john st. Goes Retro with Arcade Cabinet and Video Game for No Frills

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-second film and online video game 'Hauler: Aisles of Glory'.

The film pays respect to shoppers in a series of stylised vignettes that elevates them to the status of athletic heroes, showing customer dedication and showcasing their achievements.  

For the first time ever, shoppers can train for their next big haul with a gamified version of the in-store experience. In retro-style 'no frills' 8-bit animation, a player can choose one of five Hauler characters to run and jump throughout the store to collect fresh hauls, while avoiding expensive frills. The game concept brings the brand values to life in an addicting way and features real products like no name canned chick peas. The game is equipped with the original Hauler music, remixed to match the retro style of the game.

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.”

Full Credits

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

CLIENT

Advertiser: No Frills

CREATIVE AGENCY

Creative Agency: John ST.

Copywriter: Robbie Percy

Art Director: Caroline Friesen

Strategist: Megan Towers, Mario Ramirez Reyes

Executive Creative Director: Cher Campbell

Chief Creative Officer: Angus Tucker

Account Service: Nick Pigott, Lindsay Day, Kelly Brennan

Head of Production: Aimee Deparolis

Executive Director, Design: Mooren Bofill

Producer (Game): Summer Mitterhuber

Director of Creative Technology: Joshua Richards

Design Director: Jacqueline Lane

Designer: Ming Mikaeo

Executive Producer: Matthew Dewaal

PRODUCTION COMPANY

Production Company: Radke Films

Executive Producer: Scott Mackenzie, Tony Dimarco

Director: Ian Schwartz

Dop: Albert Salas

Producer: Rob Jacklin

OFFLINE

Edit Company: Married to Giants

Editor: Graham Chisholm

POST PRODUCTION / VFX

Colourist: Clinton Homuth, Artjail

VFX Supervisor: Sean Cochrane, The Vanity

MUSIC

Music Company: SNDWRx

Composer: Didier Tovel