTube channel and the township’s website.