How Walmart Made Movies From Grocery Receipts

The 2017 Oscar ceremony was notable for a few reasons (*cough* EnvelopeGate *cough*), but one of the more pleasant surprises for the viewing audience was a tasty addition to the quality films being honoured - a handful of brand new shorts from award-winning directors!

Enlisting the talents of Hollywood stalwarts Wondros' Antoine Fuqua, Tool's Marc Forster and Caviar's filmmaking partners Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, Walmart set out to match the content of the contest in three individual shorts, aired during the show’s ad breaks.

The twist, the directors were challenged to make the films based on the six items of a single Walmart receipt (bananas, paper towels, batteries, scooter, wrapping paper and video baby monitor). In its first-ever sponsorship of the awards, Walmart wanted to celebrate creativity and storytelling, and encouraged the directors to bring their different styles and individual voices to their stories. In short, Walmart wanted to create a campaign suitable for the Oscar stage.

We loved all three efforts (‘The Gift’ from Fuqua, ‘Lost & Found’ from Forster and the nutty ‘Bananas Town’ from Rogen and Goldberg), so sat down with Javier Campopiano, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi New York, to get the lowdown on the campaign’s development.

Where did the creative concept for the campaign come from?

When families shop at Walmart, the receipt they leave the store with tells a story about their everyday lives. This concept inspired our campaign - there is a great story behind every receipt. From there, the idea quickly followed: what if a Walmart receipt could become the source of inspiration for Hollywood filmmakers?

The element of playfulness we added later seemed like a natural evolution; they each had to use the same receipt including the same six items in their storylines. That completed the circle; the receipt, as the representation of the busy families that shop at Walmart every day, became the inspiration for the fantastic stories created by these amazing Hollywood directors.

How did the idea progress? When were the final six items decided upon?

The idea - behind every receipt there's a great story - was always the foundation of this effort and we see it as a concept that's bigger than just one execution. In this case, we chose the six items based on the variety of products available at Walmart and with a randomness that could provide playful elements for the directors. We definitely didn't overthink the items on the receipt.

Was the concept dependent on having ‘Hollywood’ directors helm the pieces? How did you choose the three (well, four) filmmakers?

It was for this particular expression. We wanted award-winning Hollywood writers and filmmakers to showcase during the Oscar’s. Talent that could embrace the challenge without reservations, and hopefully engage in the playful aspect of the idea. And that’s exactly what we got. But that doesn't mean that it can't be executed in different ways, we’ve discussed potentially commissioning film students or amateur filmmakers.

How were the individual shoots? Did any directors struggle with the concept or was it nice for them to have such creative freedom?

All of them embraced the challenge, and the creative freedom that Walmart gave them. They loved the concept and the challenge. After the initial briefing conversations, it took less than a week for the directors to come back with an initial idea.

How much were you / the brand involved in steering the concepts? Were there any ideas that needed to be reined in (we can imagine Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg might have potentially R-rated proposals)?

We made sure their ideas represented the spirit and values of the brand. There were lots of open discussions when we felt that something was not working. But the spirit of the campaign was to give to them the receipt, and creative freedom, which was a critical part of the equation. There were many funny conversations during each of the shoots, I can think of one specifically where we requested more banana, which was kindly refused.

It takes some bravery from a brand as big as Walmart to go along with such a creatively open idea – did they take much convincing?

Not really, this was one of those ideas that made the room go quiet for a while and then it got really loud, and full of excitement. It's a celebration of all the things that we love about movies and therefore, what we love about Oscar night. In that regard, despite the creative freedom we were giving to the directors, the receipt, which represents the brand and our customers was at the core of the idea.

Are you pleased with how the films turned out?

Absolutely. All of them embrace the challenge and take to a different place, all of them have a superb level of craft. Everyone has a different favorite, but the nice thing is that we are judging as pieces of film and not just as ads. That was the intention from the very beginning and we definitely achieved that goal.

The placement of the films during the Oscar ceremony compliments the concept perfectly. Do you think TV still trumps online in situations like that, where an audience share the experience afresh?

Yes. No doubt. It is like enjoying a movie at the theater, surrounded by other people. The energy in the air is different and that makes it a unique experience, a shared event.

Can we expect more mini-movies based on receipts? Are there any items you’re looking forward to adding to the next batch?

We will continue to explore the possibilities of this concept as we feel that it is such fertile territory. Stay tuned.