- Walmart has teamed with actors Walton Goggins and Stephanie Beatriz for a brand new campaign, “Walmart. Who Knew?,” designed to challenge consumer perceptions concerning the big-box store, based on details shared with Marketing Dive.
- Goggins serves as a knowledgeable guide in a 60-second spot set to The Who’s “Who Are You” where he dishes on the assorted perks of shopping with Walmart. Beatriz plays an analogous role in a Spanish-language ad set to Ricardo Arjona’s “Quien Diría.”
- The effort, which is live and spans TV, online video, paid social and out-of-home ads, follows the retailer’s brand refresh in January. The campaign was inspired by research indicating that while 90% of Americans live inside 10 miles of a Walmart, most aren’t aware of the retailer’s brand evolution.
Walmart is reintroducing itself to consumers who will not be aware of its full range of capabilities with its latest campaign. The effort follows the big-box store’s recent brand refresh, which included a brand new typeface, more vibrant colours and a bigger emphasis on its spark logo. The refresh also included a deal with delivering greater consistency across channels like its app and website, moves meant to support its goal of becoming a real omnichannel retailer.
With its latest campaign, Walmart is highlighting features like Express Delivery and its enhanced Walmart+ membership advantages, including free delivery on quite a lot of items. A 60-second spot starring Goggins (“The White Lotus”) begins with the star asking “You wanna hear a secret?,” before revealing that the sauna he’s sitting in is from Walmart. He goes on to seem in quite a lot of other scenarios, showcasing how the retailer can provide an assist. The spot ends with a voiceover that states, “The Walmart you thought you knew is now latest.”
Actress Beatriz (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) appears in a Spanish-language spot set at a gender reveal party. The star is seen explaining that, due to Walmart’s speedy delivery, she is in a position to wait to learn what gender the child is before purchasing a present, which she proceeds to do after a chaotic reveal. Ahead of the campaign’s launch, celebrity Paris Hilton and NBA player Russell Westbrook appeared to tease the hassle with social media posts that featured blue and yellow shopping bags marked with the words “I knew.”
Walmart’s effort takes an analogous approach as JCPenney’s “Yes, JCPenney” campaign that launched in April. That effort, which pushes consumers to reconsider what they think they know concerning the 123-year-old brand, kicked off with out-of-home ads that depict stylish looks but without overt labels. Instead, they feature copy reading, “It’s from where?” and QR codes that reveal the clothing is from JCPenney. The similarities between Walmart and JCPenney’s campaigns are a signal of how legacy retailers — Walmart was founded in 1962 — are trying to remain relevant and construct loyalty as shopping habits change.
Walmart reported revenue of $165.6 billion during Q1 of its fiscal 12 months 2026 ended April 30, a rise of two.5% 12 months over 12 months, per an earnings statement. Its global ads business grew 50% YoY and Walmart Connect within the U.S. was up 31%. Beyond its campaign, the brand has sought to attach with consumers in other ways recently, including through the launch of its own Minecraft Java server in March as a solution to link itself to the movie based on the video game property.
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