Chill, America — Canada’s just cooler

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This article was published 29/06/2012 (4873 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CANADA has a brand-new slogan, at least according to one American radio show — and for that, we can thank a clever Free Press copy editor.

On Wednesday, Free Press employee David Fuller learned he won a contest to come up with a new motto for Canada — with that caveat that it had to be six words or fewer. The contest was hosted by New York-based radio show Studio 360, co-production of New York’s WNYC radio station and Public Radio International.

The winning submission was “Canada: not just colder, cooler.”

The slogan’s sub-zero swagger won the approval of Studio 360‘s contest judges, beating out more than 700 other entries to snag the top prize.

“It’s because I’m a copy editor that I won this, I think,” Fuller said. “When you have to write snappy headlines and subheadlines every day for a living, six words is actually pretty long.”

The cross-border contest was launched a few weeks ago in conjunction with CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi, who ran a similar contest to come up with new slogans for the United States on his show, Q.

Studio 360 host Kurt Andersen called Fuller’s early entry “the one to beat” as the contest rolled on.

“We didn’t intend to pick a Canadian winner, and the vast majority of entrants were American,” Andersen said.

“But David’s was simply the best. It’s clever and irreverent and fresh and, thanks to a decade of Feist and Arcade Fire, puts Canada’s glamourous new best foot forward.”

Fuller won a trip for two to Washington, D.C., and bragging rights for life. A short interview with him will be aired on Public Radio International in the U.S. this weekend, to tie in with Canada Day.

When it airs, Fuller hopes the snappy slogan will bring a little Manitoban moxie to American stereotypes about the Great White North. “I get tired of Americans thinking Canada is just a nice place full of nice people,” Fuller said. “That sounds really dull. For a long time, Canada has come up with the coolest stuff, such as The Weakerthans, the Kids in the Hall and David Suzuki, and we keep quiet about it.

“The weather is cold,” he added. “Deal with it, world.”