CARREFOUR | Black Supermarket | 2018
Break the Law to Change the Law / CARREFOUR "Black Supermarket"
This isn't a supermarket ad. It's a lesson in how to pick a fight with the law.
The problem
Here's a wild fact: only 3% of all the vegetables and grains grown and sold in Europe are actually legal. The remaining 97% are technically "illegal"—and have been since 1981. Only pesticide-resistant hybrid seeds made it onto the official approved catalog, which meant the pesticide and chemical industry basically controlled who got to grow what. Carrefour had been fighting this system for years, but as a massive corporation, hardly anyone knew about that stance.
The insight
To beat lobbying that happens behind closed doors, you have to do the opposite: go completely public and loud about it. The creative director at Marcel Paris described the campaign as "an attack on the official catalog itself." Rather than just filing a complaint, Carrefour took a gamble—break the law themselves, as a retailer, and see if that could shift public opinion.
The idea
Carrefour opened "Black Supermarket" sections in stores across the country, proudly displaying vegetables and grains from the illegal 97%—things like pink onions and Camus artichokes, around 10 varieties depending on the season. They signed five-year contracts with these "illegal" growers and invited celebrities to the signing ceremony. Customers were encouraged to buy the illegal produce in store, then sign a petition on Change.org calling for the law to be changed.
What happened
Hearing the word "illegal" only made people want it more—customers bought up to 153 tons of the produce, and 83,000 people signed the petition. Brand favorability climbed from 65% to 73%. In April 2018, the European Parliament re-authorized farmers to sell their own seeds for the first time in 40 years. The campaign won the Grand Prix in the Creative Effectiveness category at Cannes Lions 2019.
Afterthought
A supermarket sold something "illegal," protected both farmers and shoppers, and actually got the law changed. It really drives home just how far a brand can go when it commits to something.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2018
Featured in
- Ads That Reached Into the LawBreaking rules, slipping through loopholes, rewriting statutes — eight ads, ordered by how far they reached.
