President’s Choice is hoping to get consumers to put aside their phones to focus on the moments shared during meals in this year’s Eat Together campaign.

The new spot is a 90-second film inspired by British-American philosopher Alan Watts’ “The Dream of Life” speech. The spot chronicles people striving to live life at the fullest through mountain climbing, travelling, attending concerts and other activities, but ends with the realization that the greatest moments are those that take place around the dinner table.

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As with previous iterations of the campaign, John St. worked on creative, Dentsu on media and Citizen Relations on PR. The spot first aired in cinemas on Dec. 31 and during the World Junior Hockey Championships as a way of getting people to think about eating together more often as part of their resolutions for the New Year. Additional social and digital support began Jan. 2.

Since launching the program in 2017, PC research has shown that consumers do want to spending time together at the table, says Cheryl Grishkewich, VP of control brand marketing at Loblaw. However, many people continue to not put as much emphasis on connecting over meals as they would like.

For example, a national survey conducted by PC found that while 92% of Canadians want to spend more enjoying meals with loved ones, many continue prioritizing screen time instead: around of third of respondents admitted to spending more than four hours of free time engaged with screens each day, while 43% figure they spend less than one hour each day enjoying a meal with their family and friends.

The brand launched the Eat Together concept in 2017, shifting away from product-focused marketing towards work with more emotional heft. Based on the original insight that sharing meals leads to greater happiness and other benefits, last year’s effort focused on shifting behaviours at work, where many eat in isolation.

Grishkewich says this year’s insight “highlights our constant drive to pursue or capture incredible moments on social media, instead of focusing on the little moments which are ultimately the more important ones.”

New this year, PC has added a charitable element with the goal of inspiring more people to change their daily eating routine. Every time a customer pledges to “eat together” on PC’s website, $1 will be donated to PC Children’s Charity, which supports school-based student nutrition programs across Canada.