Coles goes to ‘great lengths for quality’ in newly launched campaign via Smith St
Coles is championing the great lengths its team members and suppliers go to in providing Australians with the best quality fresh meat, produce, bakery and Own Brand products, in its latest campaign via Smith St.
From spending years forming close relationships with Aussie cattle farmers to select great tasting beef, and partnering with French master baker Laurent Boillon from Laurent Bakery for Coles Finest 30-hour stone-baked sourdough, to our expert culinary panel who taste test Coles Own Brand products to ensure they meet quality standards before they hit shelves – at Coles, “we go to great lengths for quality”.
The campaign extends through multiple media touchpoints and Coles-owned channels like the Coles Magazine, Coles Radio and on coles.com.au. The campaign shows Coles team members working together with its network of dedicated farmers, growers, and bakers, all in the pursuit of quality. Their positive Aussie spirit and passion for quality never waivers, even when enduring tough conditions like torrential rain, a swarm of bees, early mornings or a gaggle of angry geese.
Says Bianca Mundy, head of brand and media, Coles: “We know Australians are experiencing household budget pressures with rising costs of living, and more and more Aussies are looking to Coles for great value, and great quality food to feed their families. This campaign puts a spotlight on the idea that behind even the most normal-looking apple or cut of meat, there is an extraordinary ambition and passion from the Coles team to create this high-quality food. The same food that goes in customers’ baskets every time they shop at Coles.”
Says Psembi Kinstan, executive creative director, Smith St: “What strikes you when you meet the incredible chefs, partners, food development experts, and entire food sourcing team at Coles is their unique passion and energy. They take their job seriously to get the very best food in Australia. But they don’t take themselves seriously. What all Australians will start to feel from Coles is this unwavering enthusiasm, fun, and cheekiness.”
Says James Cowie, group creative partner, Smith St: “There are incredible stories that sit behind the delicious food you buy at Coles. Now you can discover these stories everywhere from the shelf to your TikTok feed.”
Client: Coles
General Manager – Brand, Digital and Media: Kate Bailey
Head of Brand, Content & Media: Bianca Mundy
Media Manager: Sally Mann
Senior Marketing Manager: John Blaskett
Senior Marketing Manager: Patrick Breen
Marketing Manager: Kailah Symons
Social Media Manager: Elle Gardiner
Senior Insights Manager: Alannah McColl
Content & Planning Manager: Chelsea Quilty
Agency: Smith St
Chief Client Officer: Piers Bebbington
Chief Creative Officer: Stephen de Wolf
Group Executive Creative Director: Psembi Kinstan
Group Creative Partner: James Cowie
Senior Art Director: Lisa Dupre
Art Director: Phoenix Santamaria
Copywriter: Rory Moore
Head of Production: Sonia McLaverty
Head of Planning: Matt Pearce
Planning Director: Age Conte
Managing Partner: Katie Firth
Engagement Lead: Alana Spadaro
Engagement Director: Sarah Murphy
Project Manager: Sophie Turk
Social Content Creative: Charlotte Funnell
Social Strategist: Rosie Chong
Audience Strategist: Ross Dougall
Audience Lead: Jasmine Poole
Audience Director: Caroline Herring
Audience Manager: Aria Koudounis
Social Editor: Alex Debely
Designers: Stefan Elias & Ciaran Carlisle
Digital Designer: Petar Zivkovic
Film:
Production Company: MOFA
Director: Nick Kelly
Executive Producer: Claire Perkins
Producer: Niko Aulich
Post: ARC EDIT
Sound: Rumble Studios
Photography:
Production Company: Photoplay
Photographer: Chris Budgeon
Content Agency: Medium Rare
55 Comments
to see coles push the boat out a little
If only the same could be said for the art direction
Sure, this idea has been done before but who cares – this looks great and puts a premium on what is essentially a home brand. Nice one. Ouchy for FMCG brands who don’t have Coles level budgets.
Reminds me that it must have been tough for DDB who were asked to work with that god-awful meaningless line “Value the Australian way” – the type of line that you can sell to a client with (bad but convincing) strategy but in reality, it means nothing. Creatively, it leads no where. If I was Coles, I would let it go and move on to something meaningful to make way for distinctive work.
100%
We go to great lengths isn’t where you would land though.
It sounds like the brief.
No one believes this sort of thing.
what happened to “value the australian way”?
Looks like they quietly killed it.
Was that out of home done in MS Paint?
A Coles ad that’s actually endearing, well done.
(Agree that ditching that line is a good move.)
hands are huuuge.
So Smith St really is DDB dressed up as an in-house agency? What happened to all of the Big Red crew that migrated across? Do they just do the day-to-day retail and DDB handle brand? Where’s Tricky?!?!?
Coles and the Smith St. team have done a great job with this campaign. You can’t name everyone in a presser. I’m thrilled for the core group of clients and agency folk who landed this campaign. Thrilled and extremely proud.
moving the needle in the right direction. best Coles piece for a long long time. looks brill.
Wasn’t it DDB who sold Coles that god awful line?
No, it was developed by one of the Big 4 consultancies. DDB inherited it.
The god-awful line was sold to Coles by another agency in a free strategy workshop by another agency. DDB got stuck with it.
Beautiful work for a retail client. Endearing characters too.
Well done clever kids.
Guys. Good job. Some of the best you can do for the client. That line was not developed by one of the big four so calm down people
Wasn’t the god-awful line was sold in a one day workshop offered to Coles in an attempt to get the business?
Also an agency that had some early investment from one of the big 4.
…. And kill a very good line. Value the Australian Way is a strong line for Coles. Just execute it well.
Value the Australian way was a terrible line. It didn’t say anything or ladder up to a single creative idea.
Coles. No AAMI. Nope, those red shirts are Coles red shirts. Value the AAMI way.
The new web site is useless. For the past seven weeks I have not been able to order items I require having to ring your Help number THEN when I try to post my order am instructed to call the Help people who eventually submit my order for me. This adds over one hour to my shopping time and has been the case for SEVEN weeks. The new web site is not user friendly making it harder to operate.
You know they have stores? I’ve seen a few dotted around the place.
looks look its about to drive through that kerning.
Lovely film though.
W ha t’s a k e rn i ng?
But why are all of the agency folk listed in the credits under Smith St. actually work at DDB?
Smith St is made up of group of people across the Omnicom group. And a very smart group at that.
It’s a new way Coles are working.
that old chesnut. Going the extra length/mile for the best.
you totally surprised me coles
I’ve seen store staff barely walk a meter to the automated checkout to swipe a card and press a few buttons. And rightly so.
Turning a brand around is hard. For some brands, impossible. But this might just be one that’s on its way. Well done to MOFA for clearly doing something very well crafted.
The strategy and execution are hardly unique, albeit quite well done.
But the issue I have is that this looks like a Woollies ad.
This may be deliberate given Woollies outperformance in recent years, but it hardly differentiates the two.
Straight out of the old Woolworths playbook,from when they were doing great work at their peak a few years ago and killing Coles.
It’s fine. I’m sure it’s a tough gig – massive company with a massive target audience. Equally, it’s nothing brilliant. The category can be fantastic. Compare this to Aldi. Not a patch!
lol at your comment, it’s so fucking red and branded
Branding is a personality, not a colour. Still, Coles hasn’t had one for decades now.
Funny how the YouTube link is posted on a DDB page? Is Smith St really just DDB in wolf’s clothes?
This is a solid spot for such a massive client
The Woolies on Smith St is funnier. Especially on dole day.
Smith St is really just DDB and OMD in wolf’s clothes. If by ‘wolf’s clothes’ you mean ‘a co-located office’, but that does sound a bit less scandalous.
Campaign is good work for Coles – great strides.
For everyone confused about DDB vs Smith St – read the article here.
https://www.colesgroup.com.au/media-releases/?page=coles-appoints-smith-street-a-world-class-agency-model
Interested to see how this comes to life at the store/aisle level
It’s way better than I expected. And I’m a grumpy c*nt. Well done on this.
Kind of nice and lighthearted.
It’s an about turn from their positioning on value though isn’t?
Now they want to be all about fresh food?
I’m no Ritson, but is that wise?
It’s about quality (not just freshness).
That builds up to the idea of value.
(Value = price + whatever the consumer values).
well done team, as someone that used to work on Coles, I reckon this is big
That’s my tractor and its for hire 🙂
coles suck. their budgets suck. their creative sucks. their output sucks.their shops suck.
Read the room Smith St!
I don’t want to see quirky Coles staff spraying a tomato (with who knows what) or dancing in a battery hen house or whatever.
I want to know how Coles will save me money in a cost of living crisis – and the answer isn’t advertising steady increases in “every day low prices”.
This ad may have worked in 2019, but a complete misstep in 2023. It actually makes me feel bit sick.
Do better Smith St and Coles.
Brutal, but accurate
What? Are we supposed to smile / laugh at this B$ because it’s quirky/ awkward/ cute and think of coles in the same way? Is that the level of understanding of the human psyche these smarmy marketers have? When we all know they actually rip farmers and growers and use retail dominance to threaten not to sell their product if they complain all while their price gouging contribute to the inflationary mess we all find ourselves in!
Does anyone know what the music title is in this add
whats the music and song to ad
Great shame that the announcer pronounces ‘lengths’ with a silent ‘g’. Wrong and very annoying. Look up the correct pronunciation in any good dictionary.