IGA’s animated holiday spot, “Paolo’s Wish,” features a family reuniting around the dinner table after a bitter spat, with the message “say it with food.”

Caroline Duhamel, marketing communications director for Sobeys, tells strategy that one of the recipes from “Paolo’s Wish” was used as inspiration for this year’s La Guignolée, a food drive that supports local community organizations helping to feed families in need. She says that when a customer makes a donation in store, they will receive a decorative gift box and holiday cookie recipe, just like the one featured in the commercial.

Quentin Fachon, director at agency partner Sid Lee, says the campaign, which is airing in New Brunswick and Quebec, is meant to tug at people’s heartstrings. “Our goal with the seventh edition [of the annual animated holiday campaign] was to show how food can be a way for people to make amends, and that it can speak for us when the words simply won’t come,” he says.

Last year, IGA kicked off its annual holiday fundraiser for the food drive by selling a Yule Log of Generosity, with all proceeds going to La Guignolée. It also told another animated family-oriented tale, where a grandfather recounts a story to his grandkids about the importance of sharing. The year prior was all about intergenerational bonding and the camaraderie of giving as well, with a grandparent and granddaughter’s shared love of hockey.

Sid Lee once again collaborated with Tonic DNA for the animation of this year’s short film and with Circonflex for music and sound.

In addition to airing on TV until Jan. 1 in Quebec and New Brunswick, “Paulo’s Wish” will be available online in French and English on IGA’s “Food Is Everything, “the grocer’s online magazine/social platform named after its tagline, and on IGA.net starting November as well as in theatres. The cookie gift boxes will be available exclusively at IGA grocers, Rachelle Béry, Les Marchés Tradition and Marché Bonichoix, as well as at Voisin convenience stores and on Voilà by IGA until Jan. 8.