A video game for a grocery stores and the haulers within - "Aisles of Glory"

Last year No Frills rebranded their customers as “Haulers”, shoppers who get a lot for a lot less. With a music video and clothing line, No Frills paid homage to their customers and brought to life just how badass saving on groceries can feel. 

This year, No Frills is celebrating their customers again by turning “Hauling” into a sport. Much like the best athletes, haulers aren’t born, they’re made through mental and physical preparedness. They take pride in the haul. And every No Frills haul is a victory, one worthy of celebration.

This year, No Frills is launching a new fully integrated Hauler campaign, centred around a :60 film and online video game “Hauler:Aisles of Glory” 

No Frills has done it again with the release of Hauler: Aisles of Glory™, a retro 8-bit 2D animation video game. A web-based game played in-browser on mobile, tablet and desktop, Hauler: Aisles of Glory is a key part of the new No Frills marketing campaign that launched on May 6^th. Available in Canada, No Frills wants Canadians to get their virtual shopping carts ready for the ultimate Hauler™ experience and the opportunity to earn PC Optimum points in real life.

“Every major sport has a video game franchise, so why should hauling be any different?” says Uwe Stueckmann, SVP Marketing, Loblaw Companies. “Much like the best athletes, the best haulers aren’t born - they’re made through mental and physical preparedness. We wanted to demonstrate to the world what goes into an epic haul. After all, No Frills is the best place to purchase fresh quality groceries at a low price, and saving money isn’t celebrated enough.”

Based off the in-store shopping experience, Haulers will train for their next shopping trip by running through an 8-bit animated No Frills, collecting points for hauling groceries and avoiding unnecessary frills and obstacles not commonly found at grocery stores like diamonds, limousines, and expensive speed boats. The Hauler will dash seamlessly between the different sections of the store through produce, packaged goods, bakery, meat and even outside through the parking lot.

After the virtual haul is complete and gameplay ends, players can enter their PC Optimum card number to claim their daily reward of 500 PC Optimum points. The game will reward players until they have awarded 50,000,000 PC Optimum points cumulatively to Canadians.

The game is hosted on the NoFrills.ca website and playable on both mobile and desktop. For a hyperlocal experience, the game also pulls in players’ local No Frills store, which many shoppers know by name. For playing the game, customers can receive a maximum 500 PC Optimum points per day (the brand’s loyalty program), with the brand giving away 50 million in PC Optimum points.

The brand also created a physical arcade unit that will be traveling around the country, details and dates to be announced soon. 

“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,” says Cher Campbell, Executive Creative Director, john st.  “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.”

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