Walmart's 'Smiley' slated for comeback after ten-year hiatus
BENTONVILLE, AR (WWBT) - From the signature blue smocks to the star in its name, Walmart has been known for some of its recognizable branding and, after over ten years, one of its most memorable parts of the store's image is making a comeback.
During the company's shareholder's event, Walmart officials announced that "Smiley," the bright, yellow, smiling face that used to adorn aisles of their stores and numerous commercials, will be returning to its stores for the first time in ten years.
In a blog post, Walmart's Chief Marketing Officer Tony Rogers said Smiley "was the face of rollbacks," the name given to the chain's price cuts of items in their stores, but the mascot will "represent all low prices."
The smiley face began as a simple sticker given to the young shoppers at the store in the early 1990s before it became synonymous with rollbacks before it disappeared from stores and airwaves in 2006.
"He didn't fit in with our advertising at the time. We were taking a different approach," Walmart spokeswoman Danit Marquardt told CNNMoney. "He has been used intermittently, but he hasn't been an active part of our advertising."
CNN reports that Walmart was embroiled in a trademark lawsuit with The Smiley Company in Brussels, which later ended in a settlement between the two parties.
Even with the Smiley's absence, Rogers said that customers still remember it whenever they come to their stores.
"In fact, nearly 70% of our customers still associate Smiley with savings at Walmart even though he's been behind the scenes for the past decade," Rogers said.
The smiling circle has already been added to Walmart's Twitter account, on the store's website, and has already been added to some of the company's over 5,000 stores.
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