Walmart’s Whoville-Inspired Ads Tackle Holiday Chaos With Cheer

Each Who down in “WhoKnewVille” struggles with vacation chaos, however an sudden savior is sweeping in to avoid wasting the season.

Walmart’s vacation marketing campaign, launched at present (Oct. 26), reimagines Dr. Seuss’s whimsical world of Whoville, the setting for the traditional How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by means of a collaboration with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. 

Known as WhoKnewVille, Walmart’s model resembles the Grinch’s hometown, with magic within the air and residents sporting their signature exaggerated hairstyles. Nonetheless, their cheer is dimmed by the pressures of vacation preparations—very similar to it’s for Walmart prospects, William White, Walmart’s senior vice chairman and chief advertising officer, instructed ADWEEK.

“The vacations are a time of pleasure, but additionally a time of stress,” he stated.

Within the adverts, the retailer positions itself as a stress reliever, as Mindy Lou Who, the Grinch, and different Whos discover the right items on Walmart’s app.

The marketing campaign consists of 50 “WhoKnewVille” executions enjoying out over the season, mirroring the buyer vacation journey—from present searches to Black Friday offers to last-minute procuring. Beginning with Sunday Night time Soccer tonight, it should have outstanding placements throughout YouTube, social media, ecommerce, influencer partnerships, and extra.

It was developed by Publicis Groupe companies together with Fallon, Leo NY, the Neighborhood, Contender, and Digitas.

Altering buyer perceptions

The marketing campaign continues Walmart’s “Who Knew” platform, which debuted in June with an advert starring actor Walton Goggins, below the premise: “Who knew Walmart had all of this?” That marketing campaign adopted a major brand refresh and new brand in January. 

“Earlier this yr, we acknowledged we’d made quite a lot of progress in our enterprise and the way we serve prospects, however buyer notion had not caught as much as that progress,” White stated. 

Underneath the brand new platform, Walmart is making an attempt to drive consciousness of its digital and cell procuring experiences, breadth of merchandise on-line, specific supply, and membership program. 

The vacation marketing campaign continues towards those self same targets, with the Whos utilizing Walmart’s app to buy items and discover offers, all within the nick of time for Christmas.