An ad for Budweiser -- the sponsor of the weekly "HNIC" segment Coach's Corner since '13 -- made its debut this weekend as host Ron MacLean finished his address, but it was "not the usual upbeat Pavlovian thirst spot," according to Simon Houpt of the GLOBE & MAIL. The spot was 1 minute and 45 seconds, and "featured celebrities" such as comedian Gerry Dee, longtime hockey broadcaster Bob Cole, Gold Medal-winning Canadian women's hockey player Cassie Campbell, a "clutch of Sportsnet personalities, and a number of current women hockey players singing the Stompin' Tom Connors classic 'The Hockey Song.'" Halfway through the spot, the "pace of their singing slows and the mood turns grim, as headlines about last year's collapse" of the CWHL "appear on a black screen." As a voiceover by former CWHL player Brianne Jenner "explains that Budweiser 'has committed to sponsor the women's game,' other players continue singing the song." However, the version of the ad which viewers saw on Saturday night was "not the one that debuted online on Nov. 7" -- when Labatt announced the campaign -- as the "original version included three clips" of MacLean and recently fired Coach's Corner co-host Don Cherry. The pair were "excised from the spot" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/17).
