Mike Stopforth

In July 2008 UK-based retailer Aldi launched a campaign with the tagline “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket”. Sweet.

Here’s a vid of one of the campaign ads:

At the same time last year, here in sunny SA, ex-creative director of BBDO Cape Town, Andrew Brand, and founding partner of Berry Bush, Lewin de Villiers launched NINETY9CENTS and announced that they would be taking over the Checkers account from 1 September.

The really interesting part is that Checkers have just launched a nationwide campaign with the tagline, “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket”. Little too close for comfort in my humble opinion.

Listen to it here: Checkers “Don’t change your lifestyle” radio spot.

Update:

I received a response via email from Andrew Brand this afternoon (05/05/09) – it reads as follows:

Hi Mike

I saw your blog regarding the “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket” tagline, and would like to respond.

The new Checkers advertising campaign, which started flighting in April, showcases the brand as one that’s ideally suited to answering to consumer’s needs, particularly during the current financial situation. The campaign sets up the proposition of “Better Living” solutions, showcasing various product and category offerings in which Checkers offers exceptional quality and value.

The commercials end with the logical tactical proposition of “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket” which succinctly implies that the consumer still has a choice in these current tough economic times – that they can still afford great products at an affordable price at Checkers.

After the idea was pitched we researched the “Better Living” and “Don’t change your lifestyle, change your supermarket” propositions and found that both phrases were already being extensively used internationally with the “Don’t change your supermarket…” phrase being used by Aldi Supermarket Group in the United Kingdom.

After discussions with our clients, it was agreed that although the line had already been used by Aldi, it was still the most succinct way to express the desired sentiment and met the tactical requirements of the campaign. It’s not unusual for certain phrases to enter the lexicon at similar times for similar brands or categories – over the years many brands across the world have positioned themselves similarly.

The television campaign bears absolutely no creative similarity to that of Aldi’s (bar the tagline in question) nor any other local or international supermarket chain, and the response to the advertisements in the marketplace has been fantastic thus far, with Checkers demonstrating their positioning of being “better and better” to an ever-growing, and increasingly loyal, customer base.

I appreciate the opportunity to give perspective on our position, and wish you and your blog all the success in the future.

Kind regards

Andrew Brand

Managing Director, NINETY9CENTS

I guess that’s fair enough – kudos to Andrew for the transparent response.

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