TORONTO – Bell Media and Toyota Canada have announced today their collaboration on a new original online series called “Refined,” available now at Discovery.ca/Refined. Hosted by Patrick McMurray, owner of Toronto culinary hotspots Starfish and The Ceili Cottage, “Refined” follows one man’s search for sophisticated luxury. The 12-episode series rolls out once-per-week on Mondays until June 15.
| Refined host Patrick McMurray |
All of the episodes include co-branded opening graphics, product integration, and two Toyota promotional pre-rolls exclusive to the microsite. The episodes will also be promoted with a series of animated and static display banners to run across Bell Media’s digital properties. All episodes will be housed in a custom Discovery microsite with a large-format embedded video player and a Toyota Avalon photo gallery. “Refined is a market-leading integrated sponsorship series that takes viewers on an in-depth cross-country tour of the finer things in life,” said Nancy McConnell, Vice-President of Digital Sales, Bell Media. “The series content meshes perfectly with the Toyota Avalon brand. Bell Media is very happy to be part of this exciting collaboration.”
McMurray got into the restaurant trade at the age of 16. After honing his skills for a number of years in Toronto, he won the World Championships of Oyster Opening in Galway, Ireland in 2002, and became the Guinness World Record holder soon after by shucking 33 oysters in one minute, a record he beat in 2010 by shucking 38 oysters in one minute. McMurray has also written a book about oysters called Consider the Oyster – A Shucker’s Field Guide.
In the first episode, McMurray pays a visit to Mankind Grooming Studio to learn the secrets of a great haircut and experience a straight-razor shave. Additional episodes feature McMurray visiting shoemaker Nasser Vies who has shod the likes of Jim Cuddy (March 11), getting a custom suit from Garrison Bespoke who created Ryan Gosling’s suit for TIFF 2012 (March 18), and giving a tour of his successful restaurant Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill (March 25).
Refined is produced by Bell Media Digital’s internal Video Production Unit, led by Mike McKenna, Associate Director of Original Video, Bell Media.
