“We are really excited that we are bringing two favorite holiday traditions together with shopping and watching holiday rom-coms,” said White, a 2023 Adweek Brand Genius.
White said the concept for the series was rooted in insights including that 60% of Americans are looking to make a purchase through social media—a trend he said continues to rise and has spurred the brand’s investment in TikTok.
The episodes use TikTok’s shoppable video ads and Roku’s “OK to text” feature, both of which allow viewers to shop while watching the love story unfold.
The retailer will also host a “Blue Carpet Premiere” event in New York Nov. 30, with many of the invited guests being real-life couples—including some of the store’s own associates—who met in the aisles of Walmart.
On a ‘Mean (Girls)’ streak
Walmart has been on a hot streak lately with its shoppable content, having recently released the megahit “On Wednesdays, We Shop Black Friday Deals” campaign, which reunited several cast members from early aughts classic Mean Girls. In the ad, the movie’s stars—including Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Daniel Franzese and Rajiv Surendra—reprised their roles as adults, with a surprise appearance by Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot as a schoolteacher.
The premise of the viral campaign centered around the retailer announcing new items that would be part of its Black Friday deals on Wednesdays—a day with great significance in the film. The modernized story integrated products such as clothing and toys, with shots of the cast using the store’s app to access more deals.
“That was a lot of fun,” said White, who told Adweek the idea behind using the film was to differentiate the brand “with all the different noise in the marketplace.”