CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - July 20, 2010) -
Attn: Lifestyle, Weather and Food Editors
According to an Angus Reid Public Opinion survey released today, more than eight in 10 Canadians report that summer weather has a strong or moderate impact on their mood with a large majority indicating their "perfect summer day" includes outdoor activities that pair best with warm, sunny weather. The recent poll conducted by Angus Reid Strategies on behalf of Marble Slab Creamery®, purveyors of super premium ice cream, investigated how Canadian attitudes and behaviors are dictated by summer weather. These fresh new insights gathered on July 12, at the height of National Ice Cream Month, could shed light on Canadian perspectives as summer 2010 unfolds.
An overwhelming majority of Canadians are banking on hot, sunny weather this summer, with 82 per cent citing its importance to enjoying the season and three quarters (76%) indicated that weather forecast is an important factor when planning their summer activities.
But, weather influences more than just summer plans. In fact, most Canadians (83%) say that the weather has a strong or moderate impact on their mood during the summer.
"At Marble Slab Creamery we know that summer is precious and with weather being so unpredictable, we want Canadians to know that ice cream will always be one part of summer they can count on," said Cam Inglis, President, Marble Slab Creamery Canada. "To help keep spirits high even if the sun doesn't shine, Marble Slab Creamery is donating $1 from every ice cream cone sold on Saturday July 24th to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Canada. So, we'll still be able to bring out some of the magic of summer."
When asked how they feel after a summer with poor weather conditions, more than one third of Canadians (33%) said they feel robbed, like summer never happened. This number is significantly higher in the Prairies and Alberta where almost half of respondents (48% and 42% respectively), feel robbed after a cool, wet summer.
Prairie province residents are also least likely (33%) to accept cooler, wet summer weather, while half of Canadians nationally (50%) said that they realize weather is beyond their control. Nationally, women are more likely (30%) than men (22%) to feel sad to say good-bye to summer when the time comes.
Environment Canada and the 2010 Almanac predicted higher than normal temperatures in many parts of Canada this summer. For Ontarians, July has provided hot and humid conditions while Western Canada and the Prairie and Atlantic provinces have had a slower start to the season with temperatures in the low to mid-twenties.
An Ideal Summer Day for Canadians
Regardless of the weather reality, Canadians have a distinct view on what an ideal summer day would look like. Not surprisingly, it includes a variety of outdoor activities suited to warm, sunny weather. Almost three quarters (72%) would plan a barbecue, 61 per cent would go for a swim and 60 per cent would play outdoors.
With almost half of Canadians (47%) including ice cream in their vision of an ideal summer day, Marble Slab Creamery is encouraging Canadians to celebrate National Ice Cream Month this July with or without summer weather on their side.
"When Canadians think of summer, they often think of ice cream," said Inglis. "With this new research about how important good weather is to Canadians, we realized that regardless if it's sunny and hot or cool and wet, we want Canadians to know that Marble Slab Creamery will be one element of summer that they can always rely on."
Often, ice cream and the weather go hand-in-hand, with the majority of Canadians (62%) saying they would eat it on a warm, sunny afternoon at the park. But even if the weather doesn't co-operate, two thirds (68%) cited ice cream as their summer dessert choice. More than half (51%) of 18 to 34 year-olds indicated that they would enjoy ice cream on a date to their local creamery.
And, how do Canadians cope with a dripping ice cream cone when the sun is blazing? More than two thirds (69%) are eager to lick the cone before the ice cream drips off.
Cones for Kids at Marble Slab: July 23rd to August 8th
To encourage Canadians to strive for their ideal summer day even if the weather doesn't co-operate, Marble Slab Creamery is providing another way to keep spirits high and a great new reason to go for a cone. On Saturday, July 24th, Marble Slab Creamery stores nationwide will donate $1 from each cone to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Canada.
Additionally, Marble Slab Creamery stores will be selling paper cones for $1 each that will be displayed in store to benefit the charitable organization from July 23rd to August 8th. An ardent supporter of Big Brothers, Big Sisters for four years, Marble Slab Creamery hopes to raise $20,000 by the end of the promotion.
New for the summer, Marble Slab Creamery is introducing two flavours that have inspired new signature tasty creations.
Green Tea: One part Zen, one part sweet. It's a cool, creamy and delicious new flavour that inspired the Zen-Sation tasty creation - Green Tea with coconut and almonds.
Orange Dream: Sweet dreams are made of this super premium ice cream blended with just the right amount of citrus tang for a creamy, sweet treat. This new offering is featured in the Orange is the New Black tasty creation - Orange Dream with Oreo, chocolate chip and fudge.
About Marble Slab Creamery® -- The freshest ice cream on earth.
Marble Slab Creamery was the first to introduce the "frozen slab" ice cream technique and experience to Canada with the opening of its first store in Calgary, Alberta in 2003, and has since grown to include 73 locations across the country.
With a chef-driven vision, Marble Slab Creamery makes its ice cream in-house daily, with no additives or preservatives and offers a total of 48 distinctive flavours. Recognized by the Canadian Dairy Farmer's Association, Marble Slab uses 100% Canadian Dairy cream rated super premium, with 14% butter fat. Innovators of the mixins concept, Marble Slab Creamery offers more than 35 choices, such as candy, chocolate, fruit, nuts, cookie dough, that are folded in to ice cream on the iconic frozen slab, which is kept at between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius.
Marble Slab isn't just dessert. It's the world's freshest ice cream, made to order. For more information visit www.marbleslab.ca.
Methodology: From July 9 to July 12, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,010 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.