'Extremely generous': Viral social media post gets Winnipeg man free wings for a year
Winnipegger Howie Prociuk was on a father/son trip south of the border to see the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis last month, when a funny thought occurred to him.
"We're at the hotel in Minneapolis on Friday before the game and I go to my son 'Let's do something crazy on our sign that will maybe get us on (television)," said Prociuk.
He wrote, "My wife thinks I'm watching the game at Smitty's in Winnipeg … let's go Jays!" in thick black marker on a piece of white poster board, and the two headed off to the game.
Prociuk was successful in getting his sign televised Friday night. Back in Winnipeg, Smitty's marketing director Jessica McGregor was going about her evening when she was sent a photo of Prociuk and his sign.
"Our owners got a text message from one of their friends who happened to be watching the Jays game saying 'did you see this?'" said McGregor.
She posted the photo to the Smitty's Facebook page in an effort to find out who Prociuk was, and to reward him for his loyalty.
"I immediately took it to social media, and from there is kind of just spiraled …we kind of exploded overnight in terms of how viral we went in Winnipeg, which was very exciting for us," McGregor said.
She said Prociuk had no idea it was happening because he's not on social media.
"He said he didn’t find out about it until he crossed the border and his phone blew up with people trying to get a hold of him so we could get a hold of him," said McGregor.
"My phone, it was like sitting next to R2-D2, it went bonkers. People I haven’t heard from in years contacting me," Prociuk said.
In thanks for the cross-border shout-out, Smitty's gave Prociuk free wings for a year from any location in Winnipeg, along with some promotional gifts from local breweries.
"Smitty's was extremely generous and gave me a little bit of swag for my wife and myself, and then they gave me a coupon for chicken wings for a year," Prociuk said.
"We'll definitely be enjoying the wings!"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Courteney Cox says her partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in therapy
Courteney Cox's longtime partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in a therapy session.