Something Goopy Comes to Walmart
Patrycja Malinowska, July 27, 2017
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE ON p2pi.org
(you may need to register)
Bearing the consistency of sticky Silly Putty and often made with a base of white glue, water, food coloring and Henkel’s 20 Mule Team Borax laundry booster and household cleaner — the last a toxic substance — slime’s resurgence in popularity has been fueled by social media and DIY videos.
Newell Brands embraced the craze after it boosted sales of its Elmer’s glue, in many reported cases causing stores to sell out completely. The company increased production and began exploring its own, safer slime recipes.
Walmart stocked up on glue in advance of the in-store slime making events the mass merchant held with Elmer’s from July 20 to 23. Display ads running on walmart.com touted the events and linked to a brand page suggesting baking soda and contact lens solution as a safer substitute for Borax. The destination also offered a store finder for participating locations and showcased various Elmer’s glue products. Local radio spots supported.
In Action Alley, Elmer’s also has provided Walmart with a custom half-pallet display that invites shoppers to text the keyword SLIME to 811811 to get a basic slime recipe, along with a link to an elmers.com webpage for additional recipes. Washington, D.C.-based Snipp Interactive created the text-to-receive program, which runs from March 1 through Dec. 31.
Earlier in the year, the Elmer’s had deployed similar creative for a digital and in-store effort with Office Depot and on floor stands, the latter predominantly stocking one-gallon containers.
Walmart additionally is promoting other versions of slime. On its website, the retailer has corralled slime ingredients (including both Borax and baking soda) in a “goopy slime” e-commerce shop. A July 17 Facebook update spotlighted Horizon Group USA’s unicorn-themed SlimyGloop kit.
Earlier in the year, Nickelodeon also had hawked its trademarked Slime! product (inferior to the homemade version, according to pre-teen entrepreneurs selling their creations online) on an endcap display at the mass merchant.
