Sugar Sammy's English ads did break OQLF signage rules

Montreal comedian Sugar Sammy asked for and received a language complaint for his latest advertising campaign, but was it all a crock?

The short answer is no, but it certainly was designed to stoke the fiery flames of language debate in Quebec.

Advertising firm Sid Lee took credit for the comedian's billboards put up late November goading people into filing complaints with the Office qubcois de la langue franaise.

Some Montrealers pointed to an OQLF rule that indicates that a cultural or educational activity (like a comedy show) can promote itself in a language other than French if that activity is only in that language.

So, for example, if a play is exclusively presented in English, it can advertise in English.

Sugar Sammy's team placed a dozen or so ads in the Montreal Metro the week of Nov. 17, one of them provoking people with a message that says, "For Christmas, I'd like a complaint from the Office de la langue franaise."

And he got one. Two days after the ad went up, black bars appeared over the English portions of the ads.

Ads really did break the rules

Some said the ad campaign was based on a false premise that it was a clever marketing ploy meant to intentionally provoke language complaints while actually operating within the OQLF's rules.

However, according to OQLF spokesman Jean-Pierre Leblanc, the fact that Sugar Sammy performs in both English and French, as well as Hindi and Punjabi, means his English ads really didn't conform to theguidelines laid out by the province's language watchdog.

Taking a closer look at Sugar Sammy's tour schedule available on his website, it seems he doesn't deliver exclusively English performances at all. In fact, the language categories for his shows areEnglish and French, French and Other.

His next six shows will be exclusively in Frenchaccording to his schedule, as well.

Leblanc of the OQLF said that Sugar Sammy has since corrected all his ads, but would not comment on the number of complaints or theresults of their investigation.