"Who knew?" campaign casts Walmart in fresh light
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Walton Goggins made a cameo appearance at the Walmart Associates celebration Friday. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios
Man-of-the-moment Walton Goggins is stepping up as Walmart's new hype man in fresh ads featuring an earworm track from The Who. The company revealed the image campaign featuring the on-trend actor at its annual associates pep rally in Fayetteville on Friday.
- "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon emceed the event.
The big picture: The world's largest retailer, long known as a low-price leader, now also wants to be known for its near-limitless selection and ability to deliver items — fast.
Goggins — known most recently for "The White Lotus," "The Righteous Gemstones" and "Fallout" — made an appearance at the campaign reveal.
- "[I may] change my last name to Walton, so I'll be the only Walton Walton here," he joked.
State of play: Goggins is the nonchalant hero-in-the-know throughout one ad showing off some of the half a billion products available through the retail giant. A home sauna? Yes. Bear spray? You bet. Dancing shoes? Of course.
- The Who's 1978 rock anthem "Who Are You" plays prominently in the background, and supporting actors declare, "Who knew?"
- "Who-knew, who-knew," one sings.
Spanish-language ads will feature comedic actress Stephanie Beatriz.
What they're saying: "The role of this campaign is to really change perceptions that people have of the Walmart they think they know … to a [multichannel] retailer that has a broad assortment and can deliver to you as fast as an hour," chief marketing officer William White told Axios.
- The "Who knew?" concept will reach into the world of Reddit with "approved hacks" from Redditors and will get time on TikTok TopView, White said.
Paris Hilton and Russell Westbrook teased the campaign earlier this week with posts featuring the company's yellow shopping bag imprinted with "I knew."
Stunning stat: Through its brick-and-mortar stores, online shopping, and marketplace where third parties sell goods to Walmart customers, the company can sell more than half a billion items.
The rollout follows news this week that the retailer will be expanding its drone delivery operations in five Southern cities.
What's next: Expect to see the ads on high-impact television placements, notably the upcoming NBA Finals Game 2 and on morning shows.
- And prepare to not be able to get The Who out of your head for a while.