This Gaming Controller is Bananas

//  09.07.21

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This grocery gaming controller for No Frills Aisles of Glory is bananas. Literally.

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 stayed 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,” Willis added. Inside are three bananas, stickers for labeling 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 immortalized 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 at https://aislesofglory.nofrills.ca

Check out the demo below.

@ansonwng#ad If you think you can get a higher score than me then check it out at aislesofglory.nofrills.ca

♬ original sound – Anson Wong

CREDITS

Title: Frill Blaster Pro
Client: Loblaw Companies Limited
Brand: No Frills

Client: Loblaw Companies Limited
SVP Marketing: Meghan Nameth
VP Marketing: Andy MacPherson
Director, Marketing: Randi Casey
Sr. Brand Manager: Scott Lyons
Director, External Communications: Aly Vitunski
Senior Manager, Creative, Content: Kara Smith
PR Specialist: Jessica Gauci

Agency: john st.
Chief Creative Officer: Cher Campbell
Creative Director: Jess Willis
Associate Creative Directors: Alex Manahan, George Lin
Copywriter: Emma Lorenzi
Art Director: Brian Zheng
Designer: Carol Hung
Executive Producer: Matthew DeWaal
Producers: Danielle Lloyd, Alexandra Ungureanu
Client Service Director: Allison Ballantyne
Business Lead: Christy Cusack
Account Supervisors: Ariel Segal, Kelly Brennan
Chief Strategy Officer: Megan Towers
Strategy Director: Colin Carroll

Banana Controller Fabrication: wonderMakr
Producer: Rasheed Hussain
Creative Technologist: Garrett Reynolds
President & Chief Innovation Officer: Mark Stewart

Game Production: Relish Interactive
Creative Directors: Justin Sadler, Ram Kanda
Art Director: Alyssa Munaretto
Designer: Treawna Harvey
Illustrators: Jesse Millest, Jimena Castillo, Anthony Chavaria
Development Leads: Derek Martin, Rick Mason
Developers: Cody Chartrand, Aaron Bernstein
Testing: Matt Fleming
Producers: Phil Leuenberger, Pebble Lee, Joshua Doherty

Categories
Food, Gaming, Grocery

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