No Frills is Canada’s leading discount grocery retailer. A brand built on that feeling you get when you beat the system, our shoppers, known as Haulers, have become part of the national zeitgeist. Brand acts and ads have consistently challenged how a grocery store should behave.  
 
We’ve created an album, an anime film, and in 2021, launched the latest edition of Aisles of Glory: "Legends of the Haul" - a retro, frill-less, 8-bit side-scrolling video game about grocery shopping as part of a larger promotional campaign. Players collected points by dodging frills, collecting hauls and completing boss levels. The points could then be redeemed in-store for free groceries.  
 
The game was epic, but with marketing budgets continuing to be challenged due to the pandemic, we needed to find a way to drive engagement and deliver earned without relying on a heavy media or production spend. So, the brand behaved just as a game publisher would and launched a limited-edition game controller to enhance play – The Frill Blaster Pro.  
 

Parts could be found in the produce aisle, and using capacitive touch technology, we turned bananas into the first ergonomic, zero-waste video game controller.  
 
Product nomenclature and packaging design were built to mirror the 8-bit game’s aesthetic. Inside, users found details on how to customize their button configuration, branded stickers, and of course, a recipe for post-play banana bread to ensure nothing went to waste.  
 
Named one of AdAge’s Top 5 Creative Campaigns and called an idea “circa 2004 Gwen Stefani”, the conversation around the game, the in-store experience and the controller drove almost 800,000 game plays and over 57 million impressions. TikTok content featuring the Frill Blaster Pro garnered over 12 million views in minutes – a first for the brand.