Canada is more than a maple leaf and some beavers, say U.S. branding experts

Weary of beavers, maple syrup and Mounties, for Canada’s 145th birthday the U.S. public radio program Studio 360 decided to present Canada with a promotional “redesign.” The result, debuted over the weekend, was “Know Canada,” a campaign to “educate Americans” about the Great White North under a logo forged from the twin red bars of the Canadian flag.

“What’s nice about it is how simple it is, you don’t need a lot of backstory to get it,” said Hunter Tura, president of Bruce Mau Design, which drafted the campaign.