Canadians and Their Relationships Go to the Movies
Meanwhile, among those who provided a response, the Julie Roberts/Richard Gere hit "Pretty Women" (36%) is the top choice as the movie that best describes their `ideal' relationship. "Shakespeare in Love" (28%), the fifties drama staring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, "An Affair to Remember" (21%) and the Hugh Grant film "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (15%) follow of the films tested as to which best describes their `ideal' relationship.
Asked to identify from a number of famous fictional couples which best typifies their current relationship, one in three Canadians currently in a relationship and who provided a response choose the battling friends turned lovers, Harry and Sally from the film "When Harry Met Sally" (34%), while almost as many opt for Homer and Marge from "The Simpsons" (30%). Just slightly less (27%) believe their current relationship is closer to that of Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler from the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind", while 8% say that Tony and Carmela from "The Sorpranos" best typifies their current relationship.
Canadian singer Diana Krall is the choice of one in three (32%) Canadians as to the musical artist that would most help to get them in the mood this Valentine's Day, while the original "In the Mood" band leader Glenn Miller follows as the choice of one in five (19%) Canadians. Classical composer Tchaikovsky is the choice of one in six (17%), while Canada's answer to the teen queens, Avril Lavigne is the selection of one in ten (9%). Seventies rock band KISS ends up as the choice of one in twenty (5%).
And finally, it appears that just over one-third of Canadians say that their past Valentine's experiences have "left room for improvement" (37%) or were "memorable" (36%). This compares to one in ten (11%) who choose to describe their past Valentines Day's as "fantastic" and the seven percent who opt for "disastrous" as the best word to express their past experiences on February 14th.
These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Amazon.ca between January 21st and January 23rd, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (41%) is the top choice of Canadians who provided a response as the movie that best describes their current relationship. "The Bridges of Madison County" (27%), "War of the Roses" (21%) and "Swingers" (11%) follow among those movies listed. Half of respondents did not provide a response because they `don't know' (38%) or are `not currently in a relationship' (12%).
- Women (47%) are more likely than men (35%) to select "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" to describe their current relationship.
- This is also more likely the choice of Canadians in upper (50%) and middle (43%) income households compared to lower income households (28%).
- Canadians with a university degree (54%) are more likely to select this film than are those without a degree (37%).
Meanwhile, among those who provided a response, the Julie Roberts/Richard Gere hit "Pretty Women" (36%) is the top choice as the movie that best describes their `ideal' relationship. "Shakespeare in Love" (28%), the fifties drama staring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant "An Affair to Remember" (21%) and the Hugh Grant film "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (15%) follow of the films tested as to which best describes their `ideal' relationship. Three in ten (31%) Canadians say they `don't know'.
- "Pretty Women" and "Shakespeare in Love" are more likely to be the choice of those 18 to 34 years old (41% and 34% respectively) respondents than among their counterparts 55 and older (33% and 21%). Older (35%) respondents, however, are more likely to select the fifties drama "An Affair to Remember" than are middle aged (21%) or younger (10%) respondents.
- "Pretty Women" is more likely to be the selection of those with only a high school diploma (49%), while university grads the more likely to select "Shakespeare in Love" (43%) or "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (24%). Canadians who do not have a high school diploma (39%) are the most likely to choose "An Affair to Remember".
- There is no statistical difference between men and women in their selection.
Asked to identify from a number of famous fictional couples which best typifies their current relationship, one in three Canadians who are in a relationship and who provided a response choose the battling friends turned lovers, Harry and Sally from the film "When Harry Met Sally" (34%), while almost as many opt for Homer and Marge from "The Simpsons" (30%). Just slightly less (27%) believe their current relationship is closer to that of Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler from the 1939 classic "Gone with the Wind", while 8% say that Tony and Carmela from "The Sorpranos" best typifies their current relationship. Just under one in four (37%) of Canadians did not provide a response including 12% who are `not currently in a relationship' and 25% who said they `don't know'.
- Middle aged (47%) respondents are the most likely to select Harry and Sally (compared to 32% of younger and 18% of older respondents). Meanwhile, younger (40%) respondents are more likely to opt for Homer and Marge (compared to 27% of older and 23% of middle aged respondents). Older (50%) respondents are more likely to say that the couple that best typifies their current relationship are Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler. This compares to the views of middle aged (21%) and younger (17%) respondents.
- Respondents in lower income households (33%) are more likely to select Scarlet and Rhett compared to respondents from upper (25%) and middle (23%) income households, while respondents in middle income households (36%) are more likely to choose Homer and Marge than are respondents in upper (27%) or lower (25%) income households.
Canadian singer Diana Krall is the choice of one in three (32%) Canadians as to the musical artist that would most help to get them in the mood this Valentine's Day, while the original "In the Mood" band leader Glenn Miller follows as the choice of one in five (19%) Canadians. Classical composer Tchaikovsky is the choice of one in six (17%), while Canada's answer to the teen queens, Avril Lavigne is the selection of one in ten (9%). Seventies rock band KISS ends up as the choice of one in twenty (5%). Five percent respond they `don't know'.
- Diana Krall is the top choice of middle aged (41%) and younger (36%) Canadians, while Glenn Miller (40%) is the top choice of older Canadians.
- Avril Lavigne (18%) is more likely to be the choice of younger (18%) Canadians than middle aged (9%) or older (0%) Canadians.
- Canadians in upper income households (43%) are more likely than either those in middle (34%) or lower (22%) income households to say the Diana Krall is the musical artist that would most help them get in the mood. While Glenn Miller is more likely to be the choice of those in lower (24%) or middle (21%) income households than in upper income households (13%).
And finally, it appears that Canadians have had mixed experiences with Valentine's Day, with just over one-third who say that their past Valentine's experiences have "left room for improvement" (37%) or were "memorable" (36%). This compares to one in ten (11%) who choose to describe their past Valentines Day's as "fantastic" and the seven percent who opt for "disastrous" as the best word to express their past experiences on February 14th. Eight percent say they `don't know'.
- Middle aged (43%) and younger (42%) Canadians are more likely to say that their past Valentines have left "room for improvement" compared to the experiences of older (29%) Canadians. Meanwhile, older (41%) Canadians are slightly more likely than their middle aged (35%) or younger (34%) Canadians to say their experiences have been "memorable".
- Canadians who are currently in a relationship (12%) are more than twice as likely as those not currently in a relationship (5%) to say their past experiences of Valentine's Day have been "fantastic".
To view the factum and tables, please open the attached PDF files.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
