Waitrose is launching a new marketing campaign to drive its latest positioning as ‘The Home of Food Lovers’.
The upmarket supermarket has chosen a sci-fi theme for its follow-up to its ‘The Perfect Gift’ Christmas ad.
Launching today, ‘The Gastronaut’, created by Wonderhood Studios, follows an astronaut called Michael as he travels in space and gets increasingly frustrated by the rations aboard his spacecraft. Throughout the ad he can be seen pining after and dreaming of his favourite real foods. Eventually this all becomes too much as he aborts the mission and sets the ship on course for Earth, and in particular his local Waitrose, where he gets a few strange looks after landing in the car park.
The campaign looks to play on the food versus fuel debate, while the ad uses Aerosmith’s ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ which featured on the soundtrack to 1998 sci-fi film Armageddon. It is the first time the song has been used in any UK advertising campaign.
“Our customers are food lovers. They see food as more than fuel, but as a source of enjoyment,” said Waitrose chief customer officer Nathan Ansell. “At Waitrose we get it – in fact, we share this love of food. We know that our customers would go the extra mile for the food they love, because we would too – from our industry-leading animal welfare commitments to our top-quality suppliers and delicious produce.
“Our new Gastronaut campaign perfectly captures this spirit. It brings to life the extraordinary lengths food lovers would go to for their favourite food, even travelling across space. Food has a powerful way of reconnecting us with the places and moments that matter most. If this resonates with you, then you are a food lover and Waitrose is the home for you.”
The retailer is also set to send the ad into space, working with a specialist partner to transmit the film beyond Earth.
“We loved going to space for this campaign and we’re so excited to share the next stage in Waitrose’s mission as the home of food lovers,” said Wonderhood executive creative directors Jack Croft and Stacey Bird. “This is an epic telling of a universal food lover insight: food is so much more than fuel. For food lovers, a life without the food they love most would be pretty bleak.”
The ad will run across TV, cinema, social media and large-scale out-of-home, while the campaign will also be supported by a PR, influencer and in-store programme designed to spark conversation with food lovers across the UK.
As part of the campaign, Waitrose is also relaunching its Waitrose Weekend newspaper as Your Week In Food. Its Dish podcast will move to weekly episodes and MyWaitrose – the retailer’s loyalty programme – is set to evolve into a dedicated Food Lovers Club.
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