What’s the next step in the ongoing Loblaw’s Boycott? It appears to be a bus shelter ad campaign shaming the supermarket giant with look-alike ads for faux No-Name products. And social media types are in awe…
You’d have to look twice to notice that the big yellow poster isn’t a real bus shelter ad. And then, you’d probably have to look again before realizing it’s not a real ad for Loblaw’s No Name Chocolate Cake Mix.
Somebody in Calgary actually designed and paid for a huge poster mimicking a bus shelter ad, slamming Loblaw’s and it’s house ‘value’ brand, No Name.
Social media huzzahs
Social media lit up with praise and adulation for the anonymous poster protester.
“This is amazing. Whoever did this, I love you,” wrote one.
“Absolutely iconic,” proclaimed another.
“Brilliant! I wonder what someone paid for this? I’d love to thank them,” wondered a third.
“Peasant’s Choice brand,” quipped another.
“Suggested serving: ‘Eat the rich’,” yet another proposed darkly.
“I remember a time when no-name brand was a genuine anti-brand thing,” a less-juiced commenter recalled.
A low blow
It’s a low blow at Loblaw’s, which was one of the first supermarket chains to introduce a ‘value’ brand of its own. Today everybody has them, and the concept is a staple tactic of grocery marketing.
But it’s the editorial content’ of the ad that really trolls the supermarket giant. The box-front product name mocks the infamous, though apocryphal, statement attributed to Marie Antoinette. When told the peasants were starving, the legend goes, she said, “Let them eat cake!”
Clear condemnation
The message is a clear condemnation of Loblaw’s apparent attitude toward shoppers. The implication is that not only maintaining its profits, but driving them higher, is the company’s primary concern. While millions are struggling to feed their families amid record high food prices.
Earlier this year. Loblaw’s announced that its profits rose 10 percent in 2023 – and the company raised it’s shareholder dividend by 15 percent to celebrate.
Are they gouging?
It seems to. If you believe ‘testimony’ from boycott supporters recently interviewed about their alternative shopping experiences.
One interviewee said she did a comparison shop at Walmart and Loblaw’s. And was shocked that Walmart was selling a representative selection of products for a total of around $400, while the exact same shopping list cost $1,000 at Loblaw’s.
My take
This guerilla postering is a new element in the ongoing Loblaw’s boycott. It’s clearly rallying the protesters. I wonder what’s next?
~ Maggie J.