Tourism Montreal unveiled a new music video this week that it hopes will convince tourists to rekindle their love for the city of Montreal in winter.
The syrupy love ballad is complete with a music video that features a singer in a satin smoking jacket asking Quebecers from across the province to return to Montreal and to renew their love for the metropolis.
Singer Mathieu Samson never actually utters the word "Montreal" during his ballad but he does don a toque to fly around the city sprinkling pixie dust, and grows to the size of a giant to stride around the ferris wheel in Old Montreal or to lounge atop the Olympic Stadium munching on a bagel.
The ad was broadcast this past weekend during a special edition of a singing competition called "La Fureur" before being streamed online.
It was immediately denounced by people online wondering what they had just seen, and was the video supposed to be that cheesy.
Even Mayor Valerie Plante was surprised.
"I saw it like everybody else and I was like 'Huh. Okay, that's interesting.' It's kind of like very different than we're used to," said Plante.
She added that she trusted Tourism Montreal -- which is an independent organization -- to generate interest in the city.
"Definitely that's the case. People are talking about that ad," said Plante.
Coming up with the concept for the song and video, producing it, and paying for airtime cost the agency about $400,000.
