Men Shopping Wins Big

If you got a laugh from Trading Company’s “Man Shopping Challenge” TV commercials, you’re not alone.

National Grocers Association (NGA) just awarded Trading Company’s man focused television campaign with their prestigious “2009 NGA Creative Choice Award”. Additionally, the campaign was selected as a finalist for the NGA “Best in Show” at their February convention.

The National Grocers Association views hundreds of ads from all over the nation before making this designation. The “Best in Show” ad or campaign will be awarded at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada at the NGA Annual Convention on February 4, 2009.

Paul Matejovsky of Trading Company Stores commented, “We’re thrilled that this campaign did as well for us nationally as it did locally.” The campaign was launched in March of 2008 during the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament and provided immediate results for the local grocer.

“We’re just local guys who are trying to compete with the national chains. This campaign stuck out like a sore thumb and positioned us differently in the marketplace…plus it was funny,” Matejovsky added.

“Man Shopping Challenge” takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to some difficulties men may encounter when grocery shopping. These commercials treat the Trading Company shopper as if he was the star of an NFL Film highlight reel.

One commercial makes light of picking out snacks for “Game Night”, featuring Draper Valley Chicken. Another spot highlights a “Blind Date” scenario with Thomas Hammer Coffee. Double R Ranch Beef is featured in “Cooking for In-Laws”.

The concept, scripts, and creative direction came from Spokane based advertising agency Quinn Group. Agency Principal, Bonnie Quinn wanted to position Trading Company as the grocery store that celebrated the male shopper. “The owners of Trading Company are such great guys, so we wanted to build on that….real men helping real men shop. From there, we addressed some sticky shopping situations, like cooking for in-laws. We wanted to make it fun for men to shop. “

Quinn Group Advertising & Marketing was founded in 1969 by Gerald J. Quinn (Jerry) and Donna Lipe. Their goal and motivation was to provide the highest degree of professional service, breakthrough creative and marketing horsepower. Today, the Quinn Group is the oldest and one of the most respected full-service advertising agencies in the Inland Northwest…servicing clients locally, regionally, and nationally in a variety of businesses and industries. For more information, www.quinngroup.com