BJ’s launches ‘Absurdly Simple’ ad campaign

BJ’s Wholesale is rolling out a humorous new ad campaign as part of its “Absurdly Simple Savings” platform, according to an Ad Week report.

The campaign, from longtime agency of record Terri & Sandy, includes a series of TV spots and online videos promoting the wholesale club operator’s price advantages on groceries and gas.

The TV spots start off with straightforward narrative stories that suddenly veer off in unexpected comedic directions and become BJ’s promotions, touting “up to 25% off grocery store prices” and “everyday low gas prices.”

In one, a woman communicating via seance with her dead husband of 25 years (“just like the up to 25% savings off grocery store prices at BJs”) gets in an argument with the voice from beyond before admitting, “That’s why I poisoned your soup.”

Another features a doctor giving a patient the “good news” about a BJ’s Wholesale Club opening nearby, only to hit him later with the apparently terminal bad news.

In a series of spots that will appear on various online channels, a pair of newscasters continue the absurdist theme. One of the anchors leads off with a serious story before her less-than-serious co-anchor interjects with some fan-boy praise for BJ’s. A man who survives a 25-story fall, for example, segues into the 25% savings at BJ’s.

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“We leveraged humor, relevant conversational candor and creative, unique storytelling deliverables to create these news spots to showcase BJ’s unbeatable value and incredible savings in a fun, entertaining way,” Donna Noa, VP of marketing and branding, BJ’s Wholesale Club, was quoted as saying in the Ad Week story.

A spokesperson for BJ’s was not immediately available for comment.