Saatchi & Saatchi Unveils Oscars Walmart Challenge

When looking for inspiration, Saatchi & Saatchi New York reminds viewers that even the most mundane objects can provide endless stimulation… which is why it set Hollywood filmmakers a bizarre challenge for Walmart.

The experiment required accomplished directors Antoine Fuqua and Marc Forster, as well as filmmaking duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to create a one-minute film, based on an item from a Walmart receipt – such as a banana, paper towel, batteries, scooter, wrapping paper and video baby monitor.

As the supermarket chain is sponsoring the Oscars for the first time this year, the results will be screened during the event this Sunday.

The challenge was borne out of Walmart’s $250,000 donation to The Academy Grants Program for FilmCraft and the idea that every receipt tells a story, revealing the lifestyle and preferences of the supermarket’s buyers.

"A Walmart receipt is the result of a simple shopping trip, but at the same time, it is a small testament of the everyday lives of our shoppers. We know that there are many great stories behind those receipts,” says the agency’s CCO Javier Campopiano. “When a receipt literally becomes the inspiration for a film, it all comes full circle. The connection between two worlds that appear so disparate - the world of Hollywood films and the world of everyday shopping trips - come together in a natural and simple way. This project is truly unique and beautiful in that these directors were restricted by having to include six items in their stories, yet Walmart gave them the freedom to tell the type of story they wanted to."

To find out more about the Receipt Challenge, click here.