Mornington Peninsula’s Ritchies Supa IGA celebrates 150 years of business with a school play
The Mornington Peninsula’s Ritchies Supa IGA is celebrating 150 years of being in business with a campaign telling the story of how the supermarket came to be.
The story is told in the style of a children’s school play, backed by animated sets. The ad also details how the supermarket has given back to the local community.
The ad was produced by Final Focus Video Creative, directed by Don Percy and backed by Media Projects. It will appear on television and in cinemas.
Percy described the brief he was given for the ad.
“Given a brief to celebrate Ritchies 150th year, we first set out to avoid a concept that might typically use vintage photographs and artwork,” Percy said.
“Instead, we designed a spot that gives life to Ritchies history by telling it through children as a celebratory musical stage production, knowing that we could present the subject matter as an entertaining, colourful and engaging account that is hopefully welcome of multiple viewings.”
Stuart Stanton, creative director of Final Focus, said: “In learning the history of Ritchies, right from founder Thomas Ritchie through to its current CEO Fred Harrison, the thing that stood out for me was their emphasis on supporting and growing the local community. It was important for us to try and capture that essence in the commercial, as well as honour those contributions.
“The commercial was truly a result of the Mornington Peninsula community coming together to tell this story. We filmed the stage work at Pearcedale Public Hall and worked with local theatre groups to source talent.
“Many of the production team are Mornington Peninsula born and bred, and the audience you see in the final shots are locals too. I like to think that we have honoured Thomas Ritchie’s legacy by having the community he worked so hard within come together and tell his story 150 years later.”
Ritchies birthday also marks the donation of over $50 million to local clubs, schools and charities through their community benefit program.
