Creative and art direction | Client: Walmart
mean girls
black friday
Black Friday isn’t just a big moment for Walmart – it’s arguably the most crowded retail moment of the year. The challenge: differentiate Walmart’s deals from all the other Black Friday and holiday shopping noise.
So when Walmart decided their big deal days would be Wednesdays, we knew exactly who would help us stand out. We reunited the ultimate clique who first made Wednesdays iconic, the original cast of Mean Girls, to turn the Plastics’ mantra “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” into “On Wednesdays, we shop deals.”
With Tina Fey’s holy text as our guide, we moved the story into a 2023 Girl World, expanding the cast to include partners, children, and the surprise recast of Coach Carr with none other than THE Missy Elliot (whose original movie music carried through every spot.)
jingle bell rockIN’
The campaign came to life via five weekly launches, starting with a 2-minute full cast anthem, followed by stories for each character.
Gretchen’s
Wednesday
She’s not a regular mom. She’s a cool mom. And still second in command to a next generation Plastic named Amber.
cady’s
Wednesday
Now logically the guidance counselor, Cady once again found herself navigating the high school experience through Gen Z’s judgy eyes.
karen’s
Wednesday
Karen used her special talents to do the weather… and Walmart Black Friday Deals announcements.
damian’s
cyber monday
If Cyber Monday is the grand finale of Black Friday, it only made sense to have Damian, now North Shore’s drama teacher, take us out with a bang.
Additional content from Missy Elliott, Damian, and Kevin G. rounded out the campaign.
The wardrobe, set design, props, and products all came from Walmart.
We filled Girl World 2.0 with everything from TVs to Toaster Strudels…
…thoughtfully incorporating Walmart deals & branding, without going overboard. No one likes a botched reboot – or when a corporation ruins their favorite thing.
The wardrobe, set design, props, and products all came from Walmart.
Luckily, Walmart sells toaster ovens and boomboxes and yes, even white gold hoops.
We even created an Instagram Shop so customers could shop the looks from the campaign.
Animated GIFs let viewers react in real time, with a fresh take on old fan favorites.
TikTok exploded with user-generated reaction videos, duets, and stitches. No Easter egg went undiscovered.
Results-wise, the limit did not exist, reaching
3+ Billion
impressions and views
Walmart #1 retailer for ad awareness & consideration
400x
higher engagement on social
90%
positive sentiment on social
66x
higher conversation about Walmart
400+ Mil
unique users
Press
Credits
Director: Lucia Aniello
Production: Hungry Man
Editors: Merritt Duff, Justin "Q” Quagliata, Ryan Stacom @ Union Editorial
Sound: Glen Landrum, Harbor
Color: Co3, Harbor
Finishing: Harbor
Talent: Creative License
CCO: Nikki Baker, Leslie Shaffer
ECD: Travis Parr
Creative Director (Art) : Abby Gross
Creative Director (Copy) : Sara Cummings
Producers: Rachel Tierney, Trevor Hembling, Chris Detoy
Addtl Creatives: Kayla Hall, Grace Geary, Caitlin Fitzgibbons
Account: Lauren Pulwer, Andrea Hoock, Andrea Delloiacono, Alda Abbracciamento
Strategy: Melissa Panasci, Taylor Brodie, Patrick White
Social: Missy Young
Dept W Design: Daniel Arenas, Lydia Bickal