Kroger advertising wallas, in keeping with other advertisement trends just lately, came out with a new slogan and new logo back in 2019, with their campaign Fresh for Everyone, and the introduction of their newest mascots: creepy, oddly androgynous people they affectionately call Krojis. Another attempt at life imitating art. I was trying to figure out the last time I saw this. I couldnt quite put my finger on it. Oh yeah. Thats right. I was four, and it was Fisher Price Little People. Toy figurines that I had by the carload..literally. Small, thumbsized humanoid toy representations of people that invariably rolled under the refrigerator much to my moms endless irritation. Well, I reasoned then, as I do now, youre the one who bought me this entire race of peg-people. Can I help it if their lack of arms lends them to rolling . But thats just it: I was four and this was what there was to do back then. It was before video games really dropped into high gear and toys were still evolving out of the primordial swamp that produced other time-honored classics such as the pull along telephone with eyes.
Its hard to blame Kroger alone for this disgusting trend in advertising and marketing toward dumbing down their target customers with goofy looking cartoonish caricatures of people. My 401(k) provider, my health insurance com and even my credit union have all sadly decided upon this approach to advertising. So have PayPal, Google and a hundred other industry giants. It is slowly becoming one my biggest pet peeves and its time it stopped. It has everything to do with how these advertising geniuses seem to see their customer base: as four-year-old children who are easily amused by cartoons and puerile jingles and catch phrases. Its as if grown ups still chase the ice cream truck down the street, attracted no doubt by the cute songs played by the trucks PA system, even though there is perfectly good Dryers Grand ice cream in the freezer. Stop treating your customers like children and stop with the creepy cartoon peg people. STOP STOP STOP! Just. Stop. It.
A contributing factor to the whole corporate artstyle (it has another name but I can't remember it) is that it isn't "offensive". Its also easy to produce as anyone with basic art skill can create it so it's cheap as well.
1. It's quite interesting that you mention "Fresh for Everyone".
At Kroger, everything is "Fresh". "Fresh" (specifically not cold) go-backs, the "Fresh" app, everything. Everything gets fresher every memo, every commercial, every printed advertisement, every automated intercom announcement, regardless of reality. Except for bananas.
I suspect it's a hamfisted attempt at neurolingist programming. The idea is that if you just say "fresh fresh fresh" over and over, the customers will come to believe it. Working for the general public so long, I think it's at least plausible. And more importantly, cheap.
2. Working retail, the customers might as well be children as they act as such. Why not pander to them? And most importantly, it's cheap.
3. The Krojis are actually animated clip-art, which is to say as cheap and inoffensive as possible. They always reminded me more as more of a bad claymation sort of thing. Like "Davey and Goliath", or the Christmas specials, or perhaps "Moral Orel" for the Adult Swim fans.
