A Widower Finds Solace in an Old Recipe, With Help From a French Grocer

Food is one of the most powerful ways we connect with loved ones—so it can be especially complicated when a loved one is gone. A poignant new three-minute ad from French grocer Intermarche—celebrating its 50th anniversary—and agency Romance explores that dynamic, focusing on an elderly man who’s recently lost his wife. There’s still plenty of cause for joy in his life—music, sailing, a daughter’s wedding, a rich community of family and friends—but his partner’s absence is still deeply felt. That is, until he stumbles on a favorite recipe of hers. [kickout id="1"] His ensuing quest to recreate it is on the one hand a bit predictable—he can’t quite get the blend right, so has to keep cycling back and forth to the store to buy more produce so he can try again—and, at the same time, incredibly sweet. By stretching the mission over a long period of time, and a series of attempts—interspersed with still-painful birthday parties and quality time with the grandkids—the spot stops itself from falling into the trap of treating a single meal as a deus ex machina for grief. Instead, the details reveal the man’s journey from being largely adrift to discovering a new way to engage with the memory of his wife. At first, he’s eating slapped-together ham sandwiches on a lonely yard chair. Then, he’s awkwardly dumping every type of tomato known to man on the cashier’s belt during his first trip to Intermarche. Eventually, he’s hawk-eyeing old home videos for secret hints (what was that dash of spice she snuck in?) and haggling with the fishmonger over precise cuts. Set to a Benjamin Biolay cover of the Cole Porter classic “C’est Magnifique,” the Proustian ad is as much about the widower’s relationship to food as to his wife—making it a fitting follow-up to Intermarche and Romance's 2017 ad “L’amour l’amour,” which found young love and groceries similarly intertwined under the same tagline (“Everyone has a reason to eat better”)—even if that dealt with largely lighter fare. And while any marketing strategy that capitalizes on grief to hawk product is walking a fine line—risking seeming exploitative, absurdist or simply in poor taste—they do best when they hew to the reality that it’s a difficult but necessary part of life. The ad’s final scene is gracefully crafted—the perfect dish isn’t going to bring the man’s wife back from the dead—except for maybe a moment, in his head. For him, that’s not easy, but it’s worth a lot. Brand Credits Strategic and Operational Marketing Manager: Vincent Bronsard Brand and Communication Manager: Camille Sassi Brand and Communication Director: Vincent Fièvre Advertising Manager: Augustin De Vulpian Advertising Director: Lucie Ducos Agency Credits President: Christophe Lichtenstein Creative Director and Copywriter: Alexandre Hervé Copywriter and AD: Julien Rézette Associate Director: Marie-Laure Dangeon Account Manager: Thibault Loué TV Prod: Émilie Talpaert Post-Producer: Valérie Raguenel Production Credits Production: Grand Bazar Director: Katia Lewkowicz Chief Operator: Laurent Tangy Editor: Thierry Hoss Stylist: Sonia Philouze Head Decorator: Clement Price-Thomas Producer: Juliette Desmarescaux DOP: Hugo Mérival Production Coordinator: Léa Villain-Barachet Sound Production: THE