Mississauga NBA star RJ Barrett says he has no memory of Applewood Acres

When asked about his Mississauga roots, NBA guard RJ Barrett drew a blank on Applewood Acres—a telling slip that underscores the neighborhood’s peculiar lack of footprint in the city’s imagination.

Despite its postwar pedigree and tidy streets, Applewood Acres has never managed to project the kind of identity carried by Port Credit’s lakeshore charm or Streetsville’s village swagger. Even within Mississauga, the subdivision is more whisper than landmark: a place of bungalows, fences, and forgotten anecdotes.

For locals, Barrett’s disavowal stings a little—proof that their corner of the map, though perfectly livable, rarely registers as a presence beyond the postal code. Yet others shrug, seeing the erasure as fitting. Applewood Acres has always been there, yes, but never quite there there.

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G Papa Tango, could you outline a clever ad campaign paid for by Applewood Acres telling the world to just leave their little subdivision in peace. And of course RJ Barrett (wink, nudge) is Applewood's celebrity endorser.

Campaign Concept: “Forget About Us” 🌳

Applewood Acres launches a self-effacing ad campaign designed not to lure visitors but to politely wave them off. The neighborhood’s value proposition: serenity through obscurity. RJ Barrett, the accidental ambassador, becomes the face of deliberate amnesia.

Slogans

• “Applewood Acres: Nothing to See Here.”

• “Mississauga’s Best-Kept Non-Secret.”

• “Where Even RJ Barrett Draws a Blank.”

• “Applewood Acres: The Suburb So Quiet, You’ll Forget You Were Ever Here.”

Ad Formats

• Billboards (ironically placed along the QEW): A smiling RJ Barrett holding up a basketball with the caption, “I don’t remember Applewood Acres—and neither should you.”

• Social Media Shorts: RJ riffling through a photo album: blank pages. Tagline: “Some memories are best left unmade.”

• Print Ads: Minimalist spread—just grass, a chain-link fence, and a line: “Applewood Acres. Don’t ask, don’t visit.”

Stunt / Activation

RJ Barrett “returns” for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of… nothing. He snips the ribbon in front of an ordinary driveway, shrugs, and walks away. Local press eats it up.

Target Effect

• Turn absence of identity into identity.

• Earn Mississauga-wide affection for audacious modesty.

• Protect the neighborhood’s low-key vibe by laughing off attempts at myth-making.

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