Food and family go hand-in-hand during the holidays. My mom and dad, no longer with us, passed the tradition of giving and cooking down to me and I will pass it down to my daughters. Especially fried turkey. This is the time of year we look forward (well, most of us) to those family gatherings and also remember those who are now missing. Kroger’s new holiday film, “Today’s Holiday Moments are Tomorrow’s Memories,” does this and more. And it’s why it’s our “Reel Ad of the Week.”
The touching film, reminiscent of the opening to Pixar’s Up, shares the story of a family’s holiday memories created and celebrated over treasured dishes and holiday meals.
Viewers are introduced to a new Kroji character who is navigating the holiday season and remembering the best memories are created over food with his family. The film was made in collaboration with the multi-disciplinary production company Hornet and creative agency DDB.
Since their introduction in 2019, Kroger Krojis have become one of the grocer’s key brand assets. Research has shown they are unique and ownable to the Kroger brand, which has helped it break through a crowded grocery retail category.
“As America’s grocer, we understand the importance food and tradition play in our lives,” said Stuart Aitken, Kroger Senior Vice President and Chief Merchant & Marketing Officer. “There’s no one who can bring food and memories together the way Kroger can. We take the role food plays in our customers’ lives seriously – especially those special holiday dishes. Families and friends spend some of their happiest moments sharing a meal, and we want our customers to know that Kroger is here to make that easier and more accessible than ever.”
Kroger worked with Grammy-award-winning singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat to record a special rendition of “Iris,” originally written by the Goo Goo Dolls in 1998. The song reached #1 in Australia, Canada and Italy; #3 in the U.K.; and #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Caillat’s vocals set the backdrop for the story about Jack, who stumbles upon his late wife’s cookbook. He tries to make a few dishes, and after each taste, he relives a holiday memory. The film ends in the present day when Jack carries on his favorite food traditions with his granddaughter.
DDB confessed its creative team’s goal was to make Kroger’s CMO cry. And, they did! Watch below:
REELated:
“The Kroger Marketing team, DDB and Hornet really created an unforgettable experience,” said Tom Duncan, Kroger’s Vice President of Marketing. “I’m so proud of what they were able to bring to life and so excited to share it with our customers. Holiday meals with the family create wonderful memories, and I hope this film encourages each of our customers to build their own recipe book filled with meals to ‘enjoy with family.’”
“We know families look to food to make lasting memories during the holidays,” added Emily Hartmann, Kroger’s Senior Director of Brand Marketing. “This sentiment carries so much emotion, and we wanted to capture that feeling in this campaign. Customers will see it come to life in a beautiful story told through elevated characters and environments that don’t compromise the simplicity of the Kroji’s graphic nature.”
Behind the Scenes
Kroger briefed teams about the initiative in early May. Before production kicked off in late June, 50+ potential scripts were whittled down to one.
To achieve the kind of cinematic expressiveness Kroger was going for, Hornet had to restructure and add new detail to faces, hands and Kroji bodies. Everything from the rigs, the hair groom technology and the details in skin texture were upgraded to push the overall quality of the characters.
The hair was a pernicious challenge right up to the last few days before delivery—specifically eyebrow glitches (which might not sound like much but drastically affects the expressions of Jack and Devi in their emotional moment together).
To quantify the craft and intention of the production effort, see how different aspects of the work broke down in hours:
- 500 hours for story
- 1,500 hours for animation
- 2,700 hours for model lock development
- 3,500 hours for lighting and comp
- 50,000 hours for render
But none of this matters if the story isn’t there. DDB realized this admitting emotional storytelling is more difficult than it seems.
Generating something that doesn’t feel contrived, cheesy or overly manipulative takes a measured approach. The goal was not to make something “feel-good” for the sake of it. Instead, the creative agency set out to remind people that Kroger is more than a grocery store. It’s a collection of people who understand and are going through the same things its customers are—and Kroger knows the responsibility it carries, bringing intention to everything it does.
“Going beyond simply providing service, convenience and price to customers this holiday season—we wanted to tap into the heart of what makes the holidays special for the diverse customers and associates we serve,” noted Aitken. “That’s sharing sacred holiday dishes with loved ones. As America’s grocer, Kroger understands and takes care of customers in a more meaningful way. We play a central role in offering fresh ingredients for generations of treasured family memories.”
In addition to the short film, the companies produced a printable coloring book featuring scenes and recipes from the film. The book features scenes and recipes from the film, created in partnership with award-winning illustrator Jennifer Morris, will be available on Nov. 3.
The national campaign will appear during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, as well as during the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys matchup on Thanksgiving Day and The Ohio State Buckeyes-Michigan Wolverines game Thanksgiving weekend. Kroger collaborated with Food Network and The Cooking Channel for television, streaming and social extensions related to the holiday campaign.
CREDITS:
CLIENT: The Kroger Co.
- Stuart Aitken, Chief Merchant & Marketing Officer
- Emily Hartmann, Senior Director, Brand Marketing
- Karrie Pukstas, Senior Brand Manager
- Lindsey Hasis, Brand Manager
AGENCY: DDB, New York
- Paulo Junger, Executive Creative Director
- Cassandra Anderson, Creative Director
- Vinicius Fernandes, Creative Director
- Mussashi Shintaku, Creative Director
- Bree Hopenwasser, Senior Producer
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hornet
- Directors Yves Geleyn, Director
- Michael Thurmeier, Director
- Michael Knapp, Art Director
- Hana Shimizu, Managing Partner
- Karen Lawler, Head of Production
- Kristin Labriola, Head of Creative Development
- Alex Unick, Executive Producer
- Dez Stavracos, Production Supervisor
- Sean O’Loughlin, Associate Producer
- Anita Chao, Senior Editor
- Cole Bannick, Assistant Editor
- Brandon Buikema, Production Coordinator
- Tony Makinen, Storyboard Artists
- Camillo Clauser, Storyboard Artists
- Stephanie Dere, Storyboard Artists
- Valerie Yan, Storyboard Artists
- Margaux Zisner, Character Designer
- Tom Humber, Environment Designer
- Alex Levenson, Environment Designer
- Hannah Kim, Designer
- Valerie Yan, Designer
- Alma Kim, Titles Designer
- John Kalaigian. CG Supervisor
- Natalia Perez Melendez, CG Lead
- Chris Hill, Rigging
- Giovanni Kososki, Groom
- Rui Zhu, Groom
- Alex Levenson, Modeling
- Adam Rozenwieg, Modeling
- Nick Wegin, Modeling
- Angeline Rivera, Modeling
- Constance Benson, Modeling
- Rui Zhu, Look Dev
- Joseph Chen, Look Dev
- Angeline Rivera, Look Dev
- Mohamed Sinbawy, Look Dev
- Kwan Au, Look Dev
- Alvin Bae, Look Dev
- Natalia Perez Melendez, Light & Rendering
- Nicole Noel, Light & Rendering
- Kwan Au, Light & Rendering
- Alvin Bae, Light & Rendering
- Mohamed Sinbawy, Light & Rendering
- Grace Hwang,Light & Rendering
- Nelson Mai, Light & Rendering
- Richard Kim, Light & Rendering
- Nick Wergin, Light & Rendering
- Angeline Rivera, Light & Rendering
- Matt Defranco, Senior Compositor
- Peter Fink, Compositor
- Phil Massimino, Compositor
- Marco Maldera, Compositor
- Meg Oswalt, Animator
- Matt Parent, Animator
- Nick Christie, Animator
- Hee Jin Kim, Animator
- Rob Somers, Animator
- Matt Corsillo, Animator
- Tristan Menard, Matte Painter
- Nicholas Dimas, Toolkit Support
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
