Carrefour: Escaping shopping carts

A shopping cart appears where it should not be. It is spotted racing through neighbourhood streets, then turning up abandoned in unlikely corners of Rome. People start talking because the “protagonist” is absurdly familiar. The cart is the symbol of value, and now it is behaving like it has a mind of its own.

Saatchi & Saatchi Milan built this mystery for Carrefour Italia to support the rollout of 106 new Carrefour Markets in Lazio, grounded in the brand’s “Positive every day” positioning. The creative idea is simple. Value for money is an appeal people struggle to resist. So the carts become the carriers of that temptation.

The activation is designed as a two-phase integrated campaign. First, it seeds sightings and curiosity across multiple channels at the same time. Then it resolves the story by revealing where all those carts are heading.

In large-scale retail launches, integrated campaigns work best when one story can travel from street to screen to store without changing its meaning.

A teaser built like a local urban legend

The first phase plays like breaking news. A live-feeling street presence. Transit placements. News-style content. Online video. Each touchpoint adds another “sighting” so the mystery grows without needing complex explanation.

The choice of protagonist matters. A shopping cart is instantly readable, and it already carries the promise of savings. When you animate that object, you turn a pricing message into a narrative people retell.

Solving the mystery without breaking the spell

The second phase keeps the same media system but shifts the objective. It moves from “have you seen it” to “here is where it is going.” The reveal connects the runaway-cart story to the new Carrefour Market openings, so the attention converts into a clear destination and a clear reason.

Why this lands for a retailer

This is value communication that does not feel like a leaflet. It uses curiosity, pattern recognition, and a small dose of humour to make people look twice. The pricing promise stays present, but it arrives through a chase, not a claim.

What to steal for your next multi-location rollout

  • Choose a protagonist that already means something. Everyday objects can carry brand meaning faster than mascots.
  • Design a two-step rhythm. Tease first, then resolve. Mystery creates attention. Resolution creates direction.
  • Let every channel play a specific role. Street for credibility. Transit for frequency. Online for amplification. Press for legitimacy.
  • Make the reveal point somewhere real. The story must end at the store door, not inside the ad unit.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “The Mystery of the Escaping Shopping Carts”?

It is an integrated Carrefour Italia campaign where shopping carts are staged as “escaping” across Rome to build curiosity, then the story resolves by linking the carts to new Carrefour Market openings in Lazio.

Why use shopping carts as the protagonists?

Shopping carts are universal retail symbols and naturally connected to value for money. Turning them into characters makes the savings message feel like a story rather than a promotion.

What does “integrated” mean in this campaign?

It means multiple media channels run in parallel and reinforce the same narrative. Each channel adds sightings, social proof, or explanation, so the mystery grows consistently across the city.

Why does a teaser-and-reveal structure work for retail openings?

Because it builds attention before asking for action. The teaser creates talk and curiosity. The reveal converts that attention into a clear destination, which fits the goal of driving visits to new locations.

What is the main risk with mystery-led retail campaigns?

If the reveal is weak or delayed, people feel tricked. The payoff has to be satisfying, and it must clearly connect the story to a real store or offer.

Lacta Chocolate Facebook App

You open the Lacta Chocolate Facebook app, type your loved one’s name, and customise a Lacta wrapper around them. The app matches them to a Lacta flavour, then you push it out as a wall-to-wall post. In seconds, your “love message” becomes something your friends can see, react to, and copy.

The app idea. Turn affection into something people want to publish

The app is built around a simple insight. People naturally compare their loved ones with chocolates. Lacta turns that behaviour into a lightweight creation tool, so the output is personal, visual, and instantly shareable.

Why some Facebook apps explode while others flop

Plenty of Facebook apps chase scale and get nothing. The difference usually comes down to three basics.

1) Simplicity

A couple of clicks to get to the app and to the point of action.

2) Shareability

All the standard sharing features that make it easy to spread.

3) Insight

Something a fan might actually use, comment on, and share.

Who builds it, and what the traction looks like

Once again OgilvyOne Athens gets into action and creates an app that lets people customise a Lacta chocolate wrapper in their loved one’s name and compare them to a particular Lacta flavour, before using the wall-to-wall post feature to get the message across.

In just over a month the app generates over 150,000+ fans, with thousands using personalised chocolate wrappers as profile pics.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Lacta Chocolate Facebook app in one sentence?

It is a simple Facebook app that lets you personalise a Lacta wrapper with a loved one’s name, match them to a flavour, and share it as a wall-to-wall post.

Why does this app spread?

Because the output is personal and visual, the creation flow is fast, and the sharing mechanic is built into the final step.

What are the three success factors highlighted here?

Simplicity, shareability, and a real insight that people actually want to express publicly.

What is the key execution lesson to copy?

Make the “thing people share” the natural end product of the interaction, not an optional add-on after the fact.

Belgian TV prank on Mobistar

Mobistar is Belgium’s leading mobile operator and largest advertiser. Over time they have become known for their lousy customer service. So VRT Television from Belgium decided to prank Mobistar on January 10, 2011. After which the prank was broadcasted on their new “Basta comedy show”. Mathieu, the security guard from Mobistar became a folk hero overnight for his friendly demeanor.

The modern consumers are tired of brands running overpromising brand messages through advertising. Their needs are very simple and straightforward. Therefore brands should first use more of their budgets to improve their products and (customer) services and then later deliver advertising campaigns that bring out their outstanding brand experience.