Not business as usual: Walmart Canada sends message of support

4/9/2020

Work

by Cossette

As Canadians try to adjust to the new COVID reality, Walmart hit pause on its planned Spring campaign to shine a light on what Walmart is doing to support its customers, associates and charitable partners.

It’s far from business as usual out there. It was clear to us that the most important thing for us to do was to reassure Canadians that Walmart is an ally.

Tammy Sadinsky, VP Marketing at Walmart Canada

The 30 and 60-second spots were produced in only five days and are airing nationally on TV, digital and social platforms until mid-May. As Canadians adjust to the current reality day by day, Walmart is focused on keeping its associates safe, shelves stocked with items at Everyday Low Prices as well as increasing funding to its charity partners at the Red Cross and Food Banks Canada.

Producing the work wasn’t business as usual either: the spot uses a combination of existing Walmart footage and stock from 20 different sources. Teams worked together to secure rights, track down the real-life associates featured in the footage to ensure they were paid for their appearances, and commission an original song from Berkeley Studios in Toronto (which was recorded in the musician’s laundry room).

We are fortunate at Walmart in that we have a very clear role to play during this time of crisis. This is really about acknowledging the stresses people are feeling during this time and getting back to basics in terms of how we can support our customers.

Tammy Sadinsky, VP Marketing at Walmart Canada