Fake election campaign involving Ivan Demidov: he is “there for the Habs”

This one is going to get people talking.

Warrior company has partnered with Ivan Demidov to represent the company, and this morning, we saw Demidov’s “campaign signs” everywhere in the city with the Warrior logo.

The slogan “Here for the Habs” is likely to get people talking, either in a good or bad way, but it’s going to get people talking a lot.

A marketing coup from Warrior Hockey: the company has partnered with Ivan Demidov… and installed about a hundred “campaign signs” to make the announcement.

We can see two of them on Montreal Island pic.twitter.com/enOddQBNQm

— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) April 14, 2025

Clearly, we can see that Warrior used the elections for their campaign. The company made 93 signs (like his number) and we can see some of them between real election signs.

And in their press release, we can read this from Warrior:

Following the elections, a new candidate is emerging in Montreal — and this time, he’s going to govern on the ice.

I wonder how this advertising is going to be received in the locker room. After all, Demidov hasn’t played a single game in Montreal yet, and he’s already the darling of the fans.

Who knows where this is going?

Another proof that Ivan Demidov has talent pic.twitter.com/Y65lDHxwt6

— DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) April 13, 2025

And clearly, the fact that during an election, a Russian is being featured saying he’s “here for the Habs” is surely a technique that will annoy several people in the city. Warrior must have anticipated this.

The signs, which might not stay up in the city as long as the real election signs, are not legal in this context. Municipal regulations prohibit the display of fake election ads.

Unions sometimes do it during campaigns… and it ends up in court.

But it doesn’t matter: this has the potential to get people talking and have a bigger impact than the slap on the wrist that might follow. This was undoubtedly calculated by Warrior.

Overtime

The elections will take place in two weeks. The fact of playing with the elections in this way, on the heels of the visit by Mark Carney and Pierre Poilievre to Tout le monde en parle, is a calculated move by Warrior.

What do you think about all this?