Canadian Discount Grocer No Frills Has Created an 8-Bit Video Game

If you ever find yourself bored enough to play a video game created by a grocery store chain, look no further: No Frills has you covered. The Canadian chain of discount supermarkets has launched an 8-bit video game with help from Toronto agency John St., where players can scoop up deals while avoiding “frills” such as diamonds, limos and champagne. It’s the video game no one asked for, but No Frills shoppers who play can at least rack up loyalty points—up to 500 per day—to use in real life. The brand has also created a physical arcade unit that will be traveling around Canada in the near future. The game is part of an ongoing campaign for the chain called “Haulers,” a term the brand coined last year for its band of cost-saving shoppers. Fans of the brand can find “Haulers” merch on its online shop. In addition to the video game, No Frills is airing a spot—called “Haul or Nothing”—that fashions its shoppers as athletes preparing for the game of their life, putting themselves through grueling workouts and training schedules before heading in-store for an “epic haul.” [kickout id="1"] According to the agency, the ad “pays respect to shoppers in a series of stylized vignettes that elevates them to the status of athletic heroes” in an effort to showcase their dedication and cost-saving achievements. “We only really have one guiding principle, and that's don't follow any of the rules when it comes to how a grocery store should behave,” Cher Campbell, executive creative director at John St., said in a statement. “Haulers are a tribe now, and they have a keen sense of what is authentically No Frills, of what that 'swagger-y' personality is, and as long we keep rejecting traditional ways of speaking to our consumers, they'll keep hauling.” CREDITS: CLIENT SVP, Marketing: Uwe Stueckmann VP, Marketing: Mary MacIsaac Director, Brand Marketing: Ashley McGill Senior Brand Manager: David Becker Brand Manager: Naveet Nanwa Brand Specialist: Teresa Tornatore AGENCY Agency: John St. Chief Creative Officer: Angus Tucker Executive Creative Director: Cher Campbell Copywriter: Robbie Percy Art Director: Caroline Friesen Executive Director, Design: Mooren Bofill Design Director: Jacqueline Lane Designer: Ming Mikaeo Head of Production: Aimee DeParolis Executive Producer (TV): Brittani Wilcox Executive Producer (Game): Matthew DeWaal Producer (Game): Summer Mitterhuber Director of Creative Technology: Joshua Richards Account Service: Nick Pigott, Lindsay Day, Kelly Brennan Strategy: Megan Towers, Mario Ramirez Reyes PRODUCTION + POST (TV) Director: Ian Schwartz Production Company: Radke Films Executive Producers: Scott Mackenzie, Tony DiMarco Line Producer: Rob Jacklin Director of Photography: Albert Salas Casting: Powerhouse Editorial (Editor, Company): Graham Chisholm, Married to Giants Colour (Colourist, Company): Clinton Homuth, Artjail VFX / Online (Lead VFX Artist, Company): Sean Cochrane, The Vanity Audio (Creative Director, Company): Didier Tovel, SNDWRx PRODUCTION (Game) Game Creative + Development: Relish Interactive Producer: Colin Marson Associate Producer: Phil Leuenberger Creative Director: Justin Sadler Game Design: Aaron Worrall Art Director: Alyssa Munaretto Illustration & Animation: Jesse Millest Game Developers: Rocco Briganti, Cody Chartrand Web Developer: David Blonski Dev Ops Lead: Rick Mason Lead Tester: Damien Rochon Arcade Unit Fabrication: wonderMakr President & Chief Innovation Officer: Mark Stewart Chief Creative Technologist: Garrett Reynolds Manager, Creative Technology: Jonathan Warren Jr. Creative Technologist: Alec Mulder Director, Digital Development: Chris Fairhurst Technical Producer: Al Macrae Senior Producer: Rasheed Hussain Game Music: SNDWRx Ltd Music Creative Director: Didier Tovel Executive Producer: Alison Lawee Engineer: Stephen Cullen

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Canadian Discount Grocer No Frills Has Created an 8-Bit Video Game

Players can earn loyalty points to use in store

Minda Smiley

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