By Jamie Bradburn

Source: Monthly Detroit, July 1985.

Last year, we featured the television spots used during the latter half of the 1980s to encourage tourists to come to Toronto and “Discover the Feeling!” Today’s ad is an early print version of the campaign used to lure travellers from Motown into driving east on Highway 401. After a year of development by Camp Associates, the new tourism slogan was unveiled in 1984 as a replacement for “Toronto…Affectionately Yours,” which had been used since 1972. Early reaction to the new slogan was summed up by Star columnist George Gamester: “’Discover the Feeling!’ doesn’t sound like much for $50,000. But then ‘I Love New York’ probably didn’t sound earth-shattering when first proposed, either.”
While people on the street seemed to be happy with the new slogan, describing it as “catchy,” “neat,” and “memorable,” a vocal group from Metro Toronto Council wasn’t. Suburban politicians grumbled that “Metropolitan Toronto” was mentioned in small print and that municipalities like Etobicoke and North York were ignored in favour of the core city. Public representatives with wounded egos made the media know that they were mad as hell that the word “Metro” wasn’t included in the new slogan, even though Camp Associates had discovered that its inclusion confused test audiences outside of the region. According to North York Alderman Betty Sutherland, “If we’re paying for this, I think it should be geared towards Metro Toronto…If you’re coming to visit you’re coming to see more than downtown.” In his characteristically understated style, North York Mayor Mel Lastman claimed that “I never felt more insulted in my life.” He felt the slogan didn’t paint a positive image like Buffalo’s “Talking Proud,” but told visitors to “take a gamble and come to Toronto to see if it’s still a dull city.” Lastman wasn’t crazy about the new logo either, noting that if it appeared on television, it wouldn’t prevent viewers “from going to the bathroom.”
Along with Etobicoke Controller Chris Stockwell (who noted, “I’ve seen better slogans on a used car lot”) and Scarborough Alderman Kurt Christensen, Lastman urged Metro Council to reject the slogan. Among the suggested alternatives were “Metro: Experience the Magic” (suggested by Stockwell) and “You Ought to See Us Now” (rejected by Camp Associates, favoured by Metro Chairman Paul Godfrey). After three hours of debate at the October 23, 1984 meeting of Metro Council, “Toronto—Discover the Feeling!” was approved by a twenty-two to ten vote. Bad feelings lingered on—Christensen failed in attempts to reopen the issue, while Stockwell was irate when only two out of twenty-two pictures in a new tourist brochure showed suburban sites (the Zoo and the Science Centre).
The slogan remained in use for the rest of the decade. Its replacement, “Couldn’t you use a little Toronto?,” was also greeted with underwhelming enthusiasm by Metro Council’s executive committee when it was rolled out in 1989, with Metro Councillor Howard Moscoe proving to be the only member to openly defend the new slogan and its starlit skyline logo.
Additional material from the June 9, 1984, August 25, 1984, and October 24, 1984 editions of the Globe and Mail; and the March 1, 1984, June 9, 1984, October 20, 1984, October 23, 1984, January 1, 1985, and May 3, 1989 editions of the Toronto Star.