This Grocery Gaming Controller for No Frills Aisles of Glory is Literally Bananas

From the discount grocery store that brought you the grocery shopping video game no one asked for, comes the grocery gaming controller no one asked for, either.

To promote No Frills Aisles of Glory: Legends of the Haul, agency john st. partnered with wonderMakr on a truly bananas idea: a video game controller made from real bananas, the brand’s iconic symbol of fresh for less.

“We’ve made some legendary changes to the game itself, so we needed a legendary way to play it. And as a brand that lives in the cultural zeitgeist, why not launch this year’s Aisles of Glory expansion in a way that stays true to gaming with a controller all our own,” says Jess Willis, creative director at john st.

The limited-edition Frill Blaster Pro was developed exclusively for Aisles of Glory: Legends of the Haul and uses capacitive touch technology to transform ordinary bananas into controller buttons. The result is seamless gameplay, where tapping a banana moves your character.

The Frill Blaster Pro was released to select gaming influencers on TikTok and Twitch. The packaging pays homage to the 8-bit retro-style of the game, so much so, “you could swear it just came off a shelf at your local RadioShack in 1982,” Jess added. Inside are three bananas, stickers for labelling the buttons, a set-up manual complete with banana configuration ideas, and even controller disposal directions – a killer banana bread recipe.

“From Haulin’ State of Mind, the #1 discount album, co-created with some of Canada’s best artists to Haulerverse, which saw us pay homage to the world of anime, being authentic to the spaces we’re playing in is important. It’s what gives us that Hauler swagger,” says Randi Casey, director of marketing, Loblaw Companies Limited.

While not everyone will have the opportunity to play Aisles of Glory: Legends of the Haul with the Frill Blaster Pro, the game runs until September 16th. This year’s updates boast a grand prize of 10 million PC Optimum points, 24 secondary prizes of 1 million PC Optimum points, aisle-themed levels, and brand-new character modes that can be unlocked via No Frills receipt codes. And if that wasn’t reason enough to play, the top scorer will be immortalised as an 8-bit character in next year’s game.

Grab a banana (at your local No Frills of course), for your post-game snack and play here.