Rona brings it home

Home improvement chain Rona says it gets 84% of the products it sells from Canada, and is sharing that in a new TV spot with creative from Sid Lee and media from Carat.

The spot, which is running on RDS and TSN during CFL games (Rona is a CFL sponsor) leading up to next week’s Grey Cup is building on the patriotic feelings Rona showed during its summer spot for the 2012 London Olympics, says Eric Chavagnac, creative director, Sid Lee.

“When we asked people what they liked about the Olympic spot they rarely mentioned the Games themselves,” he says. “Instead they kept saying thanks for reminding them how beautiful Canada is. That’s where we got the idea to let people know that 84% of the products Rona sells come from Canada.”

Chavagnac says one of the thank-you notes they received following the Olympic campaign is incorporated into the new spot. Someone wrote a note and signed it “S. Tucker” and if you look closely there is a white truck on the right hand side of the road at the start of the new spot with that written on the side as a way to say thanks right back, says Chavagnac.

“We are aiming to tell a story that targets every Canadian,” he says. “You don’t need to be on the verge of renovating your kitchen to be touched by the message. We never show a store and you don’t see where exactly the materials are coming from, you don’t see any suppliers. You just see a guy travelling across Canada and having interactions with Canadians. The real star of the spot is the country itself and the people of the country.”

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