Candidate Wal-Mart

by Brian Reich | 29 Aug 2006, 2:00am

The New York Times reports this morning that Wal-Mart has launched a political-style advertising campaign.

In a local experiment that is eventually to be seen across the country, the giant discount retailer began broadcasting two television spots that, in unusually detailed terms, trumpet its health care plans, charitable contributions and positive impact on the American economy.

The ads do not attack Wal-Mart critics but introduce its merits, much as a candidate would. “Our low prices save the average working family $2,300 a year,” says the narrator of one ad. “Which buys a lot of things — and a whole lot of freedom.”

The article explains that the ads “represent a significant departure from its practice of rebutting critics in the media but presenting itself, at least in consumer television marketing, as untroubled by its image problems.”

I actually  think the Wal-Mart folks are doing something more meaningful with this ad campaign… or at least are on their way.  Americans are fed up with angry politics.   The average person wants to be represented by individuals and organizations who stand for something, or who genuinely seem  interested in helping make their life better.   They want to know someone is on their side.  

Sure, Wal-Mart is an easy target for a political candidate.   And this campaign is probably more CYA than anything at this point.  But millions of families across our country depend on Wal-Mart.   Do you think those people who shop at Wal-Mart, or who are employed by Wal-Mart, see Wal-Mart as a bad thing?   Maybe they can’t afford to shop anywhere else on a regular basis.   Maybe Wal-Mart is the only store who has located in their community and brought real jobs when other companies closed down. Whatever the reason, beating up on Wal-Mart to score political points is a cheap score.   Politicians should be working with Wal-Mart to make our communities stronger and support American families, just as Wal-Mart can be doing more to look beyond profit as a motive for its actions.   Trust me, there is profit/benefit for everyone in this kind of model.

Wal-Mart still has more work to do in order to truly engage American consumers and build their trust.     A couple of commercials aren’t going to do it.   Wal-Mart has an  obligation to  launch a real conversation about the  important issues facing our country.   As the  leading  retailer in virtually every consumer brand category in the world, Wal-Mart is in a unique position to impact how people think, how they shop, and how they live, and they should use that power to show people how to improve their lives.    They are already made strides on clean energy by  committing to use  environmentally friendly light bulbs in their stores.  Well, we have an obesity problem in this country and Wal-Mart can help to address it by encouraging (and facilitating) the sale of  low-fat  foods to families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them.   We have a health-care crisis in this country, and Wal-Mart can do its part (not only by providing better health care to employees, but also) by training employees, even communities,  on how to live healthier lives.    And on, and on.

I applaud Wal-Mart for talking about serious issues in ther advertising and I hope that this campaign is the first step towards a real commitment to engaging the American public in a thoughtful dialogue about how we can all grow stronger as a nation.

TAGS : Advertising Free Advice