Grocery chains aren’t typically found at the summit of memorable brand marketing. Many are beholden to a playbook that seems like a throwback to another era. The essential tools seem to be co-op dollars, weekly specials and I-never-asked-for-this-but-here-it-is-in-my-mailbox circulars. Because we haven’t received a newspaper in well over a decade, these circulars do come in handy during Arizona’s brief fireplace season but I don’t think that’s their intended use. Sure, some chains have gotten more savvy with apps and some do tie-ins for fuel points but even these advances are now fairly commonplace.
So when Kroger/Fry’s came out with a new campaign featuring animated, clay-figure families and licensed music, I wasn’t too amazed. One early execution from 2020 featured the song “Low” by Flo-Rida and T-Pain. It seemed to be a thinly veiled attempt to eagerly say, “Look at us, we’re on-trend and relevant.” If you haven’t seen it and are waiting with bated breath for how they made that work for their stores, the schtick was that the brand’s prices, like Shorty got with her boots with the fur, are low, low, low, low. Surely, no one saw that payoff coming.
However, to give credit where credit is due, they’ve stuck with this approach for a few years now. My guess is the use of the Gumby-type characters is saving on talent fees with those funds now being used for music. The latest extension of the campaign is this holiday spot.
In my view, it’s a nice sentiment and a nice execution. Could it be because they use a 1974 song from the band America and I happen to dig 1970’s country-folk-rock? Yes, that certainly helps but I don’t think that’s all of it. I also think they’re onto something. It’s been pretty well-documented that we have become a more isolated society. More than one psychologist has pointed the finger at a life glued to our smartphones, admonishing us about how social media has made us anything but more social. Remote work and the pandemic didn’t help. The era of social distancing, no matter how well intentioned, was enormously successful in exacerbating, well, social distancing.
The message to “share your food, share your heart” then in a way, is a call to return to one of the traditional messages of the holiday season. And the tone portrays a corporate behemoth in the grocery category as a folksy neighborhood grocery store that seemingly really cares about your neighborhood and the people in it. Finally, proving once again how well music works, my 11-year-old sings this song out loud randomly, hours after the spot aired during the football game.
I’m sure there are jaded folks who dismiss this as sappy and banal. Agree to disagree. I say good work and a tip of the hat to you, team Fry’s. I like what you have to say in the ad and it makes me like what you have to say as a brand. Happy Holidays.
Side Note: We don’t see it here in the U.S. but in the U.K., Tesco has had brilliant grocery category advertising for years, including some beautiful holiday work.
