Togetherness Through Food: Behind Kroger’s Time-Tested Festive Ad Strategy

At all times, but especially those marked with significant divisiveness, food has a power to spark a unique kind of togetherness. It's a time-tested insight that has formed the backbone of Kroger's Christmas campaigns in recent years. Last year, the US grocery retailer's spot featured a group of exchange students bringing their food cultures to a doting host couple. The year before highlighted the power of memories invoked by certain foods and recipes.  

"The aim of this year’s film was to encourage people to connect over food — it’s a theme in all the Kroger holiday films," reveal Jason Ashlock and Paulo Junger, executive creative directors at adam&eveDDB, the agency behind this year's ad and previous executions. "We knew going in that this year, especially, was going to be a time of loneliness and isolation. Our goal was not to dwell on that, but instead focus on the power of food to overcome it."

Entitled 'The Case of the Disappearing Food', the 2024 English language campaign (there's also a Hispanic version from fellow DDB agency alma) features a cast of Kroger’s signature animated characters, affectionately known as Krojis, to tell the story of a woman who has lost her holiday spirit, only to rediscover her festive nature from an unexpected source. 

When a young boy runs into his older neighbour a few times, he is curious to learn more about her. The boy discovers she is lonely. Soon he joins his own family’s lively holiday preparations and quickly his parents notice the food for their holiday dinner is disappearing. It turns out the boy is taking it – not for himself, but with big plans to surprise his neighbour with a festive holiday dinner that reignites her spirit.

The process to get to this point is 'long', say Jason and Paulo. The storyboarding and animation phases are rigorous, tackled in collaboration with Hornet, the animation company behind Kroger’s distinctive animation style. Equally important is finding the right story and leading with the right emotion. They start that part in February. What's more, America's 'Lonely People' soundtracks the spot. It was "probably the 20th song" they put to picture, before trying "another hundred" after. But they kept coming back to ‘Lonely People’ for its pacing and tone, and additive nature that helped the story along.

"We spend months pouring over every scene and every single shot, so it’s hard to pick a favourite," they say. "The pivotal and possibly most emotional moment is when the neighbour sheds a tear on her doorstep after the family shows up with a holiday feast. But our favourite moment is the wide shot when the boy skips over a patch of snow in the street after having just delivered some of that food. It’s cute. It feels real. And it looks stunning."

Speaking of the film's 'stunning' looks, while the LBB team were huddled around a laptop watching this spot for the first time last week, someone noted the 'edible' nature of the animated food, testament to skilled hands of the artists at Hornet.. It's a point I put to Jason and Paulo, and they highlight that the specific animation style has been a part of the Kroger brand for over five years now - it's one of its most well-known and beloved assets. "We’re so glad people think the food looks tasty," they add. "There’s a misconception that food animation can’t be appetising. But movies like ‘Ratatouille’ and some of Studio Ghibli’s work prove that wrong. When it’s done with craft and paid off with the right emotion, that’s the sweet spot. That said, we do put extra special care into the food shots so they look more photo-real."

The Hispanic spot, called 'The Gift of Teaching', celebrates the importance of passing down multi-generational traditions through the story of a grandmother who meticulously teaches her blind grandson every step of an important family tamale recipe. "For Hispanic families, the Holidays bring everyone together for gatherings that help pass down both cultural and food traditions," says Paola Villalobos, strategic planning director at alma. "Tamaladas, or tamale-making parties, are one of the most memorable family moments. Every year, families gather in the kitchen to teach younger generations how to become experts at their treasured family recipes. After all, for them, the best memories are made over food (both preparing it and enjoying it.)"

With these insights, Paola and the alma team came up with a heartfelt story about the importance of passing down traditions during the holidays, told through the lens of the multi-generation efforts Hispanic families often partake in to keep cultures alive, no matter any challenge. 

"The Holidays are a moment for celebration and family," says Jason and Paulo. "But the centrepiece is always food. Food is what brings people together and connects us all. Kroger understands this more than most and is beginning to get credit for showing up every year in a way that hits home for a lot of people."