Walmart says it's the little things that matter, even at the holidays

Dave Muhlenfeld, the Martin Agency copywriter behind the FreeCreditReport songs and this catchy Coke/Walmart ad from last year, is at it again with an ad for Walmart celebrating the little things in life. What things? Like the way an e-mail can make you want to talk, or the way a little kid can make the world seem big. That kind of stuff. For Walmart, whose current tagline is "Save money, live better," the message is spot on, but then again, it is the holiday season, so maybe not. "They have a big inventory of spots, and most of them are holiday-centric," says Joe Alexander, svp and creative director at Martin, explaining why the spot is running only online right now. (Walmart put it on its Facebook page and on YouTube last week.) Too bad TV viewers won't see it, because the song is nice and hummable, the sentiment is very relevant this holiday season, and the photography is terrific. My only beef is the tactic of using several different actors to sing the song. Maybe it was that scene in the movie Magnolia, particularly the part with Jason Robards, that put me off that kind of thing, though I have to admit Flight of the Conchords put it to good use for their song "Hurt Feelings."

—Posted by Todd Wasserman