• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, November 29, 2023

Pass the candy-cane popcorn, please. Walmart, already wooing movie-loving shoppers with a “Mean Girls” ad campaign, is rolling out “Add to Heart,” a shoppable romantic comedy.

The retailer greenlit the novel campaign, which unspools in 23 parts, hoping to combine two holiday loves: shopping and watching romcoms. The ads are running on TikTok, Roku and YouTube.

The storyline follows Jessica, a spunky New York designer heading home for the holidays, where she reconnects with Javi, an old flame.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer says the effort is TikTok’s first fully shoppable series, “making it seamless for customers to watch, shop and swoon with each scene.”

The ads feature more than 300 products consumers can choose from, ranging from furniture to holiday décor to apparel.

They are also scheduled to appear on YouTube and Roku, where users can find Walmart’s first shoppable branded entertainment playlist and a marquee ad on Roku’s homepage. Ads will also appear on Walmart’s owned channels.

The retail giant created the campaign with a cast of Publicis Groupe agencies, including Fallon, Publicis NY, the Community, Contender and Digitas. 

The company says it based the work on research indicating that 60% of Americans plan to make a purchase via social media this year. Walmart also cites a survey showing that watching holiday movies is more enjoyable than decorating a tree or baking cookies.

“We know gifting and curling up to watch a favorite Christmas movie are part of so many families’ traditions,” says William White, Walmart’s chief marketing officer, in the announcement. “So, what better time to launch an innovative, first-of-its-kind shoppable series?”

Besides this new romcom and the series of ads starring the cast of the coming “Mean Girls” reboot, Walmart is also looking for ways to make reality TV shoppable.

Earlier this month, Walmart announced a commerce partnership with NBCUniversal, which allows Bravo fans to “shop the moment” on Peacock’s "Below Deck Mediterranean."

That collaboration highlights table settings, cookware and “yacht-life” styles. Using arrows on their remotes, shoppers can browse an interactive onscreen product carousel, scan a QR code and check out.