In the first moments of the fifth episode, Rose Landry, a character played by Quebec actress Sophie Nélisse, appears wearing a t-shirt bearing the image of St-Viateur Bagel.
This scene, which lasts less than a minute, had positive repercussions on the Montreal institution which has been producing its famous bagels since 1957. Online orders “exploded” during the weeks following the release of this episode, on December 12, reports the company’s marketing director, Benjamin Choquette.
“Sales of merchandise, especially the t-shirt with the logo, have almost tripled,” he said in an interview. Orders for bagels, to a lesser extent, have also increased, he says.
Sales were mainly concentrated in Quebec and Ontario. Demand for the t-shirt has also been seen in other provinces, such as British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
The Montreal institution sent a few packages to Europe. And a certain boom was observed in the United States, where the series also enjoyed great success.
The Mont-Royal Avenue branch, where Mr. Choquette works, went from around a hundred orders to around 200 to 300 during the two weeks after the episode was released.
The marketing director notes that many customers in stores no longer limit their purchases to bagels.
“Since we display the logo with the t-shirts in all our stores, they recognize it immediately and they tell us they saw it in the series. So they leave with one more memory.”
The popularity of its promotional item took the St-Viateur Bagel team by surprise. The company knew that the production of “Passionate Rivalry” would use its famous t-shirt. However, the bakery was far from suspecting that it would benefit from such promotion.
“It’s really a scene where there’s no one else on screen except the actress with our logo. It took us a little by surprise,” says Mr. Choquette.
“Seeing the online sales, that’s when we realized that, even in our stores, we are also going to have more traffic because our online orders were coming in really quickly,” he adds.
The manager begins to notice a return to normal in merchandise sales. At the time of the interview on Wednesday, the management of St-Viateur said they were hoping for a visit from Sophie Nélisse to conclude “this chapter”.
Effects on the tourism industry?
Tourisme Montréal also observes an interest among fans of the gay romantic series for the Quebec metropolis.
“For the moment, we see that there is visible enthusiasm on social networks. There is an increase in videos from people who say they want to come to Montreal following the series,” explains the organization’s spokesperson, Aurélie de Blois.
“Some even already film themselves in Montreal and clearly claim to be there thanks to the series. These are signs that are revealing,” she continues.
Although the series was filmed in Ontario, part of the story between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two rival hockey players turned lovers, takes place in Montreal. They are the respective captains of the fictional teams, the Montreal Metros and the Boston Raiders.
The television work of Montreal director and screenwriter Jacob Tierney shows only one real image of the city. The fourth episode presents, for a few seconds, a view from the air of Parc Jean-Drapeau and the Biosphere.
Even if Montreal is not its main character, as the French capital can be in Emily in Paristhe Canadian series from the Crave platform contributes to strengthening the image of the city, believes Ms. de Blois.
Passionate rivalry depicts Montreal “as a vibrant, intense and inclusive city.” Certain scenes reflect the urban atmosphere of the city well, notes Ms. de Blois.
Heated Rivalry “is not going to fill planes to Montreal alone, but it clearly contributes to nourishing the imagination around Montreal,” she adds, adding that the tourist impact of the series will be measured over time.
Montreal’s DNA
Marketing professor Marc-Antoine Vachon, holder of the Transat Chair of Tourism at the University of Quebec in Montreal, agrees.
The series manages to resonate with the DNA of Montreal. Which can explain the enthusiasm for the city without having actually seen it, he suggests.
“We are talking about a century-old sport for which we are very passionate, and no one can deny that. (…) It is also a celebration of love in all its diversity. And on this point, we were bold in Montreal. We are not being fair in the speech. We have done things at the legal level to affirm our openness,” maintains Mr. Vachon.
“We don’t need to see buildings, landscapes. It goes into the territorial framework, into the story of who we are. (…) It’s realistic and that’s what we call in tourism, authenticity. It’s so much in the DNA of Montreal that we believe in it, and that’s what makes an authentic story,” he says.
To find out if the Montreal tourism industry should ride on this craze created by the series, Mr. Vachon recommends going about it in an “elegant” and “delicate” way.
“We must not fall into commercial recovery. At that point, we somewhat kill the concept of authenticity, he argues. People who want to come and see the highlights of the series are not expected to be disappointed.”
According to him, “Montreal can speak a lot about itself” and counts on several attractions.
