The Maple Leafs' "Stand Witness" marketing campaign celebrating their 100th anniversary is a "much more cerebral presentation than the wildly successful and aggressively patriotic, We The North campaign MLSE launched" for the Raptors two years ago, according to James Mirtle of the GLOBE & MAIL. MLSE VP/Marketing & Communications Shannon Hosford said, “What we tried to do in this spot is really look at the last 100 years and be authentic about it. So there’s some celebration spots in there, but then, because there were some years that were tough on Leafs Nation, we just want to acknowledge that. We tried to do that.” Mirtle noted one ad features a TV "going out the window." In the ad, the set that "hurtles through glass toward the pavement below is cleverly broadcasting a game where beloved former Leafs captain Darryl Sittler" is in a Flyers uniform, one "particularly ugly reminder of the franchise’s mismanagement during the 1980s under owner Harold Ballard." The ad ends with a "series of snapshots from the current Leafs team, including coach Mike Babcock." Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan was "closely involved with the Stand Witness project, as was the case with the team’s new logo, approving the idea of a sombre reflection on the franchise’s past with a nod to the future" (GLOBE & MAIL, 10/15).
HONOR CODE: In Toronto, Mark Zwolinski noted the Maple Leafs on Saturday "retired their former 'honoured' numbers in an emotional ceremony prior to the team's home opener" against the Bruins, marking a "'change of philosophy' as the franchise began its 100th season." The 13 numbers, representing 19 players, included the No. 14 of Hockey HOFer Dave Keon, who was "named the franchise's top player of all time a day earlier." All of the players or their survivor attended and "stood in a ring at centre ice" (TORONTO STAR, 10/16). Also in Toronto, Dave Feschuk noted Keon had been "estranged from the franchise and an outspoken critic of its number-honouring policy." The "surprise announcement" by Shanahan "amounted to a seismic moment in franchise history that removed a stain of the past" (TORONTO STAR, 10/16).
