Tim Hortons and Wayne Gretzky have partnered for a one-and-a-half minute spot called "The Autograph" that will "begin airing on TV right after Christmas," during the IIHF World Junior Championships, but is "available on Tim Hortons social media channels starting this week," according to Josh Rubin of the TORONTO STAR. When Gretzky was in Miami earlier this year to speak at a conference of Tim Hortons franchisees, company CMO Paloma Azulay "asked him about his favourite memories of the doughnut chain." Gretzky told the story of how his parents took him to a new local coffee shop in '68 when he was six to meet Tim Horton himself, then a star Maple Leafs defender who was "in the early days of launching the coffee and doughnut chain." Gretzky's mother, Phyllis, "grabbed a napkin and handed it" to Horton, who "promptly wrote a note wishing Gretzky luck, signing off with his autograph." Azulay "sensed an opportunity" and "asked Gretzky if he'd be interested in making an ad about the story." As part of the ad, there is a "shot of Gretzky sitting on his dad's couch, with the pair of them gazing fondly" at the napkin (TORONTO STAR, 12/12).
