I remember thinking it was completely normal to see some creepy long haired guy standing on top of a hill on a thunderstorm, talking about beer.
Man, this is why Canada is awesome.
I just imagine advertising execs back in the 90s wanting to tap into the flannel with band shirt wearing, long-haired possibly moustache wearing, pot smoking, metal-head Canadian demographic.
Look up any kids in the hall skit featuring the character Bauer or any of Bruce McCullough's obnoxious characters and you'd know their target market.
They still sell Molson XXX in US stores, so I guess that means Labatt lost. Another fun anecdote is that Labatt Ice is stocked with the malt liquor, and is often cheaper than Labatt Blue.