Puzzled? Shocked? Alarmed? Suspicious? Cynical? Angry? All are reactions from shoppers and industry observers to the out-of-left-field announcement of a new Marvel trading card-themed promo from Loblaw’s – aimed at kids…
We’re in the midst of a food price crisis such as the world hasn’t seen (almost) in living memory. Millions of Canadian are struggling to afford food. Shoppers are organizing grocery chain boycotts. Governments are demanding action by supermarket chains. And the super-market giants are re-porting growing, possibly excessive profits…
What they hey?
And in the midst of this perfect storm, Loblaw’s is launching a new promotion involving – Marvel Comics trading cards. Exhorting kids to bug their parents into spending even more money.
It’s clearly intended as a distraction from the real issues. And a crass one, at that – if Loblaw’s truly believes shoppers will fall for it.
What’s worse, the chain is spending who knows how much of its possibly gouged profits on the high-profile, mega-partner deal. Rather than on real, effective measures to meet the food price crisis.
‘Tone-deaf’ is the current popular term for the whole stunt.
Total disconnect
The promo is a total disconnect from the pressing food-related issues of the day.
Its premise is simple: Buy a ‘collector’s album’ for $5 (!) and get a pack of 4 special Marvel trading card for every $25 (our higher) cash register tape you total up at stores under the Loblaw umbrella. That includes, notably, Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, and Loblaw’s, itself. There are 90 different cards in the ‘set’. That’s a lot of $25 total purchases.
And the cards themselves aren’t even something new, or even exclusive to Loblaw’s. The same (or very similar) ‘collections’ have been offered since the 1990s in similar partnerships with many other brands.
Experts weigh in
Daniel Tsai is a Professor of Business at University Canada West and Toronto Metropolitan University. He says that, right off the bat, the Loblaw’s – Marvel partnership poses ethical questions.
“Typically they’re trying to get parents to buy the $25 threshold in order to get the cards for their kids,” he told Yahoo Canada. “It’s an indirect marketing tactic geared towards parents through lever-aging the insatiable interest in children.”
In plain English, they’re leveraging the scream factor’. That’s what they call it when kids bug the living bejayzuz out of their folks to get them something they want. Or think they want.
A classic example is the notorious billboard campaign run along I-95 by the South of the Border amusement park in Hamer, South Carolina. As the name implies, that’s immediately south of the border with North Carolina. For more than 50 miles in both directions, big billboards featuring the Park’s mascot, Pedro, exhort kids to bug their parents to stop in at the attraction. They feel no shame in having Pedro suggest, “Keep shouting kids! They’ll stop!”
I don’t know how successful the billboards are. But they HAVE been using them for decades…
Might be illegal
It’s worth noting that Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act prohibits any commercial advertising aimed at children under the age of 13. And Loblaw’s owns one of the biggest grocery chains in the province. But the chain, Provigo, is not explicitly listed as one of the Loblaw’s properties participating in the Marvel promotion. I’m betting it isn’t. Loblaw’s may be crass, and dismissive of the intellects of their customers. But they’re not stupid.
On the other hand, McDonald’s does offer its Happy Meals – often including toys partnered with major movie studios – in the province. And just about everywhere else. Just saying…
What Loblaw’s is hoping
Tsai says. “They’re trying to address [the price issue] through market differentiation, by creating alternative brands that the public can identify with to see that as a low-cost alternative to high-priced Loblaw’s stores.”
That’s a reference to the recent announcement that Loblaw’s is launching new chain of discount stores under the No Name banner. The brand they’ve long used for their deepest discount house-brand products.
But will the promo work?
Tsai says probably not: “I don’t think it’s going to be a big driver for their sales,” he says. “What would be a driver for (Loblaw) sales is if they cut their prices back.”
And he opines as the Marvel Cards aren’t a optimum offer. “For the most part, Pokemon is known as the card you want to collect,” Tsai notes. “The Marvel card isn’t an incentive for the average Canadian to go into Loblaw’s and spend $25 on overpriced meat or bread.”
The organized opposition speaks
Commenters at the r/Loblawsisoutofcontrol substack have been quick to lash back against the Marvel promotion:
“I can’t have a plastic straw or bag, but Loblaw’s can print off a bazillion useless cards and hand them out like they’re something of actual value,” user PuzzleheadedDraw6575 wrote.
“High in fibre,” surnamefirstname99 joked in another thread.
“When I saw these, I thought they were a promotion or had discount codes or something,” International_Hair91 wrote. “Nope. Just a marketing tool.”
Totally out of touch
Clearly, Loblaw’s has lost touch with reality. With the reality of the food price crisis, and the reality that their customers have enough smarts to see through their latest promo stunt. But also with the reality of their responsibility to the nation that made them gazillionaires.
The big 5 Supermarket chains virtually own Canada’s grocery retail sector. With ownership comes responsibility. The chains must look beyond their God-like self image and reduce food prices by at least 10 percent. Even 15 percent, which is what the Loblaw’s boycott demanded in the first place. They can afford it…
Maybe it will take drastic government action mandating reductions to drive prices down. Maybe it will take people being thrown out into the street because they can’t afford both food and rent. Or, worst case, people actually starving to death before something actually gets done.
~ Maggie J.