Walmart Changes

Thirty-two years ago...Walmart founder Sam Walton personally hired the Kansas City based Bernstein-Rein advertising agency. Since then, Bernstein-Rein has created ad icons for the retail giant-- including the famous smiley-face character. So why get rid of a good thing? Bobby Cook, vice president of local ad agency the C-3 Group, says he thinks Walmart wants a different crowd. "If you`ve noticed, a lot of Walmart stores have changed a lot in the past year, they`re carrying new merchandise, they`re going more upscale....it will be interesting to see what happens," Cook said. Walmart officials would not comment on the change, but representatives of Bernstein-Rein did confirm the company will no longer work with Walmart as of January 31, 2007. "When you have an ad agency for that long they may get stuck in the same look, and it may be tough for them to get out of that rut," Cook said. One thing is for sure-- Walmart customers will see some changes in the way the company tries to attract their business. "I think they can expect to see some new campaigns come out of this...I think a lot of it is the new marketing team they brought in about a year or two ago, I think they`re just making changes, they`re just wanting to reinvent themselves for their consumer." Bernstein-Rein recently launched Walmart`s largest pharmacy and summer ad campaign ever, and will launch Walmart`s Holiday `06 campaign before the two sever ties for good.