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Walmart’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial pitches pickup

Online grocery curbside service stars in ‘Famous Visitors’ ad campaign

Russell Redman

January 29, 2020

2 Min Read
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Characters, movies and TV shows featured in Walmart's commercial include Flash Gordon, Buzz Lightyear, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Blade Runner, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Lego Movie, Men in Black, Star Trek and Star Wars.Walmart

The biggest U.S. retailer, Walmart, plans a promotional blitz for online grocery pickup during the nation’s biggest sporting event.

Walmart said Wednesday that it will air its first-time Super Bowl television commercial this Sunday to highlight the benefits of its expanding pickup service. Dubbed “Famous Visitors,” the campaign includes a 60-second TV spot during the game that shows 12 characters from popular movies and TV programs who “touch down on Earth” from “across the galaxy” to collect groceries and other products at Walmart curbside pickup stations.

“What better way to show off the out-of-this-world convenience of Walmart’s pickup service than the biggest television event of the year,” Janey Whiteside, executive vice president and chief customer officer at Walmart, said in a blog post. “For the first time ever, Walmart will be airing an ad during the Big Game with the help of some familiar visitors.”

Characters, movies and TV shows featured in the special effects-driven commercial include Flash Gordon, Buzz Lightyear, Bill S. Preston of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Arrival, Blade Runner, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Lego Movie, Mars Attacks!, Marvin the Martian, Men in Black, Star Trek and Star Wars.

Whiteside noted that the multimedia push — also including pre- and post-game content — encompasses TV, radio, in-store media and social channels and builds on Walmart’s “Famous Cars” grocery pickup campaign last year.

Related:Walmart tests grocery delivery with Nuro self-driving vehicles

“Before the game, our visitors will tease their impending arrival across a variety of media. Listen closely for their transmissions on terrestrial radio stations across the country. They’ll also take over the TV walls in our stores and our social media channels to encourage customers to use Pickup to stock up for the game. And today, we’re also dropping an extended two-minute version of our Famous Visitors commercial on YouTube,” said Whiteside.

“During the game, after our commercial airs, we’ll broadcast a special message to our visitors,” she added. “And Big Game viewers should follow our @Walmart Twitter handle during the game to see what happens as we engage with some of our visitors. After the game, we’ll continue marketing efforts with new, additional content.”

In its most recently completed quarter, Walmart saw e-commerce sales jump 41%, with Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs calling grocery pickup and delivery a “meaningful contributor to overall e-commerce growth.” As of the end of 2019, Walmart had rolled out free same-day grocery pickup service to more than 3,100 stores and same-day grocery delivery to over 1,600 stores.

Related:Walmart kicks off TV campaign for grocery pickup

“We’re excited to show tens of millions of viewers who tune in to the Big Game how our pickup service can reinvent their shopping experience and add much-needed time back into their day,” Whiteside said in her blog.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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