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In September, Walmart debuted a new tag line: “Save Money. Live Better.” It replaced the 19-year old slogan, “Always low prices.” Walmart’s new ad agency, The Martin Agency, which it hired last January, is behind the campaign.
You probably saw the commercials. One shows a grandfather coming to visit his kids and grandkids, and the commercial insists that because the family saved money on the little things by shopping at Walmart, it could afford the big things, like flying grandpa to town.
It’s a nice commercial, but it continues to focus on Walmart’s prices—too much to stir much sentiment among viewers.
However, last week, the big box retailer posted a new 60-second commercial to its YouTube channel. This is a sentimental masterpiece, and it is an example of advertising as PR. The spot will help the big box retailer scrub that nasty image of Walmart as big, bad villain that gobbles up ma-and-pa shops and then puts ma-and-pa to work for slave wages.
Not sure if that image deserves to be scrubbed, but the ad certainly gives that impression.
It reminded me of the powerful scene from the movie Magnolia, when all the main characters sing the song "Wise Up" by Aimee Man—that is, if you pulled all the teeth from that scene, made the message upbeat and reduced it to 60 seconds. But still.
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Good list, tho a bit US-centric. The world is full of unmitigated PR gaffes; Renault's F1 race fixing; UK PM Gordon Brow...
Comments (4)
I love the whisper part!
"the way a single word can take your breath away"
Its true. So beautiful.
Posted by joanna | November 13, 2009 5:04 PM
Posted on November 13, 2009 17:04
The company is attacked for 1,000 sins, from running small shops out of towns to buying goods from third world countries (not that Target doesn't do this), but if it would just let the unions in, all would be forgiven and forgotten. This just makes the critics less credible. Long live a union-free Wal-Mart with low prices for those of us who want to pay less to live better.
Posted by Anonymous II | November 2, 2009 5:03 PM
Posted on November 2, 2009 17:03
This is not advertising as PR. It is institutional advertising, an art form made famous by so many iconic brands in years past - Hallmark, AT&T, IBM, etc. It's all about building the corporate brand through paid advertising, as opposed to building a retail brand to sell products. Though I'm sure it's messaging and themes complement PR efforts.
What this signifies though is that the company is starting to see itself more than just a seller of products but as a corporate citizen. It's always been a great company, now it is putting out money to work on its brand, though probably not spending nearly as much as the SEIU and its auxiliaries do to smear it.
Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2009 4:56 PM
Posted on November 2, 2009 16:56
Love the commerical...hate the company.
Posted by Staci | November 2, 2009 1:48 PM
Posted on November 2, 2009 13:48