Wal-Mart Thanksgiving commercial

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

I hate their smiley face. The real Smiley Face has a neutral smile that says, he’s happy. Take it or leave it. The Wal*Mart smiley has puffy cheeks and an ingratiating expression that looks almost obsequiously eager to please.

[The_Swan]

@WOOKINPANUB

Good god! Some people don’t take notice of the OP’s own words that this really is more laughable than pittable. He also didn’t say word one about being pissed or offended. He’s pointing out what a dumbass commercial Walmart has. I’m just amazed that a company with that kind of budget can’t afford better advertising.

I fail to see why it is a dumbass commercial. What I find more interesting is the overall lack of knowledge about the ad industry (for better or for worse).

The folks who put together this ad are trying to convey an idea. They are most certainly not trying to persuade every watcher of the ad to duplicate every last action contained within it. It is not meant to be copied by the viewer, nor does it only apply to viewers who will be in the exact situation come Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart is trying to let the consumer know that they have extremely low prices. It is not trying to let only wives with grumpy husbands know that they have low prices. There’s only one part of the commercial that Wal-Mart would like for you to remember.

[Carol_the_Impaler]

Well, then they screwed the pooch on that one!

[kaylasdad99]

You can get a turkey at Wal*Mart?

I haven’t seen the commercial, and there is only a vanishingly small likelihood that I will, due to various factors. The description in the OP leaves me a bit unclear on one issue: Does WalMart have a service deli where the lady of the house ordered the entire meal, or is it simply that at WalMart (Superstores, anyway) there is a complete supermarket department where the lady was able to pick up everything she needed to create the meal with her own two hands?

[WOOKINPANUB]

@The Swan

I fail to see why it is a dumbass commercial. What I find more interesting is the overall lack of knowledge about the ad industry (for better or for worse).

The folks who put together this ad are trying to convey an idea. They are most certainly not trying to persuade every watcher of the ad to duplicate every last action contained within it. It is not meant to be copied by the viewer, nor does it only apply to viewers who will be in the exact situation come Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart is trying to let the consumer know that they have extremely low prices. It is not trying to let only wives with grumpy husbands know that they have low prices. There’s only one part of the commercial that Wal-Mart would like for you to remember.

Thanks for the lesson, The Swan. It should be most enlightening for the folks here who haven’t been in the advertising industry for the last eight years, as I have. Actually, I think even folks who *aren’t * in the business know what this (or any other ad for that matter) is designed to do. Doesn’t make it suck any less.

[The_Swan]

@WOOKINPANUB

Thanks for the lesson, The Swan. It should be most enlightening for the folks here who haven’t been in the advertising industry for the last eight years, as I have. Actually, I think even folks who *aren’t * in the business know what this (or any other ad for that matter) is designed to do. Doesn’t make it suck any less.

Let me get this straight. You work in advertising, yet you still think an ad that is generating this much discussion among folks who most certianly are not its target market is dumb?

I guess we don’t need a good reason why.

[ZipperJJ]

I think this commercial is funny because I’ve never seen or been to a Wal Mart that sells perishable groceries. I NEVER think of food when I think of Wal Mart.

So if someone told me they bought their Thanksgiving dinner at Wal Mart I’d have to laugh - what, you had Pop Tarts, pretzels and Sam’s Choice pop?

[The_Swan]

@ZipperJJ

I think this commercial is funny because I’ve never seen or been to a Wal Mart that sells perishable groceries. I NEVER think of food when I think of Wal Mart.

So if someone told me they bought their Thanksgiving dinner at Wal Mart I’d have to laugh - what, you had Pop Tarts, pretzels and Sam’s Choice pop?

I am guessing that is part of why Wal-Mart ran the ad. They want people to think of them when they head out to buy the Thanksgiving provisions.

[D_Odds]

@The Swan

Let me get this straight. You work in advertising, yet you still think an ad that is generating this much discussion among folks who most certianly are not its target market is dumb?

I guess we don’t need a good reason why.

Is this the “any publicity is good publicity as long as they spell my name right” theory?

[The_Swan]

@D_Odds

Is this the “any publicity is good publicity as long as they spell my name right” theory?

Maybe, though I imagine the ad was probably received better among customers who don’t hate the shit out of Wal-Mart. When it comes down to it, I would guess that is the only reason this thread even exists.

[RTFirefly]

I’m amused by the “Who are we, the Rockefellers?” bit, because it’s not like anyone who’s comfortably middle-class is going to have to sweat the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. Unless caviar is one of your trimmings.

Anyone who’s genuinely worried about how much they spent to feed the family at Thanksgiving is probably doing all their shopping at Wal-Mart already, because Sears is too pricey for them. :rolleyes:

[Hampshire]

@The Swan

Maybe, though I imagine the ad was probably received better among customers who don’t hate the shit out of Wal-Mart. When it comes down to it, I would guess that is the only reason this thread even exists.

Nah, I’m not a Wal-Mart hater. Yeah their small stores draw a rough crowd and are a bit dirty, but I do like their Super Centers with the grocery stores inside.

And I may even like the commercial if it was done tongue-in-cheek or had a humorous vibe to it. But it didn’t. It was presented in a very serious holiday spirit way.
I guess you just have to see it for yourself.

[Emilee]

I have not seen this particular ad, but just this morning I saw one with a similar tone.

A man (in his 30s, I guess) is sitting with his father-in-law, who is visiting. The FIL is making snarky comments about everything and generally being a dick. The wife comes by and suggests that hubby show FIL the new TV. It is a nice, big plasma screen or somesuch. The FIL comments “Oh, so this is how you’re spending my grandchildren’s college fund” and hubby replies that they got it at WalMart. Peace is restored.

This ad did not make me want to shop at WalMart. It seems like they’re trying to do the blue-state, ironic, snarky thing with these bummer dysfunctional family ads. I’m not impressed.

[The_Swan]

@Hampshire

Nah, I’m not a Wal-Mart hater. Yeah their small stores draw a rough crowd and are a bit dirty, but I do like their Super Centers with the grocery stores inside.

And I may even like the commercial if it was done tongue-in-cheek or had a humorous vibe to it. But it didn’t. It was presented in a very serious holiday spirit way.
I guess you just have to see it for yourself.

My apologies.

Although, I did chuckle at the father waking up to find a piece of pie lying on his belly. He never even hesitated before picking up the damn fork.

[kaylasdad99]

@RTFirefly

I’m amused by the “Who are we, the Rockefellers?” bit, because it’s not like anyone who’s comfortably middle-class is going to have to sweat the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. Unless caviar is one of your trimmings.

Anyone who’s genuinely worried about how much they spent to feed the family at Thanksgiving is probably doing all their shopping at Wal-Mart already, because Sears is too pricey for them. :rolleyes:

I dunno about that. I ordered my last Thanksgiving turkey out of the Sears catalog, and it only came to $4.95 plus S&H.

And only three of my relatives got ptomaine.

[Voyager]

@twickster

Well, Target already hired all the creative advertising people.

Creative advertising would be lost on the target audience (:)) for WalMart anyway. Michael Graves? Wasn’t he on Mission Impossible?

[Voyager]

@Hampshire

Yeah, I’m not really pissed about it. And I’m sure the food is just fine. I’d think they’d be better off running a comercial that shows “Hey, need to make a Thanksgiving feast? Come to Wal-Mart. We have everything you need.”
rather than a commercial that screams “Hey, don’t be grumpy this year about how much it’s going to cost to feed your family and make snide comments at the dinner table. Make your wife go to Wal-Mart where she can save a few bucks and you don’t have to be an ass.”

What’s absurd is that turkeys are heavily discounted around now, and none of the components of a Thanksgiving dinner are that expensive. I suppose if you’re using decent quality food for a change it might cost more. There are plenty of meals a lot more expensive than this one. The guy would be better shown grumping about how many people are mooching off him.

[Hampshire]

@Voyager

What’s absurd is that turkeys are heavily discounted around now, and none of the components of a Thanksgiving dinner are that expensive. I suppose if you’re using decent quality food for a change it might cost more. There are plenty of meals a lot more expensive than this one. The guy would be better shown grumping about how many people are mooching off him.

Yeah, it seems kind of silly in that respect. This site says the cost of a Thankgiving dinner for 10 in 1998 was around $34. So even if the price doubled in 2006 to $68, how much is he going to save by going to Wal-Mart instead of the local grocery store? $20? $30?
So this guy is getting his undies in a bunch over $30???

[Sunspace]

@RTFirefly

I’m amused by the “Who are we, the Rockefellers?” bit, because it’s not like anyone who’s comfortably middle-class is going to have to sweat the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. Unless caviar is one of your trimmings.

Anyone who’s genuinely worried about how much they spent to feed the family at Thanksgiving is probably doing all their shopping at Wal-Mart already, because Sears is too pricey for them. :rolleyes:

I dunno, the big feeds my best friends put on, where they have a dozen or 15 people over, from great-grandparents to little babies, cost in the area of $450, plus days of preparation time. And they have to plan it all carefully.

Maybe that means they are not comfortably middle-class.

[ShelliBean]

@Hampshire

Yeah, it seems kind of silly in that respect. This site says the cost of a Thankgiving dinner for 10 in 1998 was around $34. So even if the price doubled in 2006 to $68, how much is he going to save by going to Wal-Mart instead of the local grocery store? $20? $30?
So this guy is getting his undies in a bunch over $30???

Twenty or thirty dollars can be a big difference for some people, and those people are the people that will be shopping at WalMart.
I bought everything for my last Thanksgiving dinner at WalMart. It was not terribly expensive, but I was on a tight budget. I would not have been able to provide all that I did had I bought everything at a Publix or Winn Dixie because the prices were higher.

And Voyager?

I suppose if you’re using decent quality food for a change it might cost more.

Creative advertising would be lost on the target audience for WalMart anyway.

Could you be more condescending? Just because I buy my food at a walmart doesn’t mean I check my shoes and high school diploma at the door. It just means I live on a tight budget.