Advertisements During Grey Cup Week in 1996

It’s been thirty years since I attended my first Grey Cup. In 1996, the City of Hamilton welcomed Canadian football fans from across the country (and beyond) to what was billed as the “Showdown in Steeltown.”

I thought it would be fun to share some of the great (and not so great) advertisements that ran in the Hamilton Spectator in the days leading up to the big game. Enjoy.

Zarky’s Fine Foods was your go-to “Grey Cup Food Centre.” Check out those prices from 1996.

The contrast is horrible on this ad for the Roarrr Store, but their retail locations were the place to go to land some official Grey Cup merchandise. The Roarrr Store was the official retail store of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. I got many a t-shirt and sweatshirt from here.

Here’s an ad for Neon Products, who specialized in signs and advertising. They may have provided the various banners seen around town during Grey Cup week.

Who remembers Grand & Toy? They ran a Grey Cup draw where you could win four tickets to the game. I presume listing your home fax was optional.

Hutch’s, a Hamilton staple, offered a $2.29 Grey Cup breakfast special at their Stoney Creek location. Now, that’s a smoking deal.

As part of Grey Cup week, radio stations Y95, 900 CHML and and 820 CHAM, and the Hamilton Spectator presented the Chrysler Grey Cup Concert series at Copps Coliseum. I didn’t go to any of these, but my sister still brags that she went to the November 21st show featuring the Crash Test Dummies.

There was something for everybody during Grey Cup week. You could even check out “Canada’s Hottest Duo” at Chez “M”, Hamilton’s premier exotic adult entertainment establishment.

You could win a Motorola StarTac “the phone you could wear” at Bell Mobility’s tailgate party giveaway on the day of the game.

Well, there you have it. As a marketer by trade, I always enjoy looking at vintage (if you can the 1990s vintage) advertising. There was some real hype around the 1996 Grey Cup in Hamilton. A lot of local companies wanted in on it.