https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vc60eS2XKw
Everyone gets a seat at the table in a new Walmart ad celebrating togetherness among people of various racial, ethnic and geographic backgrounds.
The 60-second aptly dubbed “Many Tables. One Chair.” ad is a recreation of Coca-Cola’s iconic “Hilltop” ad from 1971, according to marketing and media news site Advertising Age. The commercial’s warm message comes amid racial controversy stemming from the recent deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., and President Donald Trump’s tepid response in the aftermath.
Sources familiar with the ad said the timing is purely coincidental, however, as the ad was already in the works as a follow-up to Walmart’s “Come Together” ad from 2016, the news site reported.
“We’re a place where 140 million people gather every week, and our stores are part of the fabric of communities around America,” the company in a statement. “Inspired by what we are hearing from many of our customers and associates right now, this ad celebrates the importance of coming together.”
The commercial depicts racially and ethnically diverse individuals from across the country packing, carrying or wheeling their chairs to a large dinner table in the middle of an open field while The Youngblood’s “Get Together” plays in the background.
So far, the ad, which debuted Sunday, Aug. 20, has gained a modest 11 million views on YouTube, an indicator that the retail giant could do a bit more to publicize it through both social and conventional media channels.
AdAge reported that while Walmart CEO Doug McMillon declined to join the other CEOs who bid adieu to Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum and manufacturing councils, he criticized the president in a recent letter to employees.
“Respect for the individual is one of our core beliefs at Walmart,” McMillon wrote. “… As we watched the events and the response from President Trump over the weekend, we too felt that he missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together by unequivocally rejecting the appalling actions of white supremacists.”
